Brand Spotlight … 10 minutes with Salthouse England!

“Life is short, buy the bag!”

Today’s brand spotlight is the amazing Salthouse England. Salthouse England is an incredible accessories and clothing brand, focusing on empowering women through timeless, elegant pieces. This is one of my favourite brands, and if you’ve followed me or my social medias for a while, you’ll know I’ve worked closely with this brand for a while now, as well as being a keen customer!

I am so excited to introduce to you Anna, the beauty and brains behind this incredible brand.

So grab a glass of your favourite beverage, and let’s delve into the world of Salthouse!

It is so great to have you on the blog, thank you for joining me! Please could you introduce yourself to the CCL readers?

Hey guys, I’m Anna, one of the founders of Salthouse. I’m 39, I love the great outdoors, dog walking, baking, fashion, eating out and travelling. I have worked in leather goods manufacturing for over 20 years and I oversee all of the commercial aspects of Salthouse.

We would love to know what inspired Salthouse England, and how has the business evolved since launching?

Great question, we have always loved travelling and exploring and with a background in leather goods, a cute little bag for carrying your essentials when exploring seemed like a great place to start. The Serafina clutch bag was the first product to launch and is still one of our best sellers today, likely to be seen at the races, pub lunches and cocktails with the girls.

The countryside has massively inspired the evolution of Salthouse, especially with the earthy colour pallet. The introduction of clothing and footwear has been tremendously popular, so you can expect to see a lot more of that.

The Serafina is certainly a favourite here at CCL, and we’ve loved watching the launch of the clothing and footwear! What is it that you feel makes Salthouse England unique?

In our early days we were advised that selling seasonal colours would benefit our business, however we realised that this wasn’t a sustainable direction for Salthouse and we don’t want to contribute to the overconsumption of fashion. For us it’s about helping our customers create a great capsule wardrobe with high quality, timeless and transeasonal pieces.

That is such an important point about sustainability. With your beautiful, timeless collection of products, can you pick a favourite product? (Or is that an impossible question!)

I love this question, but it’s a tricky one. I would have to say the Rosa Loafers are one of my favourite products purely because they’re so comfortable, elegant and timeless, they seamlessly fit into my wardrobe. Then I’d have to add one of our Jilliana belts because I love to match. Bag wise it’s between the Floriana and the Julieta crossbody, probably because they both have two ways they can be worm and I love having styling options! Of course I’d add our Signature Tee to almost any outfit, I’ve dressed it up with a blazer and heels for work and I’ve dressed it down with denim short in the summer. I love versatility in a product and I love timeless products that can be worn year round, year after year, I am all about a capsule wardrobe.

We love versatility in a product too, and you certainly nail that with the Salthouse pieces! Where do you see Salthouse England in 5 years time?

You can expect to see a great deal more clothing, you’ll be able to dress head to toe in Salthouse.

Love the sound of being able to dress head to toe!! Out of the collection, which product is your best seller?

Our top three best sellers are our Italian suede Rosa Loafers, they sell all year round, our Adira bag is loved by thousands, and Autumn time the Elektra Gloves sell out super fast. Our best selling colour is always tan, it’s a great transeasonal colour.

What would be your proudest moment so far?

The Game Fair show stand. It was amazing to see our brand come to life and even more amazing to meet so many of our customers. We had so many amazing compliments about the stand, the brand and of course the products.

Your stand at The Game Fair was absolutely beautiful, what an achievement! There must be so many things, but what would you consider your favourite part of the job?

Seeing customers wearing the products I have designed is always a pinch me moment. As a small business I get the opportunity to do so many things within our business which is so varied and means I am always learning new skills, which I love.

What shows can we expect to see you at in the upcoming year?

The Game Fair at Blenheim Palace and we’re planning to apply for a few others, keep your eyes peeled.

We are very excited for The Game Fair at Blenheim Palace next year!
Amongst the shows and time at HQ, how do you stay creative ?

I love being outdoors and walk everyday, that really helps clear my mind if I am distracted. I enjoy baking, I love that you can create something in a few hours, unlike a lot of what I do which takes a while to come to life. I’m a country girl through and through but there’s something about going to the city which really ignites me. The hustle and bustle, the outfits, the interiors of coffee shops and restaurants, the architecture of cit and, seasonal fashion within the department stores.

We would love to know who from the industry you admire?

A few of our favourite brands include: Really Wild, Troy London and Beaufort & Blake. A few of our favourite influencers include: Alex Collins, Noelia Bonilla, Laura Blair, Lydia Tomlinson and Emma Hothersall

We love an exclusive here. Is there a sneak peak that you can drop to the CCL readers?

We’re developing some beautiful new products, one of them being some stunning deck shoes which you can expect to see in the next few months. You may have seen some sneak peeks on our socials, I have been testing them out to make sure they reach my high standards. Comfort is so important to me and they must be feminine and elegant at the same time. We’re also sampling some incredible clothing at the moment and we cannot wait to share that with you. Watch this space.

Finally, so many aspire to be a business owner. Is there any advice you can give for someone dreaming of starting their own business or brand?

It’s really important to do your research and make a plan. Once you’ve done this just start. By starting you are realising your dream and as soon as you make your first move it will all start to come together. Whilst the perfectionist side of me hates the phrase “good enough is good enough”, when you start out it really is. If you wait for everything to align and be perfect you’ll never start.

5 quick fire questions with Anna…

First job?
Working in a leather goods factory.

What’s one thing you refuse to buy the cheap version of?
My face moisturiser for sure, looking after my skin has always been important and I love skincare and makeup. ESPA is my favourite moisturiser.

Biggest fear?
Not achieving all of my dreams early enough to enjoy them.

Text or voice note?
I use text but I love voice notes so not sure why I haven’t adopted this yet. I love the personal touch like FaceTime rather than a phone call. Watch out friends, voice notes incoming!

Advice you’d give your younger self?
Everything in life can come and go so easily. Trying to find a direction / destination can be hard and cause pressure. Enjoy the journey because you’ll miss so much if you’re only focused on the destination. And remember it’s never too late to change the destination.

DISCOUNT CODE:

Use ‘LUCINDA10’ for discount

Who would you like to see on the next brand spotlight?!

Thats’s all for now my darlings, see you in the next blog!

Lots of love, Lucinda xo

‘Life is short, buy the bag”
– Unknown