Gift Focus - Jul/Aug 2018 (Issue 108)

fashion, homewares and nature. Additional designs are added to ranges consistently, but totally new collections are launched on average four times per year. What have been the key milestones in the business? Molly Mae will celebrate 10 years exhibiting at Home & Gift in Harrogate this July, so that’s a big milestone. A couple of years ago, we won a local business award. By winning this award, we received help from experts in a variety of different fields, and that has allowed us to run our business more efficiently and helped the business grow. So winning was a very proud moment for Molly Mae but has also been essential in the business’s success. How are you finding the current economic climate in the UK? Is it affecting business? We use UK-based businesses for all our card, envelopes, printing supplies and so on, so any external economic problems have not affected us. In fact, we have seen continuous growth in the business over the past two years. Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? Yes Molly Mae is active on social media, and we regularly post on Instagram and Facebook, as well making the odd tweet here and there. We find it creates good links with new trade customers, suppliers and direct public customers and is helping to lift the business’ profile within the industry. We use Instagram to connect customers with our artistic side too, as we can show designs in progress or videos of Stacey creating new drawings. It’s also a great tool for our customers to provide instant feedback. Do you visit trade shows? Which ones, and how are these important for the business? We exhibit at Spring Fair in Birmingham, at Home & Gift in Harrogate and, this year, we also exhibited at Top Drawer London. The shows are great for meeting and engaging with new customers, for meeting potential new suppliers and to network with our peers face-to-face. Do you have any tips for new traders? Try to be an individual, find a style that’s unique to you and follow that. What can we expect in the future from Molly Mae? We have lots more exciting new designs and ranges, so look out for Spring 2019, when we will be launching some new beautiful botany- influenced designs. For further information: +44 (0)1455 557 115 mollymae.co.uk 30 giftfocus