I have recently introduced a new monthly interview series to the blog, where I interview fashion/beauty business owners, fashion designers and makeup artists. I kicked off the series last month with an interview with Gary Scales, director of Nothing Clothing Company, and it was well received, especially on Twitter. So the interview series will carry on, and every month, I shall bring you an interview worth reading so watch this space.
I had the golden opportunity to interview Victoria Sully; the founder of Lylia Rose, an online ladies fashion accessory boutique and lifestyle blog, and we had quite a lot to talk about. Lylia Rose is the home of affordable printed scarves, beautiful costume jewellery and lovely gifts for ladies. I recently featured a beautiful printed scarf from the Lylia Rose collection in a Christmas Jumper post some weeks ago, and I have fallen completely in love with the piece, I wear it a lot!
Now I leave you with the interview. Grab a cuppa and enjoy the read:
Tell us a bit more about Lylia Rose, how did you go about setting up the brand and what is the idea behind it?
I set up Lylia Rose whilst on maternity leave with my first child. Originally I made handmade cards as a hobby and a few pieces of jewellery. I decided to try to sell them on Etsy. I had a few sales which was exciting and discovered a passion for selling things.
I wasn’t that great at making things, so turned into a sole trader instead (which also satisfies my shopping addiction as I handpick beautiful accessories to sell in my online store!). I now sell on my own website mainly, as well as eBay. Lylia Rose has evolved quite a lot in three years, but it’s now a place to shop for women’s fashion accessories as well as home to my lifestyle blog – another evolving and addictive hobby!
How has the journey been so far?
It’s been great. I kind of just went for it and learnt everything I needed as I went along and I still learn so much every day now. It’s also been very hard work! Around one year in, I hit a point where things went quiet, and I questioned whether to continue. I’ve since heard this is referred to as ‘the hump’! I continued plugging away at it and after a couple of months things picked up again. I’ve been busy ever since. I’m so glad I persevered as that could have been the end of Lylia Rose!
How do you juggle your work with your personal life?
With a struggle! I never switch off. There’s always something to do, whether it’s business or personal. If I’m not cleaning and tidying, or running about visiting people, I’m working and vice versa. I never used to take an evening off, but I’m now trying my best to take Friday and Saturday evenings off to spend time with my husband Ben. I don’t always though. We have nice family days at the weekend quite regularly, so this is the time I cherish. I’ve just returned from maternity leave after having my second baby, so I’m still trying to adjust and work out a routine which works.
What does your typical day look like?
The mornings are a mad rush of getting my children Bella (3) and Reuben (9 months) dressed and fed, before we do the preschool run. We get up at 6-6.30am and don’t have to leave until 8.40am, but somehow there is never enough time and the last half hour is manic, no matter how prepared I try to be! Me and Reuben will return home where I try to tackle the bottomless laundry pile and complete various household chores in between playing with Reuben, changing nappies, giving feeds, lunch, etc. When Reuben is napping or content playing, I will jump onto Twitter to take part in networking hours, schedule sales tweets, as well as pack orders, list new items and check emails. Before we know it, it’s nearly 3pm and time to pick Bella up. Once home I prepare the next days packed lunch and make a start on dinner. My husband is home in time for dinner and we have a family dinner together (something which we are really lucky to all share together every day at 5pm). After dinner I will usually start ‘work’ and stay in my office until 10pm (ish) until I’m so tired I need to go to bed! The day is a total mixture of being a stay at home Mum, running a home and trying to run a business in the gaps.
What advice would you give a mother looking at setting up a small business similar to Lylia Rose?
Go for it! But don’t underestimate how much work you need to put in to the business. I think some people might be ‘lucky’, but generally I’ve found the most successful people work really, really hard. I spent two years building my stock/business up without even taking a wage and had to work an evening job. If you are passionate about it and it’s really what you want to do, then it’s worth it. I always remember the three Ps, especially if I’m having a tough day – Patience, Positivity and Perseverance.
What do you think of the Fashion and Style Police blog?
It’s really great. I love the outfit posts the best and the fact you positively feature other people’s style too. I always love a good look through outfit photos for inspiration. I especially love your Christmas jumper outfit (wink, wink)!
I enjoyed chatting with Victoria, I found it so inspiring to hear about her typical work day. Big ups to all the ‘working from home’ mothers out there. You guys rock my world.
Make sure you check out
Lylia Rose for your stylish fashion accessories and Christmas gifts for ladies. There is an accessory for every woman on there.
Thanks for reading and have an amazing week.
