Hello, and welcome to the first ever Country Bumpkin Chic Chats to… blog series!
What’s it all about I hear you ask? Well, it’s an exciting new spring/summer blog series where we’ll get up close & a little bit personal with some fabulous equestrian & countryside brands & personalities.
Hopefully you’ll discover some new brands & find out something that you never knew about the ones you do.
First up in the Country Bumpkin Chic Chats to series let me introduce you to the talented & very lovely Alice Owen from Alice Rose & Co a marketing & design company business who also designed the brand new Country Bumpkin Chic logo – which we hope you all like? 😊
1. Tell us what made you want to set up a marketing and design agency?
The whole journey started when I launched my country clothing line Alice & Country around 4-5 years ago. Despite having no previous fashion experience, I had to do everything from the design, managing production through to the marketing all by myself.
After releasing the first collection I was exhausted, and the prospect of doing it all over again filled me with dread. However, the bit that I enjoyed the most was the marketing and design aspects. I was still providing these creative services on a freelance basis to other companies, which carried on from my previous job working in an equestrian digital agency, plus it supported me financially during that year.
Rather than continuing with the clothing business I decided to focus only on what I was passionate about – which was creative design. And after noticing a lack of these services in the equestrian market I decided to set up my own design agency Alice Rose & Co. It was a relatively easy transition and something that filled me with far more excitement!
2. Where do you get your creative inspiration from?
All designers have their own unique style and mine has, and is, evolving over time. I love clean, elegant and colourful designs, and I especially love logos which are simple and instantly recognisable. My inspiration comes from a lot of things, my phone is full of photos of shop windows, posters and things that have caught my eye whilst I’ve been out and about. Whenever I go into a shop or online shopping, I am always analysing the branding and their promotions and taking note of what works well and what doesn’t!
3. Explain the type of projects you work on and businesses or brands you work with.
As an agency, we actually cover a broad spectrum of projects. This is something that has always been a passion of mine, as I love being able to produce a variety of work, and my amazing team of specialists are on hand to provide each service at an expert level.
My favourite projects have to be in creative design, which includes branding, websites and digital and print design. But as my previous background is in marketing we also offer a range of digital marketing services, social media management, copywriting, event coverage and photo and video production for businesses looking for the full package.
We work with businesses from the equestrian, rural and luxury lifestyle markets, which I find all tie together quite well! Our clientele also includes high profile riders, equine sporting events, online retailers, interior design companies and even spas! Making sure that we are the right fit for our clients is important to us, as we always want our passion for the project to be evident in the final result.
4. Which brand has been your favourite to work with and why?
This is such a tricky question! I’ve really enjoyed working on the new EcoGreen Equestrian website as I think their products are fab and re-designing something old into something that’s new and fresh is always satisfying. Plus, Vicky is so lovely!
I also thoroughly enjoyed working with Horseshoe Hearts on their logo and branding. Again, I really love their products, and they were so friendly to work with and drawing up the concepts for their branding was really exciting.
5. Is there any brand or person you’d love to work with in the future?
I really enjoy working with spas and wellness brands, so after this lockdown I’m going to look into working with more of these types of businesses. I personally LOVE spa days and it would be great to combine my passion (something other than horses) with work too.
Quick fire Country Bumpkin Chic round:
1. Fave country or equestrian event to attend… (obviously when lockdown isn’t taking place)
It’s got to be Burghley – I’ve been going since a young teenager and it’s right on my doorstep! I can’t eat a pork and stuffing roll without being reminded of walking through the shopping village.
2. What item could you not survive without?
This is random – but my Chilly’s water bottle. I only like drinking really cold water and these bottles are honestly the best at keeping your water fresh and cool. I literally take it everywhere with me.
3. Favourite colour?
Anything pastel!
4. Favourite font?
This changes on a weekly if not a daily basis… But right now, I’m loving handwritten scripts. I’ve been doing some prints to go on our living room wall, and I’m obsessed with the ‘Collection’ typeface.
5. Top piece of advice for anyone looking to start a business?
Talk to other business owners. I cannot tell you how much value I have gained from speaking to other professionals who have had years more experience than me in the same industry. It’s always great to get support from others and gaining an expert’s insight can be priceless.
Thank you, Alice, for being my debutant to Country Bumpkin Chic Chats to blog series & of course for my beautiful new logo!
Where all the places we can find Alice Rose & Co on social?
- Instagram: @aliceroseandco
- Facebook: Alice Rose and Co
- Website: aliceroseandco.com
