LABOO so far...

Hello! Welcome to our first journal post! Wanted to start this off by giving you a bit of background to LABOO and my journey building the business so far…

So my name is Charlotte and my working background is that I was a designer for high-street brands for 15 years. When I had my first son, I realised that I did not want to work for others due to the in-flexibility of working hours and I really wanted to be  an active mum in my children’s lives.

Once I had decided to start my own business, I established that the main focuses would be offering a personal shopping experience with an active involvement within the community, to make women feel positive about themselves no matter their size and stocking good quality, sustainable brands for everyone. My previous working experience gave insight into issues with over manufacturing and the direct impact it had on people and workers which really informed my buying choices to this day.

In the formative months of LABOO, I intended on it only going to exist online but then the opportunity was given to me by a friend to rent the first shop I occupied on Lee Road in 2018. The first shop was a success and established relationships with some wonderful locals over the two years I spent in that space. 

In 2020 another opportunity for a larger retail space came up two doors down and I seized it. At this time I started the natural progression of product range expansion from being predominantly as clothing, into accessories and gifting as I already had confidence in this field from my previous work.  Since 2020, I have further expanded my range to include vintage jewellery and kimonos, both of which were heavily inspired by my mum who was a vintage dealer working in Shoreditch in my early life.

Working with smaller brands allowed me to cultivate a space where customers could find pieces all in one boutique which were not available on the high street. Our buying approach is not trend based, but rather hoping to encourage conscious shopping which helps build a wardrobe full of pieces that last us years and make us feel good with every wear. 

I have to say I was only able to open the shop with ongoing support from family as everyone brought invaluable skills into the creation of LABOO’s physical existence.

I now have a team of amazing women working with me with Marialena in the salon, Beth and Mia and of course my mum who has been a fantastic ongoing cheerleader for me throughout the last five years!

Now as a single mum, running my own business, life is nonstop but the decision to start my own business has been the best one I've ever made. You learn that money comes and goes and I feel lucky to have built an amazing network of people through my time building LABOO, I can't wait to carry on growing this year!