Natasha Clayton - Rebel Rocks Interview

Rebel Rocks started in July 2010 by Natasha Clayton, she sells handmade jewellery & accessories with some custom orders and gift boxes. She works at home. Natasha currently sells her work through an online shop on Facebook, payments are made via Paypal. This was an emailed interview.

Business Name?
Rebel Rocks (London)

What inspires your product design?Tattoos, Rockabilly, sweets, music.

Where did your business idea come from?
To be honest I came up with the idea because I was so bored with my full time office job, fed up with working for someone else and making them rich! lol, and always being skint! I wanted to make extra money by doing something fun. I still have the boring office job, for now!

Who is your target audience?
Mostly young women around the 18-30 age group. It is a very social age group and I thought that they would be more likely to spend money on fashion jewellery than any other age groupor sex. I have tried not to appeal to one type of person though (eg. just scene kids etc) as figured that would narrow my audience.

What is your actual target audience?
As well as 18-30 year old women, I have also received orders from older people and as well as customised jewellery to fit children, so I am pleased that it is appealing to a wider audience.

Any unexpected expenditures?
Not yet! I pretty much had planned for everything I would need to pay out for, tools, materials, packaging, advertising. No nasty surprises yet! I have purchased my domain names for mywebsite however haven't set the site up yet. I'm currently learning Photoshop then want to go onto Illustrator/Web Design so I'm hoping I can save money by setting it up myself.

Are your profits what you expected?
To be honest I really didn't know what to expect, I hoped to at least break even to start off with, however sales are better than I expected, especially considering how new the business is. I wanted to start selling my items at low prices to start with, so as to attract more customers and make my name known, so although I am making a profit its not huge right now.

Have you received any funding?
Nope. I pay for everything myself.
How do you publise your product?
At the moment I publicise on social networking sites - Facebook and MySpace. These sites are used by such a wide range of people I thought it would be a good place to start advertising. It is also free, so that helps! Also by word of mouth, if people are happy with my product I'm hoping that they will spread the word!
I own my domain names and will be setting up my website in due course.

What do you expect to happen in the next 12 months?
I have no idea what to expect. I have always believed that if you don't expect too much then you will never be disappointed. Of course I'm hoping that my business will become more well known and popular, and make a bigger profit. Within the next 12 months I am hoping tostart designing and printing my own clothing - t-shirts, vests and hoodies for women and women, and t-shirts and vests for babies.

Did/Have you considered an online shop/a retail shop?
When the website is set up customers will be able to buy online. I love the idea of having my own shop. But I don't think that will be happening any time soon!

How have Art & Craft Fairs retributed your product?As my business is so new I have not sold my products at any fairs or markets yet. I am hoping that I will be able to do this next year.

What percentage gets spent on overheads?
I work from home, in my spare time, so no shop or office to pay out for. Pretty much everything I sell at the moment is made my hand so the biggest expenditure at the moment is my time.

Are you an independent seller?
Yes.
Do you sell through commissions/distributors?
No.

What is your price range?
At the moment my cheapest product is £1 and the most expensive is £11.

Crown Earrings £2.50, Cherry Necklace £3.50, Cupcake Necklace £6.00, gift box £1.50

Has your business been involved in fundraising?
Not yet but I would be willing to get involved with this kind of thing once by business is more well known.

How long have you had your own business set up?
I made my first items in June 2010 and set the Facebook and MySpace up in July 2010.

Like you I would like to set up my own business but in Stationary, do you have any advice on setting up your own business?
Make a list of everything you need to get started: materials, tools and equipment, packaging, advertising... and how much it will all cost. Is there anyone that can help you out advertising wise? Do lots of research online to see what other products are out there and try to make yours unique. Also research materials suppliers as there are millions and you can usually find the same items much cheaper if you look around. Think about how much it will cost you to make an item, how much of your time it will take to make it, and what you will sell it for. Go with your own ideas, thats what will make your product 'you'. Good luck! :)

An extract from Rebel Rocks bio on their site -
Inspired by: Kitsch, Tattoos, Graffiti, Junk, Trash, Kids, Punk, Emo, Rock, Kawaii, Pin-up girls, Rockabilly, Cupcakes, Vintage, Disney, Dolly, Hair, Cute, Movies, Art, Sweets, Snowboarding, Motocross, Surfing, Indie, Music, Anime, Scene.