Chit Chat Friday with Little Hanbury

I hear it over and over again, the puzzled question, where do I go to find a unique selection of clothing for boys? It's the number one question I get asked all the time and it's a great question. Well, ladies look no further, I've got just the thing for you! Yep, that's right, an online shop just for boys! And it's awesome! Little Hanbury, an online boutique based in East London, specialises in cool clothes for those cool boys. They have a great selection of unique brands that focus on quality at a reasonable price; Nico Nico, ESP NO. 1, Indikidual, Superga, Herschel, Quenotte just to name a few. Browsing through their shop you see an array of lovely colours and styles that will get your little one super excited! So start shopping now!
http://littlehanbury.co.uk
I had a lovely chit chat with Sarah the owner of Little Hanbury. Read on to find out what she had to say:

1.    TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF. WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

Hi. I’m Sarah. I’m originally from Leigh on Sea, an Essex seaside town.  I’ve been living in East London for the last 10 years and until recently I worked in the world of Media. I always wanted to escape and do my own thing, but lovely lunches on company expenses is a hard thing to leave – that’s a terrible thing to say isn’t it.

The last company I worked at was Yahoo! so I’ve got a pretty good understanding of the online world…although its moving too fast for an old veteran like me.

2.    WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START LITTLE HANBURY?

My son inspired me to start Little Hanbury. What a cliché. I instantly found it impossible to find really nice things for him and started wondering what I should do about it.  I thought about starting my own brand, which is obviously a little daunting with no previous experience but went off to Bubble Trade Show to explore and ask questions. That was the same show that Indikidual was launching at and instantly I thought – they’re already doing what I would have done. If I don’t think I can do it any better, then why don’t I help these brands get out to the right people.  That’s not to say Little Hanbury won’t do its own clothing line…

3.    WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR WHEN YOU BUY FOR LITTLE HANBURY?

I am looking for the perfect match of style, quality and price. The value is really important to me. If I can’t find an item that fulfils all three, we won’t stock it.  I have tried not to stock items over a certain price point so they’re more accessible. The higher priced items I believe exceed in either style or quality. I try and find simple, great looking pieces that parents can put together to make outfits or just as basics in the wardrobe.  Accessories are also really important to us. I find that just because of their age children are often made to wear ugly pictures on bags or Hollywood franchised headphones. It is possible to wear something plain and colourful that still 

makes you look like a child.  

         4.    WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BOYSWEAR DESIGNERS AT THE MOMENT? 

   Well I wouldn’t say any brands that exclusively do boyswear but ones that have excellent unisex or boys collections would have to be Nico Nico Clothing for their wonderful quality and Mini & Maximus for their prints. We’re excited to be stocking them for AW13. Nosweet from Poland is a new unisex brand that I’m totally in love with also. I love that they produce items that kids can wear during the day or night and leggings for boys. I’m a big fan of harems and leggings for little boys. Why not? We’ll be the first UK stockist of Nosweet later in the month.

      5.    WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF IN BOYSWEAR?

     A wider range of coats that are affordable. I feel there is a huge hole in the market – you can easily get cheap coats from the highstreet or super expensive ones from beautiful designers but nothing in the middle. There are many wonderful men’s street brands that do great coats and often cheaper than childrens,. That’s crazy.  I’m always hassling Carhartt about bringing their range over to the UK but currently you can only get kids in North America. Gutted.

6.    DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE, CAFÉ, BOOKSHOP, ETC YOU CAN GO AND GAIN INSPIRATION FROM?

I love to walk down Redchurch Street and Calvert Avenue in Bethnal Green, around Arnold Circus. Its just down the road to us. Over the last few years its really changed, and I love the mix of gritty and dare I say cool. Arnold Circus has so much history, its beautiful ( or I think so anyway, most will probably think I’m mad ).

      7.    ARE YOU INSPIRED BY MUSIC? IF SO, WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT?

Oh goodness, I’m shamed to say my music taste has really not moved on from when I was about 15. My husband and I bonded over a love of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr – American bands from the 90’s. Maybe that’s why, to keep us both happy we still play bands from that era like The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins. While I’m working I listen to a random selection from Grimes to Ryan Adams, The Smiths or Ben Howard ( wow its amazing how old you feel when you write that down ).

8.    HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

Eclectic I guess. I wear a mix of vintage, designer and highstreet usually at the same time. I don’t like to stand out but also like to be different so I usually find a little twist. I feel most comfortable in an oversized jumper, skinny jeans and brogues.

9. FAVOURITE DESIGNERS?

   Acne, Chloe, Alexander McQueen, Maison Martin Margiela to name a few…and unfortunately that doesn’t mean I’m a frequent buyer. More of an admirer.

        

10. BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU?

Don’t be afraid to ask people for help. My friend who said that had recently started her own company and was always going to coffee with people exchanging tips and advice so I thought she must know what she’s talking about. And its true. People are more often than not really happy to be asked and happy to help. Its been really nice learning that and meeting lovely people along the way.

11. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE US?

Believe in your gut feelings. Its an oldie, but it’s the one main thing l’ve learnt through this whole process. You have to go with what you believe.

12. ANY EXCITING PLANS, NEWS,  UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?

          I may have touched on this a little earlier…but there may be a Little Hanbury brand at some point…its in the pipeline…maybe.  but let me have a rest first *-)