Hull in print : Feature

She finds inspiration from London Fashion Week, Vogue magazine and the latest collections from Chanel and Dior.
And she's already predicted the designs that will be popular in Spring 2009, which, she says, will include giraffe print and peacock feather styles.
Twenty-five-year old Laura Booth is known as 'the creative one' in her company.
Her designs carry wacky names such as 'mystical,' 'legend, 'candy girl' and 'wild thing' – and are reported, on the company website, to have started a bit of a cult following.
So what is this special product?
It might not have been immediately obvious that we're talking about Wellington boots here!
'WedgeWelly' wellingtons are slightly different to your average wellies, however, in that they have a little heel or wedge.
They were invented by Laura, along with her friend and former work colleague Sarah Longthorn (30), while planning a trip to Glastonbury festival.
"Sarah didn't want to go if she had to wear wellies, because she only ever wears heels," said Laura.
"So we looked on the Internet to see if we could buy any wellies with heels – but there weren't any, so we decided to make our own!"
With the help of their partners Mark and Michael, the women set up the company WedgeWelly, which now owns the exclusive rights to the 'wedge wellington boot' design.
Sarah is now 'the wise one' (managing director), Michael is 'the money maker' (sales), and Mark 'the voice' (marketing).

A foot in the door

Don't need no sunshine: Laura (left) and Sarah

Launched in June this year, with its head office on Kingswood, the company has so far sold more than 1,000 pairs of WedgeWellies.
And it's just received another 1,000 pairs from its factory in China, ready for Christmas sales.
Another 1,300 pairs are on the way for next spring (including the the giraffe and peacock print styles).
And high street retailer Next has placed an order for 700 pairs.
Meanwhile, celebrities Holly Willoughby and Kate Nash are said to be wearing them and TV presenter and fashion consultant Gok Wan has requested a pair – although the boots are aimed mainly at women and girls at the moment.
"We originally thought of them just for the festival market but we're finding people are wearing them in all types of other situations, including walking the dog and going shopping," says Sarah.
"And don't worry guys...we're also working on a design for men too, as well as a kids' range."

Leg up from the council

Laura and Sarah are among 600 entrepreneurs from Hull who have received financial support in setting up their businesses from Hull City Council's Acorn Fund.
The company received a grant of £2,000, which was used to buy IT equipment, including a lap top.
"The laptop's been a massive help in loads of ways," says Laura.
"We took it with us when we went down to the Next head office in Leicester, and used it to show them images of some of our designs.
"We also use it for updating the website with all sorts of galleries, blogs and latest news."

Could your business benefit?

The Acorn Fund provides one-off grants, to a maximum of £2,500, and loans of up to £15,000, to job creating businesses which are less than three years old and based within the postcode areas of HU1 to HU9.
"We're committed to helping those people who have a viable business proposition and whose projects have the potential to create new jobs in the city of Hull," says Peter Sykes, funding manager of Hull's Chamber of Commerce, which is responsible for distributing the fund.
"If you're thinking of starting a business or have done so in the last three years, but are struggling to raise the required funding for capital purchases from conventional sources, then we may be able to help you."

Win some wellies for Christmas

To win one of two pairs of WedgeWellies, just answer the following question:
How many parks, playgrounds and playing fields does Hull City Council maintain?

A: more than a million
B: a couple
C: 136
Send your answer, and shoe size, to WedgeWelly Competition, Hull in print, The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull, HU1 2AA.
The closing date is January 31.

info

For more information about the Acorn Fund visit www.hullbdf.com or call 300300. For more details about WegdeWellies visit www.wedgewelly.co.uk


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