Today, 2nd June 2025, marks four years since I officially started The Shortlist, launching my very first collection.
It's been a tumultuous - the hardest yet most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life - and here's a glimpse at some of the ups and downs in that time.
2021
February - Quitting my job
Although I'd technically quit my job in January, because I worked for myself it didn't really feel final. So the following month, I put a post on LinkedIn to announce it. I didn't have an employer to worry about so could be candid about how I'd found recruitment and why I was leaving.
It went unexpectedly viral, and The Shortlist's 50-strong Instagram following grew to 4,500 over the next week.
June - Launching my first collection
I spent 4 months building up to the first launch, sharing everything about my plans and my journey to create them - but keeping the designs themselves firmly under wraps. So it was to huge anticipation I revealed them, and despite a backlash about my prices (many people didn't understand why a small brand couldn't match the High Street) they went down brilliantly.
To keep me on my toes, the website crashed on launch night and had to be delayed to the following day, but sales were fantastic - and didn't the pieces look fab?
August - Modelling
Having not wanted to be the poster girl for the brand, it quickly became clear I couldn't afford a professional model for shoots like I had for the first collection. And so began my now 9-collection-strong modelling career. It was always freezing cold, we shot in parks to save money, and I got gawked at by passers by.
It got easier once we moved to indoor venues, and I'm slightly less awkward in front of the camera, but I'm looking forward to handing over the baton soon.
2022
January - Moving to Poland
At the very end of 2021, it was impossible to ignore the fact that despite great sales, all my collections were losing money. It was time to move my manufacture out of the UK. I found a Polish factory and took the terrifying leap, hoping it would turn things around.
Happily, it all worked out. I lowered my prices, increased my profit margin, and sales were the best yet by far - it was a real turning point. I went to visit them for a fitting session that July - a great trip and a happy memory.
October - A fantastic launch
Things went from strength to strength this year, and in October I launched another popular collection. I'd been able to finally make the move to shooting inside, at this beautiful independent hotel, and the photographs looked much more polished. I think this was my only collection where the website didn't crash - hence the champagne! Last season's launch night sales had been 75, and this launch's was 92.
2023
Summer - A few milestones
The following year, I celebrated The Shortlist's 2nd birthday by making a cake that was well above my skill level. It looks shiny but at the time I'd been very down about the business; it all seemed great from the outside, but I was still feeling so far from success, didn't make net profit, and wondered what the future would look like.
So when the Fashion Director of Good Housekeeping contacted me out of the blue about a feature in August, it came at just the right time. I wasn't even sure I'd be in it until I ran out to get a copy!
October - The biggest launch ever
And you never know what's round the corner - just a few months later, I launched my AW23 collection, and it went bananas. It blew my previous launch night sales record out the window, with 151 orders. I spent 5 hours packing the next day, built a fort out of all the parcels, and had to organise a rare restock, with almost nothing to sell for the rest of the season. There are worse problems to have!
2024
April - A bigger budget
After the success of AW23, it was time to do a few more things. For my SS24 launch, not only had I finally moved to Shopify (no more crashes), and had my first styled shoot in a studio, but I was launching the very first Shortlist trousers, which had been months in the making - and I felt very nervous to release.
This was a bittersweet time. Although this collection was a success overall, the launch fell a bit flat - I tried launching in two parts, a month apart, which customers didn't like, and I made a few poor decisions with design - a couple of pieces weren't as popular as I'd hoped.
Summer - Moving factories and moving house
Things got worse. It turned out the factory had done a shoddy job on my production, and many pieces had problems. It was a huge financial blow (I lost a lot of stock and had to replace faulty pieces) and I had to find a new factory relationship. I had a very stressful couple of months this season trying to pick up the pieces.
But there were happy times after that - I finally moved house, and The Shortlist got a proper office. I loved the project of planning the makeover, and shared the project on Instagram. It transformed my work and was a nice pick-me-up after a tough period.
October - A very dark time
What should have been the start of a great relationship with my new factory turned out to nearly finish the business. Everything went wrong. I had to launch just four styles due to high order minimums. Samples were late for the photoshoot - and faulty. I had to do an impromptu street shoot instead. Production was delayed again and again as the factory lied about their progress. I pushed the launch back to November but the stock didn't turn up until the week before Christmas - and half of it was faulty and unsellable.
I finished the season unsure if the business could continue, it had been such a financial hit. And to top it all off, I got married in November. It was one of the worst times in my life.
2025
Spring - Back with a bang
I returned from honeymoon in January freshly enthused to throw myself at fixing the factory's faults. I had found a brilliant new production studio through a contact. I had learned how to advertise. A gorgeous new collection was in the works. And I had worked really hard to sell the two dresses I did have in stock, to scrape through financially.
These pictures are such happy times. In March I hit 10k followers and received all my samples, looking perfect, for the shoot. I was over the moon taking these photos. And the new factory delivered all my stock ahead of the launch, so I was all set for - hopefully - the launch that would set The Shortlist back on its feet after a tough 2024.
April - The Eureka moment
And it turned out to be just that. On 29th April I launched SS25, and had a completely barmy 239 launch night orders. Everything was in stock, the website didn't crash, and I finally had the 'eureka' moment I'd waited almost four years for.
This collection has continued to sell fantastically in the 5 weeks since then - I've never been so busy, and the business has finally broken even - an incredible milestone.
All this is a rite of passage in the early years of most businesses, even those that feel like overnight successes. I hope it has given you an interesting insight - every win has been hard won. But it's such a fulfilling journey and I really notice just how much more knowledgeable and experienced I am as a business owner now.