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Interview with Suky Gardiner & Anna O’Shaughnessy owners of Twist Boutique

 

Suky Gardiner 29 years old (nearly 30!) & Anna O’Shaughnessy 28 years old Met at Manchester University, were on the same campus and then lived together for two years at university.

They have been friends for more than 10 years and own Balham's newest boutique - Twist.

How long have you been In Business?

Just over 6 months.

How long have you lived in the area? (if you do??)

SG – I have lived in Balham for 8 years and have always been local – my Mum and Dad live over Wandsworth Common, which is where I was born and brought up.

AOS – I live in East Dulwich at the moment, but hope to move to Balham soon.

What do you like about Balham? Why did you decide to open Twist here?

SG – We love Balham! No really, Balham has grown into itself over the last few years – has a great mix of people, a range of bars, shops, restaurants and is continuing to evolve. It already had a couple of clothes shops – so by adding another we hoped it could become something of a shopping destination – saving people the stress of going into town. From a practical point of view it also has 2 supermarkets and all of the banks – I have to admit I now rarely leave Balham!

Is it a family business?

AOS - No, although we called in a lot of favours from family (my boyfriend and Suky’s Dad fitted the shop out, a family friend has looked after all legal aspects of the business and another very kindly designed our logo - we are very lucky in this respect, to have had so much help)

What made you decide to set up your own business? How was Twist born?

Both of us had always wanted to open our own shop but for very different reasons. Suky because of her love of fashion and retail background and Anna because she had always wanted to run her own business and use her qualification on a practical basis. We first sat down to discuss our ideas in October last year. Originally, we had thought to open the shop as a predominantly lingerie boutique – this is where the name Twist originated (get your knicker in a ……..), but we felt this was too limiting and that there was still room for another clothing retailer in Balham and perhaps we could combine the two together.

Twist was born relatively quickly, mainly because we found the perfect unit and realised we could get the place opened in time to make the most of the Christmas trade. So in the end, there were only a few months between agreeing to pursue our dream and our opening night. There were a lot of late nights at Suky’s house labelling and organising stock, 2 am finishes in the shop painting, wall papering and cleaning …but on the 5^th December, sleep deprived and a little jaded but beautifully dressed, 100 friends and family joined us in the shop for our opening party.

What did you do before?

SG – Worked in the Buying offices of several well known high street retailers, including M&S – my last 2 roles were as Menswear Buyer for White Stuff and then Mens/Ladies wear buyer for the re-launch of Hawkshead.

AOS – Chartered accountant in the city. I still do some work as a teacher of accountancy in north London.

Who are your favourite designers?

AOS – (although I can’t afford it) I love Philip Lim dresses, Alberta Ferrari’s Philosophy range and Diane von Fustenberg.

SG – One of our designers Jovonna is fantastic, otherwise I take inspiration from people like Paul and Joe Sister, Malene Birger, Chloe, Temperley and MiuMiu.

What are your future plans for Twist? Another shop? Selling online?

We hope to sell on line before the end of the year.

Another shop would be great – we will have to see how we are doing at the end of the year.

We are in the process of developing our own fashion label which we hope to launch this year/early next as well as a bespoke dress service where clients can chose from a range of designs and fabrics.

What makes your business special?

Our philosophy at Twist really centres around three key concepts:

We want to be able to offer our customers quality clothing with a difference at reasonable prices, sourced from a mix of labels, both up and coming London fashion designers as well as some well known long standing brands, because we feel there is increasingly little real choice on the high street.

Secondly, our small size allows us to offer a fast turnover of stock – meaning that each and every week there is something new for our regular customers.

Lastly, we wanted our customers to be able to shop locally in a relaxed environment and bring enjoyment back to the shopping experience, without having to travel and battle the crowds of central London.

Twist Boutique, 25 Harberson Road, SW12

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06.10.08 - Upcoming Local Events

16.09.08 - Street Pastor Scheme

10.06.08 - Balham & Tooting Carnival 2008 30th & 31st August