How did Collagerie come about?

S: We were sitting around having a coffee and talking about what we were wearing.  For example, the way you have a pair of Jimmy Choos that you have been wearing for years and you’ve paired it with a new discovery from Instagram. So we thought why not create this edit online?  It was a total lightbulb moment when we both looked at each other at the same time and said, ‘We’ve got to do this.’ If we both need it and we are different ages, then there has got to be a place for this beautiful, digital shopping experience.

L: It’s a bit like being a stand up comedian.  The reason why they are funny is because they are standing up and saying what everyone else is thinking.  We are the shopping equivalent, telling and sharing with everybody what we think are the greatest design and shopping finds.  It’s a big shopping share.

S: It’s also very inclusive, whatever your budget there is something there for you from high street to designer.  Our name reflects that – we wanted a space where things come together for all people.   Originally we thought of ‘Collate’ but we wanted something that sounded a bit more French so Collagerie was perfect!

Do you think it came about because of the two of you had the idea together or do you think you would have done it on your own?

L: I don’t think I would have but I think you would Serena.

S: When I was at University, I started an embellished underwear business from my dorm room!  I was always keen to do something.

L: We are both have that entrepeneurial spirit.  I sold earrings, Serena sold underwear!  But Collagerie was more about solving the problem to a need rather than just the idea of setting up a business.

The look and colours of Collagerie are very distinctive – was this on purpose?

L: The look and the feel of Collagerie was really very important for both of us.  We go on lots of sites and we wanted to make Collagerie different but most importantly we wanted to make it the most pleasurable experience we could online.  And to make it as inspirational and uplifting as it could be involves colour.  Colour is important to both of us and it made it feel different.  Understandably quite a lot of people are afraid of colour and when Collagerie introduces it, it is in a v appealing way.  We  want to be inclusive and we want to be right there right with our customer, shopping with them, encouraging them to climb out of their comfort zone a bit.  Colour is a great way to doing that as it is so inspiring.

S: And prints.  Lucinda and I might be different ages and have a different style but we both have a real passion for prints and colour.  So it was a big starting point for us as to how we could create a website that was different to anything out there.

Did you feel that the Online world was welcoming?

S: Absolutely.  It’s amazing how generous people are with their time and advice.  We went to our friends who could help us and still to this day, we ask advice.

L: Adam from Olebar Brown and Whitney from FlowerBx were particularly great.  Everyone is doing something different and they are just that bit ahead of us and further along.  We want to scale up and go global so to have that peer group as a sounding board is invaluable.

S: We were 3 months in when Covid hit.  You have to pivot to what the circumstances are and I think that is one of the key words that we take away as founders.  Always take the temperature in the room.

L: Thinking outside the box. Always thinking about our customer and what they would like.

How does it work practically between you running the company?

S: At the very start we did everything together.  But as the business grew, we are now 10 people, you pick your lane.  I’m CEO and Lucinda is the Chief Creative Officer.  But we always have the same gut feeling about people, come together on all the key business decisions and we have a very aligned vision.  Also we aren’t two best friends who started a business.  We can have a laugh together and have a great professional relationship.  I think that really helps.

L: We like to think Collagerie is now bigger than both of us.  Our taste is really complimentary but we also now have a community.  There is a fabulous brand identity but within it, you can find inspiration or find what you are.  If you are minimalist or love flowery dresses, there is something for everyone there.  It’s about delivering excellence.  I might not wear a flowery dress but I want to see the best out there, at whatever price whether £70 to £700.  And think this comes from our experience of working in magazines.  If you only did what you wore, you vision would be v limited.  We can see a lot of people’s different experiences which comes under the umbrella of Collagerie.  The edit is what we’ve done all our working lives.  It can be as diverse or unusual or straightforward as it can be.

It’s a very over used word but I think Authenticity is really important.  Whether doing a shoot or an edit for Collagerie, you are inviting somebody to come into a world.  It should be as beautiful and as inspiring as possible but it’s also got to be believable.  So at Collagerie and at magazines or a collaboration with the Conran Shop, we are saying to our readers, ‘take our hands and come on this journey with us.  You’re going to enjoy it and it’s going to be beautiful and resonate with you’.  I think that has to come from the most authentic place in your body and heart that people understand that you want to share that vision and taste with you.  If people trust you with that then you can hold them so safe and beautifully.  So whether it’s an H&M soap dish whether you can’t wait to put beside your bath or a Gucci handbag, they all have their merit but you’ve got to choose the one thing that resonates with people.  The same with shoots, you’ve got to make that model or whoever feel believable.  You’ve got to believe and I do think it comes down to authenticity, emotional intelligence together with a passion about the product.

I also think buying something but we all love to find a beautiful products, it’s an outside expression of who we want to be or who we are inside.  It’s very fundamental thing, buying something beautiful and personal to you.  We want to help people make those really good decisions.

Supporting small makers and designers?

S: From the beginning it was always a mix of big and small brands.  We want to champion new designers and be the destination in the hearts and mind of our community that we are the place to find those, in a beautiful experience.

Where do you get inspired?

L: It can come from a leaf on a street to a book that you’ve just read.  When Serena and I were first doing visuals for the site, right from the beginning we started In the Mood – I think our first one was Drawing a Line but we felt it was really important.  A thread that ran through Collagerie, a thread that takes you on a journey. What we love doing slightly left of field, in the mood as well as a white handbag can go with everything.  Inspiration can come from trends to a cracked pavement.   You’ve just got to be able to receive it anytime.

More events for Collagerie Community?

S: From the beginning, we always saw Collagerie as an online platform that we wanted to bring to life.  We designed a styling set with Fran Hickman when we launched and the idea was that we could always be on the road, set up styling events and talks.  Our first pop-up at the Marbella Club has been really exciting to bring everything we do to life, working with both British and local designers.

L: it’s always really important for us to meet our community.  We always love meeting them and we love hearing about their thoughts.

Collaborations?

S: We have more coming up this fall launching in October but we can’t say yet who it is!

Other sites you buy from?

L: well that’s tricky because if we love something, it goes on Collagerie!

S: We both love going to vintage markets and fairs.  I also tend to shop the most when I’m travelling.  I love to discover new places abroad, local craftsmen and I have the time.

L: Or anybody new with a pop-up.  What really excites us is a new brand launching.  Discovering something new and also to see what established designers are doing, from Pimlico Road to Portobello Road Market.

Buy one thing?

L: A Collagerie gift card!

What you hope Collagerie will be in the next 5-10 years?

S: Ultimately we want to give access to shoppers wherever they are in the world.  We’ve always had big plans for Collagerie – this is just the beginning.  We launched our market place so we have a hybrid model of our own brands that you can shop but it’s only in the UK.  We are launching international shipping later this year.

What was your summer read and what are you reading this autumn?

I’ve just started Sorrow and Bliss. I spend a lot of time on Podcasts and reading  i tend to save for holidays.  I read my daughter Harry Potter.

I love Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO and also Guy Raz, How I Built This.  I like learning about their journeys.  I also loved the book That will never work about the Netflix guy.

L: I read Lessons in Chemistry which I really enjoyed, it’s a really good summer read.  I’m just finished David Sedaris – Happy Go Lovely.  It’s so fantastically laugh out loud.  I’m also reading All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginsberg, I think she is really fantastic and it’s written in a really specific way.

What’s your advice for anybody setting up an online business?

S: Ask advice, follow your heart, prepare to pivot and keep your sense of humour!  You need to be able to laugh along the way.

Who do you follow on Instagram?

L: Real fans of A Spoonful of Benjamin

The Modern House as a switch off and on

I love looking at new photographers on IG, Jack Davidson (Davison), he is quite prolific.

S: I love looking at space, at NASA. I’m really into astrology and space.  At the end of a busy day, I love looking at Space!