Yawn
Yawn make nightwear and accessories, designed in London with unique hand painted prints. We spoke to them about their business and plans for the future
The first product, Willow Tree Gin, launched in June 2017 and is handcrafted using a combination of 12 botanicals and freshly picked herbs. The process of selectively smoking botanicals gives Willow Tree Gin its distinctive flavour. Mary takes our Q&A session.
My inspiration for starting the business stems from my time in Detroit. As an adventurous twenty-something, I developed a love of travel and adventure and spent 5 years in the U.S. American’s love for risk-taking and entrepreneurship rubbed off on me and sowed the seed of developing my own product and embarking on my own gin creating journey!
I have been a member of GS1 UK for 6 months, since I started trading.
I'm working on it but nothing confirmed just yet, but watch this space! I do love meeting my customers at the markets as their feedback and encouragement is invaluable. Since launching in June, my main sales channels have been local stockists and farmers markets. I also sell in local pubs and I am currently developing relationships with retailers and distributors.
There's no typical day as every day is different! A distilling day would involve a start at around 6:30 am. I always need to start my day with meditation and stretching, a cup of herbal tea and then it’s straight outside to prep the still and pick fresh herbs.
All my botanicals go into the still and once I start the process I will have a few minutes to grab breakfast. The distilling takes around 6 to 8 hours depending on the size of the distillation run that I am doing.
I always finish my day with a 30 minute run to wind down, something I can do whether I am at home or at the farm. Late afternoon and evening is sometimes a time to catch up with family and emails.
It still feels that there are more pros than cons. I love the fact that I have the freedom to manage my time and also the variety in my working life. In any one week I will be distilling, bottling, labelling as well as sales, admin and planning events. Future planning and coming up with new product ideas which requires experimentation, is also something I enjoy. The main downside is working on my own. Although I have a support network, I could sometimes do with another pair of hands!
The biggest challenge is probably the same as others running their own business, not enough hours in the day and cash flow. Because I am passionate about what I do and because I see my journey as an adventure, it is sometimes a challenge to switch off and have a healthy work, life balance.
My plans are to focus on developing new products, growth and increasing brand awareness.
In my late teens, I applied to be a horse racing jockey at the British Racing School in Newmarket!
Jo Malone. She had no formal training but followed her passion. She had to overcome adversity in her life and believes in reinvention and growth as a person. She keeps moving forward. I have been inspired also by the correlation between fragrances in her perfume and flavours in gin.
Keep moving forward and keep learning. Don’t be scared to take risks and surround yourself with positive people who support you.
Visit willowtreedistilling.co.uk or follow on Twitter and Facebook
Yawn make nightwear and accessories, designed in London with unique hand painted prints. We spoke to them about their business and plans for the future
Their founder spoke to GS1 UK about starting the business and the challenges ahead