From psychology to styling: the Oxton woman launches a fashion brand
A 24-year-old woman from Oxton started her business on her own in 2017, before graduating from college and quitting her part-time job.
Having started the business from her mother’s kitchen table while juggling classes and her part-time job, Mollie-May Cartwright soon realized she needed more space and moved to an apartment before needing to take up more space in a storage unit at a friend’s house.
Mollie-May started her brand, Caramella, in 2017 after graduating from college in psychology and quitting her part-time job to focus on her business.
Mollie-May told The Globe: “After taking a storage unit it quickly got really overcrowded so I applied for a lease from North Cheshire Trading Estate.
“I have had our space for 10 years now which is a huge warehouse as well as a shop inside the space with changing rooms to allow our customers to try before they buy. I can already see us overtake this space in the next few years!
Mollie-May Cartright
Although she started out a bit slow initially, Mollie-May now has 234,000 Instagram followers and a host of celebrity fans, including Charlotte Dawson, Courtney Green of The Only Way Is Essex, Amber Turner and Yazmin Oukhellou, Olivia Atwood and Love Island’s Elma Pazar, as well as many fashion bloggers.
She added: “Last year I was working hourly on lockdown and just burned out.
“I wasn’t taking the time to relax and unwind and my mental and physical health suffered.
“I changed that for the better and I know I can only give 100% if I feel better.
Carmella turns four after debuting in 2017
“In terms of growth, I really want to keep the brand completely exclusive. We were interviewed by ASOS two years ago to be sourced from their site, but after some thought I planned to stay exclusive and only sell on my website.
“We want to continue to grow naturally at our own pace, always remaining loyal to the brand, because it is quite busy like that!
Since launching the brand on her own in 2017, Mollie-May now has four full-time employees as well as her mother and grandmother who both work part-time.
Mollie-May said: “Previously I did an internship where a graduate student joined us and I would really like to focus more on young people and offer internships for those who love fashion but might not. not know what they want to do. .
Caramella HQ
“When I was studying for my psychology degree, I couldn’t have felt more lost. It’s a scary world if you don’t know what to do, but I want to help you jumpstart your career.
For Mollie-May, seeing women feel better about her designs is the reason she works in the fashion industry.
She says that Caramella currently designs a lot of clothes in-house, which can present a financial risk, but which she believes is worth taking.
She explained, “It can be scary to wonder if people don’t like our designs, but they still turn out to be our bestsellers and I think that’s because you can’t get them anywhere else. .
“We really strive to be inclusive for everyone, supporting all sizes and some styles go up to UK 22. We aim to have all of our clothing available up to this size when we have them. resources to do so. ”
Mollie-May intends to continue to improve and innovate Caramella’s head office and workforce and would one day like to become one of the biggest brands in the world.
