Jean Howes from Penzance and www.cornishkiddies.co.uk

Jean Howes from Penzance in Cornwall can’t remember a time when she didn’t love fabrics and making things. She got her first sewing machine when she was five and made all her own dolls’ clothes, using patterns she designed herself. But the thought of turning her passion into a business didn’t occur to Jean until her eldest daughter started playgroup and the other mums asked where her dresses came from.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t until 1992 that Jean, then in her early 40s and having made dozens of children’s frocks, for free, for mums who supplied her with the material, launched “Cornish Kiddies” from a market stall in Penzance.

Since then, she’s built up a loyal following of customers (among them the actor Johnny Depp and the Dutch Royal Family) who love her unique range of classic dresses with matching hats and bags, made from unusual, high quality fabrics.

With the help of her accountant husband who keeps the books, does the cutting out and, since she bought him his own machine, sews as well, Jean operates her Cornish Kiddies stall in Penzance six months of the year when the seaside town is crowded with tourists. They also sell at major shows and fairs.

She says: “We go off to the Far East for an annual winter break where I combine business with pleasure and buy my labels, buttons and a lot of the fabrics. I design a new Cornish Kiddies range every year and as soon as we return from holiday, it’s back to work to build up a stock of at least 300 dresses, with more sewing done during the season. We work really hard between April and September and I do get fed up sometimes – especially when bad weather affects our sales – but I love the business.”

Jean decided to sign up for the Penwith Enterprise Island Challenge because she was thinking of expanding Cornish Kiddies by opening a shop. She says: “The Enterprise Island Challenge was a great help, particularly in building up my marketing and research skills. In the end, I decided not to open a shop but to grow the business through my website. I came to realise that, especially in the current recession, shop overheads could have been crippling. In fact, all the shop-based children’s wear businesses in Penzance have now closed.”

www.cornishkiddies.co.uk

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