Cherish Reardon

I am the Co-Founder and Creative Director at Popsy Clothing. We started five years ago and manufacture and sell women’s clothing. I oversee the design process and our social media platforms. My role is very customer-focused and includes ensuring we are designing what our customers want to see in their wardrobes.

I absolutely love my job! It honestly doesn’t feel like work at all. I am usually the one in the corner on the last day of Christmas feeling slightly sad that I’m not going to see everybody for a couple of weeks. My team is like my second family.My team is like my second family. I am a mixed race girl with a proud brummie twang, and wife and mummy to two little girls. Having struggled with confidence through school, I am now really passionate about building others’ self-esteem and helping them feel amazing about themselves.

Business has always fascinated me. I studied it at university but as a real introvert I never thought I could be my own boss. I didn’t have the confidence and didn’t believe I had the skills I believed entrepreneurs needed. My husband grew up in the manufacturing industry and when the opportunity came up.. I grabbed it with both hands and ran! I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as a typical entrepreneur and there are days I still wing it but I think my customers can really relate to that. I am a mum, still running a business around my two girls, and I can still be seen tapping on my laptop outside the school gates.

Seeing ourselves in Forbes was a big moment but the most wow moment for me was our meet up. Over 140 of our customers traveled to our event and we spent the day doing workshops, eating, and making real friendships. I stood back, with Angela Barnes performing a comedy set on the night and looked round at all these people thinking that the girl who had zero self-belief would never believe this would happen. It felt surreal that our little brand from the Midlands had brought all these people from across the country together. It was the moment I realized we are so much more than dresses.

This year is a big year for us. We are really focusing on bringing Popsy to people through other ways than just their clothing. We are launching new products, which is super exciting and we are also making Popsy HQ a really fun place to be. There’s going to be lots of pink!

Shopping experience has never been more important with eCommerce. I think the big social media brands are really going to innovate in this space.