Getting to know us
Hi, itโs Laura here (or Loops as some of you know me) I thought Iโd reintroduce ourselves and give you a little insight to the behind the scenes here at Loop the Loop. I co-founded the business a few years ago with my then boyfriend, now husband, Adam, when we moved to the Brecon Beacons in lovely South Wales. Weโve always wanted to be our own boss and run a business that would fit round our lifestyle. We arenโt the typical 9 to 5 type people, we like a more flexible working life. Plus, we now have a little boy, Harry, and Iโve always wanted to look after him at home and enjoy the precious few years before he has to go to school. So, a flexible style business was what we were after, and an online store was the perfect solution. ย
I have always been interested in interiors but the spark was reignited when I was asked to do some painting and decorating for some family friends. They had an amazing house and exceptional taste and style. It was a turning point and made me realise how much I wanted to become further involved with interiors and sourcing beautiful products. We then moved to rural Wales and the rest is history, so they say. An average day here at Loop the Loop would firstly involve walking our gorgeous pointer Otti with our two year old Harry, then sending out orders, answering any queries or requests, researching new products and updating our blog and social media plus making any changes to the website. If we take delivery of any new items, I spend time planning how they will feature on the website, then itโs photoshoot time. And, of course spending time with Harry is very important. Last yearโs high points for Loop the Loop have included the amazing response weโve had from stylists and the press, dealing with such lovely customers and being able to find even more lovely products and expand our collection. For us the most helpful website in terms of capturing inspiration has been Pinterest and or course thereโs also Instagram. It allows us to recognise recent trends and interior style ideas. It has also helped with planning photoshoots - we do most photos ourselves and weโre still learning, so Pinterest helps when weโre stuck for styling ideas. My most overused phraseโฆ โPerseverance is keyโ and โIf it was easy everyone would be doing it.โ What I canโt live withoutโฆ itโs an obvious one but it has to be my iphone. Thatโs one of the great things about running a business online: if Iโm out and about sourcing products I can still keep up-to-date with orders coming in or any enquiries, plus take photos for Instagram and social media. My advice to a budding entrepreneur thinking of starting up a business isโฆ Make sure you give yourself enough time and be patient. If you decide to โgo for itโ you need to give it 100%. One thing you might not know about usโฆ The name Loop the Loop comes from the nickname Adamโs brothersโ gave me which is โLoopsโ. The best piece of advice Iโve ever been givenโฆ Iโm not sure where this advice actually came from but itโs always important to remember how far you have come and not take it for granted, when I look back at how much weโve achieved in the past years with Loop the Loop it really motivates me to keep pushing forward. We began trading during the recession and were prepared for it, as weโre still growing the business we know that we have to adapt to changes and luckily weโve been able to do that so far. I believe that nowadays most customers look for good quality products that will last and look timeless, thatโs why we try and source well designed and made pieces. We admire our amazing friends and family, they have given us a tremendous amount of help and support in the past few years and we feel extremely lucky to have them. In five yearsโ time I hope that Loop the Loop will be offering a broader, bigger range of products and have a more prominent presence online. Iโd like us to be known for providing an excellent, personal customer service and have even more happy customers. It would also be exciting if we could design and offer our very own, branded products.
