Welcome to one of the hardest jobs in the world. No, I am not talking about doctors, air traffic controllers (apparently the most stressful job in the world) or Posh and Beck’s publicist (must be hard work trying to deny all those rumours). I am talking about the life of a working mother.  Before baby Kristiina entered into my world, I seriously thought that not much would change. After all, if Cherie Blair thinks she can have it all, why should I be any different?

I had planned to start work a few weeks after her birth, return to Vietnam to finish next summer’s collection and generally work my butt off now that I no longer had the shop. It soon became evident, however, that not only did I lack the energy to execute my grand plans but all my creativity was gone. It’s true what they say about your brain cells going down the drain with pregnancy. Luckily, I am not the only one complaining. According to my most trusted sources (Elle, Vogue and the lot) Gwyneth Paltrow had difficulties remembering her lines and Liv Tyler was generally complaining about her lack of brain functionality. So under these conditions it became very difficult to think about Spring/Summer 2006 collection as the sleepless nights, feeding, sterilising bottles, and changing endless nappies took over my good old fashionable life.

My advice to any expecting working moms is that your life will change, but in a good way.  For me it took 5 months to start getting creative and think about business again. Just enjoy your baby and your body will tell you when its time to start working again. I do not stress about things I used to ie. deadlines or growing workloads. In fact, my ability to multitask and do millions of different things at the same time has improved 100%. That is what you need when you are running your own business. Nothing seems impossible anymore.

My label SE1 never went away. In fact, things are looking better than ever. While visiting my hometown Helsinki, I managed to get a stockist in Helsinki’s most exclusive boutique called Gaudete ( labels stocked include Seven Jeans, Bruuns Bazaar and Hugo Boss to mention a few). They are also interested in my Spring/Summer collection! Another stockist is Mine based in Dorset, where the wrap dresses have gone down well with local yummy mummies. Oh, and finally our website has gone live. So check out www.sose1.com.

I would love to hear your comments or feedback. Please email me on

The moving sale on Saturday has kept me busy this week. I have spent most of the week in London re-organising the whole shop, steaming clothes and doing an inventory, would not have been a massive task six months ago but now baby in the picture it’s a real military operation. She has now decided to be hungry every fifteen minutes and when the customers started pouring in (although the shop was closed) I had no choice but to start running the shop.

Little Kristiina has lots to learn about retailing: her customer service skills were not the best as she decided to cry with all her lungs while I was trying to chat with the customers. To my horror I also noticed that I was yet to master the art of breastfeeding while running the shop…I will leave it to your imagination. But what can you do? When she flashes her amazing, cute toothless baby smile your heart just melts…….At the end of the day (and the shop still not organised) I could have fell asleep on top of piles of clothes that I still needed to steam….

A shipment of more wrap dresses arrived on Thursday from the factory. I am telling you-the prints are amazing and will sell like hotcakes!!!! They are just begging to be worn this summer. Sourcing amazing prints from Vietnam could be very difficult but I have been so lucky to have someone like Vanilla working for me down there. So make a visit to Kingley Court boutique next week to have a look and remember that all prints are limited-once they are gone that’s it!

                Fab SE1 Leather ballerina pumps - 50% off on Saturday

Let’s hope that I will get it all organised before Saturday! So if your summer wardrobe needs updating, head to Borough Market. All summer clothes are 50% off and even the wrap dresses are reduced for one day only. Fingers crossed baby Kristiina will behave herself!!!  For more information on the SE1 sale click here.

Motherhood has meant that poor Alex has been busy running the business as I have been learning my new role with a six week baby girl. I can safely say that being a yummy mummy is as hard as running your business: both involve long working hours and many sleepless nights!

Now after six weeks I am gradually getting back into working mode (and my good old Seven Jeans!!!!) However my plan to get lots of work done while entertaining the baby has gone out of window. At the moment I am lucky if I get three productive hours done, most while she is sleeping. This has meant that we have had to forget about doing a complete collection for this Winter. I wasn’t very happy about it, but at the end its better to do things properly than rush around. Also, sometimes is better to take time off, think and re-evaluate your business. How can I make my business more successful? How should I evaluate the best sellers and products that are not shifting quickly enough? Needless to say, you want quick turn-over to make money and room for new products and not have them sitting on the shelf. Anyway, after just six week my head is already buzzing with new ideas, which I will leave it for now. All I will say is watch this space!!!!

Alex has been running the shop for the last two months and she has done a great job!! Sales have not been good though. Maybe its the weather or the fact people have over shopped and got bored of the never ending mid-season sales and 2 for 1 offers. Or people simply have less money these days. This is what Sunday Times was writing a few weeks back. Over shopped themselves-I never knew such thing existed…

Anyway, Saturday the 11^th of June is our moving sale from our current shop location. The building where we have been operating will go under renovation in July and will become a restaurant. I have to say that I will miss Borough Market and my small Boutique. I have met so many great people and done lots of networking as well as learnt the business of running my own shop. So if your summer wardrobe needs updating, head to Borough Market Saturday on the 11th from 10-17.00. I will be there all day avec baby who better behave ….!  For more information on the event click here.

Last week my schedule was as strict as someone’s in the British Army (maybe my degree at Kings College London’s War Studies has helped after all or maybe it was the pending new role: motherhood)

Rather than moaning to you again this week about the pain of doing accounting and admin, I actually got up early every day last week and managed to finish it all. I had no choice. My first baby, Kristiina, was born this past Friday 22/4 and the next few weeks my role as a business owner/fashion designer/accountant/sales will be diminished to a more demanding role: being a mother!

This week has also been a good start for learning to work away from London. Fashion wise I do not feel as inspired as in London, but rural Dorset does make you feel less stressed and peaceful. In London you have the constant interruptions of Starbucks cravings, invitations to girly lunches (I already miss them though) and time wasted running around London.

Last week I promised to talk about ways of generating more sales. I have taken about 15 designers at my shop on a basis of sale or return (SOR). This means that the designers will supply me with the stock and they receive a pay cheque once a month for all items being sold.  This can be a good way of doing business, but has lot of downsides as well. Sale or return prices tend to be higher for the business owner than those of wholesale. Wholesale for boutique owners mean that you pay upfront and buy in bulk so the price is lower. In sale or return, the designer is investing her own money for the stock and you have to wait for the money until the item has sold. It can be very time consuming as some boutiques will take their time to pay you and do not

respect the terms and conditions that you have agreed to. I have had some very bad experiences of doing sale or return. With one particular shop, I never got any sales reports back and at the end I had to wait 2 months to get my stock back.

Based on this experience, I have taken a commitment of providing monthly sales reports to all my designers and to pay them once a month. I personally have not found any shops since then whom I can entrust my stock on a sale or return basis. Fingers crossed I will, as it can be a
good way of getting your stock out there rather than sitting at home collecting dust. There are many shops that are keen to take designers on a sale or return basis, as it will instantly refresh the stock selection, and will keep customers coming back for more. Some shops will also rent you
space and there might also be small commission that you have to pay from your sales. The best way is to test your selling skills and start contacting boutiques.

Alex will be writing the diary for the next 2 weeks, otherwise you would be bored about hearing sleepless nights and nappy changes! For those who have fell in love with our wrap dresses, new stock is arriving this week. I promise you Pucci type of prints and lots of colours to brighten your day. By the way, those dresses are also great for maternity, as I have been wearing them throughout my bump days………

First of all, apologies to my diary readers for skipping last week…..I wish I could have a proper excuse like a shopping trip to Milano. But no, I was stuck at home, finishing March Tax Returns (still chasing some invoices, Inland Revenue will be tired of hearing my excuses for late returns..) and evaluating our business model, while thinking what kind of nappies we should buy for the baby…decisions, decisions…

Running your own business means that you need to be on your toes constantly. I could not summarise it better than Matthew Williams in March Elle (I even cut out the article and stuck it on my diary for reminder)

 “Fashion is relentless industry; this industry never gives up. You can’t just get off the wheel when you feel like it, you can’t say “Oh I think I’ll give it a miss this season. Once you commit, that’s it and it has to be your life.”

Of course this could be applied to any business but the fashion industry particularly is tough. It ends up becoming your life - ask any designer (your husband or boyfriend (if you have time for one) will not be too happy about it).

Clothes have become cheaper and better and customers more demanding. Catwalk rip offs are being produced by massive high street retailers at staggering speeds, not to mention new stock arriving every week!!!!!! And even supermarkets are now producing must have items, such as Tesco’s sold out Chloe rip off green chiffon dress two seasons ago. How are we small budding fashion designers meant to find our customer base and convince the audience to buy our designs when H&M around the corner is selling something remotely close 60% cheaper?

Well this is what I have been thinking over the last few weeks….Bad weather is obviously a contributing factor for poor sales and there is nothing you can do about it (unless you know some ancient ritual to push those rainy clouds away, thank you very much..). This year’s Easter sales were 20% behind last year’s figures so its not only us small business owners but the high street giants are also suffering.  Magazines such as Drapers gives you a good industry overview and are worth reading when evaluating your business model.  Hopefully this raised some thoughts, because next week, I will give you an insight a la SE1 how to evaluate your business model.

I do not know if it’s the weather, poor sales or the last week’s of the pregnancy  that has made me so cynical, so my apologies. Some good news is that I have finally taken some time off for those pregnancy treatments - massages and Claridges facials………highly recommended by the way (just do not tell your other half how much it was). Oh, and the wrap dresses have nearly sold out, but do not worry new prints are coming soon. Take care yourself, see you next week!

Finally the weather is improving and it looks like spring is here at last.  Sales have definitely improved at my shop and customers are actually buying rather than telling me that they will come back once the weather has improved.  Despite my improvised sales tactics such as pointing out to customers that silk camisoles look fabulous with chunky knits, the weather has always been too cold.   The arrival of our credit card terminal has also excited our customers and improved sales.  Nothing beats the plastic “buy now, worry later” mentality! It also encourages good old impulse buys. I am sure we all have the results of some of those lurking in our wardrobes…..

Our wrap dresses have definitely been the best seller this week and new prints are on the way. But the wrap dresses are not the only thing that the customers are demanding. I have had to bring all the summer samples to the shop for buyers meetings. It looks like one of our summer dresses in blue satin already has a list of customers who have placed their orders even though the dress is not arriving until May!!! And I thought the Hermes Birkin Bag and Chloe Paddington Bag were the only hot items with a waiting list!!!!!!!!

I am not the only one excited about our improved sales but my baby as well, who should be with us in another 6 weeks.  I am sure she (yes it’s a girl) will be joining the SE1 design team at some point in the future, but now it’s not the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As a result of this, after Profile 5 I have been forced to take it easy. I have had to say goodbye to my collection of high heels and dig out my comfy UGG boots (which are so winter 2003, but they are sooooo comfortable so please forgive me…). My poor husband Michael has been chauffeuring me around London as I should not be running around anymore. Relaxing is easier said than done, however, when you are running your own business. At the moment I am still trying to figure out how to ease my workload and chill out more but still get things done.

My office has now indefinitely been moved to the bedroom department where I have been doing most work calling boutiques, organising meetings and finishing our Autumn/Winter collection. I am trying to add a few knits to my next collection and that is proving to be a quite a task, especially when the knits would be manufactured in good old Vietnam and yarns exported from Eastern Europe. So until next week, enjoy the weather….while it lasts!!

It has been another busy week for me.  I keep promising myself to take more time off to enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy but it never happens! You read about the yummy mummies and how they have their weekly massage sessions with their health gurus, not to mention about their regular pregnancy yoga appointments.  Eight months ago I vowed to be one of those women but the reality could not have been more different. My only pregnancy exercise has been to the post office, Kingley Court, supplying Top Shop and to various other locations. Anyway, seven more weeks to go and then I can squeeze into my summer collection.

Speaking of our SE1 collection, LFF’s Profile 5 showcased our Autumn/Winter 2005 collection on Wednesday at Vinopolis. The whole event was brilliantly organised so well done LFF team!!! It definitely motivated me to see our 2006 collection paraded along the catwalk. Unfortunately we had too much on the go this year to get in the fashion show due my pregnancy but we are focused for next year! Profile 5 is a great opportunity for designers to show their talent and to interact with the press and buyers.

Alex and I tried to capitalise on the Profile 5 opportunity so we kept ourselves busy all day networking and managed to get many leads which we have been following up for the last two days. Poor Alex must have been exhausted after Profile as she was running around in between her SE1 commitments and university lectures as she is doing MA in Marketing and Pr.

My busy timetable did not end with Profile 5 as the SE1 calendar just keeps filling up. I have booked several appointments with Boutiques to go and to show our collections. Things are looking good and we have received a lot of interest which will hopefully lead to orders. So being a fashion designer is not just about sowing some buttons and designing for the next season. As the readers of my diary have already noted, its about running your business, with all the accounting, (which I have nearly done it), admin, sales (you can have amazing collection but if you do not know how to sell it, no one will know) and finally marketing and Pr (I am so lucky to have Alex working on this).Trust me, this will suck up most of your time!!!!! Luckily to all of you, LFF is there to help you so you are not alone.

Sales have been picking up this week at our shop. Our new stock of wrap dresses has nearly sold out but luckily I have some new prints coming soon. I have hired Vanilla, who is based in Vietnam to source new fabrics for me and she has done a brilliant job finding amazing prints!!!!!!! I can’t wait to get them here!!!

Our shop will also be featured in Japanese Hanajikan Magazine. They spent a good couple of hours a week ago taking pictures and interviewing me so I am quite excited to see the results in their May issue. Too bad I won’t be able to understand a word of what they say about our collection!

A new group called DT8 Project borrowed some pieces about a month ago including a SE1 silk jersey dress with gold trimming that is featured in their music video. Check it out http://www.virgin.net/music/musicvideos/dt8project_winter.html

Until next week, enjoy your weekend, I sure will as I have decided to sleep in this Sunday and switch of my mobile and not to read my emails!

This week my super valuable Press Officer Alex is revealing little bit of our Pr campaign, so read and learn!

“As much as I would love to say that fashion PR is all “Crystal and Jimmy Choos don’t you know dahrling…” it isn’t.  It actually involves a LOT of hard work, thorough planning and enough running around to burn off the calorific content of a box of “Krispy Kremes.” 

SE1 is currently in the planning stage of its PR campaign, which does not mean that we are sitting on our backsides doing absolutely nothing except for looking at our gorgeously unique collections.  It means that we have been busy building up press lists and trade contacts including buyers, stylists and photographers as well as preparing look books and visuals.  Planning and good preparation is crucial for a successful campaign, which I know sounds completely obvious but it is really important to adhere to; for example there is no point calling up a journalist without anything ready to send them or without knowing how far in advance they work.  And just remember, it is important to know what your situation is, what you want to achieve, who you want to target, and what your label represents before you start anything!

Anyway, so far we have designed our website (yes I know this isn’t PR but it is an important form of communication to get sorted asap!).  This has been fun as Minna & I wanted a unique site that would represent the ethos of SE1 (flirty and feminine with a hint of vintage charm) however our designs for a dressing room inspired site have proved somewhat difficult for the poor website designers but nevertheless its almost ready and looking fab (if I do say so myself!). 

We needed photos for the website and look book as well as for general reference purposes and so we have organized some photo shoots with a photographer.  We used Chris F Clark Photography, and we were very lucky when it came to models as we happen to have some “model” friends who were happy to do the shoot for free!  Good quality photos are fairly important as that old cliché “a photo speaks a thousand words” is true, but don’t panic about the cost of it all-a good tip is to use those you know, (good birthday and Christmas presents usually help with this tactic!) or approach student photographers who want to build up their CV’s.    

So we just need to get our S/S look book sorted, which we can do soon now that the samples for next season have FINALLY arrived!  And that with our press releases will be sent out to the press asap.  We may be too late for a lot of the monthly magazines as they work so far in advance so poor Minna is currently rushing beyond all belief to get the Autumn/Winter collection ready by March so that we can hit the press in April with the new look books and possibly hold a press day (I can see many late night phone calls to Vietnam on their way in the next few weeks!).  In the mean time we are going to target the regional press as well as local for the SE1 area, we are the only boutique in the area so it is something to shout about after all!”

I have sooo much more to say but unfortunately it will have to wait for next time (and I really should get back to work-I’m also doing a Masters at the moment so time is a bit tight!)

Alex xxx

SE1 Press Officer

Is it me or are January and February the longest months of the year?  Not only is the weather dismal but you have all these nice colourful Spring pieces coming into the shops. Unfortunately, its too cold to wear anything but your boring old winter jacket that you just had to buy in October as it was the must jacket according to Elle Magazine. Now it looks nothing like the jacket you purchased after too many visit to dry cleaners as a result of drunken red wine fuelled nights out.

My way of coping with January and February is to ditch my winter jacket (partly because I cannot close it anymore as a result of pregnancy) and to switched to my new SE1 London pink corduroy trench jacket with satin lining and flower brooch. Not only that, but the final Summer samples have arrived, thanks to my dear manufacturer Ms. Nga Vu’s hard work. All samples arrived on time (god bless DHL) and no changes had to be done, I am over the moon!! Profile 5, here I come!

The Summer collection is now sorted and I am ready to hit the beach! Expect limited edition printed wrap dresses and tops for our Top Shop collection in Bazaar and silky bohemian pieces a la Sienna Miller that can be purchased soon from Kingley Court and from my Boutique in London Borough Market.  In an effort to further beat the winter blues, my shop, Boutique SE1, is now filled with new stock.  No more sale signs outside my shop, that is sooooo January!!!!!

Apart from organising my shop to a new season and making the finishing touches to my Summer collection, I have kept myself fit this week going to Bluewater, where we launched last week. After judging our weekly sales, the customers in Kent are determined to keep their winter coats on. My silky pieces have got off to a slow start unlike my sales in London. Maybe the Fashion shows today and tomorrow, organised by LFF will kick- start the Spring sales at Bluewater, as part of my Summer collection will be parading along the catwalk among other designers.

Next week, I am launching our website, just ready for the London Fashion week and me and Alex (my Pr contact) will reveal our Pr plan for the coming season. Marketing and Pr is an area not to be ignored when you run your own label. You can either choose to pay a fortune to a Pr company or to launch your own campaign, as we are about to do. Until then, ditch those winter coats and get ready for Spring!

My fashion lesson of the week is about what to expect when you manufacture abroad. We all know it is cheaper to manufacture off-shore but when things go wrong the expense can increase in a hurry not to mention lack of sleep and stress levels!  Luckily I have been spared any real disasters such as the horror stories you hear about deadlines missed by 4 months or shipments simply never arriving.  My first taste of dealing in a foreign culture came in March last year when I started receiving phone calls at 3:00 am from Vietnam.  Apparently time zone calculations don’t apply in this part of the world!  The typical voicemail would be as follows “Hello, I call from Vietnam.  Call me please”.  I would be left playing the message back a dozen times trying to determine who the female Vietnamese voice actually belonged to!

My biggest fashion disaster so far was part of my Autumn/Winter collection.  This particular jacket arrived on time, but all sizes were completely different. I did not know whether to laugh or cry.  I still do not know what to do with them as half of them are sitting at my house waiting for a fitted blazer trend to emerge among the 10 years old girls (that is how small most of the jackets were).

Not only you will you be subject to production errors, but you suddenly start living according to their calendar year as well.  This week nearly all South-East Asians are preparing for their New Year celebrations and therefore everything for me has been put on hold in London.  I asked my manufacturers in November when would be a good time to come to finish off our Summer collection and they told me that beginning of January would be good, as end of January can be quite busy. Once we got there, to my horror, it started emerging that January and February were not ordinary months. The whole country starts getting ready for Vietnamese New Year, TET and everything shuts down. Call me naïve, but I had no idea that this was their biggest celebration of the year. But my lovely suppliers have been working like mad to finish off their existing orders and finishing off my samples before they go on holiday. So next week, fingers crossed I should have received all the new samples, unless DHL decides to go on a strike.

My tailors in Vietnam managed to finish off most of my jacket order and the results came this week. I have been bouncing around the house wearing my new pinstripe shrunken jacket with satin lining and flower brooch. However, you will not see me wearing this jacket for much longer. My seven months pregnant belly ensures this! Until then, you just have to go and try it on at LFF Boutique at Kingley Court.

My other major projects for this week has been our Bluewater launch where I am about to drive tonight.  All this week I have been preparing inventory and doing endless hours of steaming. Even my husband has mastered this skill brilliantly! My hardworking employee, Sandrine, has taken a week off so I have kept my self fit re-supplying boutiques and running our own boutique in London Borough Market. Hopefully next week I will have some good news regarding the samples and don’t forget to go check out SE1 London at Bluewater!

Starting this week, you will have the privilege to follow the diary of running my label SE1 London. Lots of champagne fuelled parties, celebrity customers and hundreds of stockists from all over the world begging for my designs…... well not just yet!  The reality is rather different!  Welcome to the world of sleepless nights, 3 am phone calls from my manufacturers in Vietnam, endless hours of steaming the garments and the reality of tight deadlines.

SE1 London was born one year ago, while I was travelling in Asia with my husband.  During my travels I became determined not to go back to my City job. Over more than a few cocktails one night, my husband suggested that we start our own label.   Being a fashion junkie, I immediately agreed so the rest of the trip we spent time on researching and finding suppliers rather than lounging by the pool.

My first collection for SE1 London consisted of a range of jackets that we sold at Spitalfields and Portobello market.  The market experience proved to be very valuable. I did not sell my first collection of 200 jackets within a week as I was expecting, but it taught me patience (5 a.m wake ups in order to get a stall, grim weather conditions and poor sales), dealing with different kinds of people and the reality of running your own business.

My business took a huge leap forward when I found a great manufacturer to help me produce all of my designs.  Thankfully, I was able to leave the early mornings and cold days in the markets behind. Rather than just making jackets, I started to create tran-seasonal and colourful garments at the right price points.  I embellished all my designs with the many pretty accessories that I found in the markets and used 100% silk. 

I returned to Vietnam in July and designed a small capsule collection which found its way to Top Shop’s assistant buyer Belinda Manfo.  I was very lucky to have their support and an opportunity to launch my label at Top Shop. Another lucky turning point was to find London Fashion Forum. Not only did I get a chance to showcase my label in the Kingly Court shop, but their support has been amazing and much needed. An added bonus has been to get to know so many other great designers who have been willing to share their experience and knowledge.

To finish of our first year, my husband and I opened up a showroom/boutique in SE1 in the Borough Market.  So I cannot say that it has been a boring year!  Every day has been different and a new learning experience. Our next challenge is to launch at Bluewater and to pray that the new stock will arrive on time, but I will save that for next week……