How do you describe to people what you do and your design style?
Peony & Moore is all about classic British style and providing handbags which are of both high quality and great design but not at a designer price tag. We like to give added value and believe you can have a great piece without paying £500+. Our designs are a mixture of both contemporary styles and a more vintage feel. We pride ourselves on ‘thoughtful’ design, therefore the bags are all well planned and well road tested! For example, we use light cotton linings so you can find your keys, we have pockets to fit a smart phone, some of the pockets have false buckles and actually use a magnet closure so you get the style element but not the fuss of practically using a buckle.
What sort of comments do you get about your designs?
We have a very loyal customer base who tend to repeat purchase from us over the year. Our bags are viewed as very high quality for the price. The leather is probably the most talked about aspect, we use Italian leathers and hardware and they just feel so much better than leathers from the far east which tend to be hard, stiff and brittle. The leather we use on the “Lucia”bag for example is buttery soft, a lovely grainy leather which is used on designer bags. We made a
conscious decision to use Italian leather to ensure we had a USP over the UK high street and offer our customers a far better quality proposition.
Our collection is also handmade, most are hand stitched so the craftsmanship and attention to detail has to be of the highest quality.
Pam Palmer and Lucy Clayphan of “Peony and Moore” with their best-seller bag “Lucia”.
What is your background?
With a handbag addiction of my own and a great love for fashion, in 2009, I set up Peony & Moore with Pam Palmer. I have a sales & marketing background
having learnt the ropes at HJ Heinz in Brand Management. I gained my Charterted Institiute of Marketing Diploma many years ago and have built a career successfully marketing & building brands for clients. Pam Palmer has successfully run other businesses for many years & has a wealth of business acumen which complements our team. She is also a handbag addict. (This may even be a medical affliction nowadays!)
Why did you start doing what you do?
After years of marketing other businesses, I wanted to market something for myself. With a love for fashion and after extensive research and trips to the large trade fairs in Milan we recognized a gap in the market from the UK high street offering handbags up to £100 and the designer entry level handbags at £500+. We decided to fill the gap, thus Peony & Moore was created.
Which designers do you rate highly and why?
I think British design is second to none. Anya Hindmarch has been a key ambassador for handbag design, introducing classic handbags using beautiful quality leathers and hardware. I am also a Vivienne Westwood fan, for her eccentricity and brave attitude towards fashion, yet makes her collection commercial through wearability.
Tell us about your design process from concept, production and to the shelves…
Our designs start from flicking through magazines, watching trends, seeing new leathers, hardware and gaining inspiration from everyday life. Each season I will have key styles which I want to create, (a top handle, a tote, a clutch) then I sit with a sketch pad and create. Sometimes I’ll see something in the street, I have stalked an unsuspecting lady through the aisles, just to get a better look at a lock or a finish! I bring together the concept with a series of sketches & detailed brief which is sent to our craftsmen to interpret. Samples are then created which go back and forth for a few weeks, leathers are changed, often locks and clasps are mixed and matched and then a final sample is signed off between Pam and myself.
Production can then take up to 4-6 weeks, dependent on the leathers required. During production, our final sample is taken to the photographic studio for the website shots and we take to the streets, or countryside for the lifestyle shots.
Our web designer then creates the page, this is normally sat waiting to go live when the stock arrives. Once stock is approved through quality control they go onto the shelves and the product page goes live. Et viola!
How do you think your brand has developed?
Initially, we sold 5 or 6 european brands under the Peony & Moore umbrella, including GABS Florence, Gianni Chiarini and Massimo Trulli. However over the first year, it became clear to the team that we could design and manufacture better bags. Our own label collection was created a year ago (in 2010), therefore the brand is now synonymous with our own label rather than the other collections. We are gaining a loyal following and we have gained some fantastic coverage in 
RED Magazine, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Easy Living and Harpers to name a few.
What do you hate most about your job?
Nothing… Well, that’s not entirely true, I have to admit to being the happiest I have ever been in a career, however I do still groan at the amount of emails I get through daily!
What are your main achievements and what do you aim to achieve now?
Our best achievement to date is launching our own label collection and surviving our first 2 years in business. Our biggest challenge for the future is to get our handbags out there and build our brand.
What advice would you have for anyone starting out in?
Fashion retailing is a highly competitive market so you’ll have to work the hardest you ever have; however, keep in mind that it will be the most satisfying thing you’ve ever done.
Why do you think British design stands out on the global stage?
British design manages to successfully bridge the gap between pushing the boundaries, with eccentric style on the catwalk, and implementing commercial designs which people want to buy. We do this better than anyone else in the world. It also helps that the British are fashion junkies and we not only have great ‘fast’ fashion, but a fantastic pillar of established UK designers leading world fashion.