Member Article

Former gilt trader turns oily rags into riches

A former City gilt trader, who gave up her high-flying job to concentrate on being a mum, is launching her own range of outdoor waterproof cushions, Oily Rag, in John Lewis this week.

Julia Hunter, from Diss in Suffolk, who once headed-up a team of ten men as a gilt trader at the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), signed the deal after pitching her home-based start-up to John Lewis buyers as part of national enterprise campaignStartUp Britain’sPitchUp initiative.

The launch coincides with the latest round of the campaign’s PitchUp competition, which will see another 12 British start-ups pitching their products to John Lewis buyers on April 9. Closing date is March 10.

Julia said: “I never thought when I gave up my job to be a mum that running a successful business would be possible so quickly. I would never have got this far if it had not been for entering the StartUp Britain competition with John Lewis. I’ve now got my products stocked ready for the spring/summer market and I’m also working on an exclusive collection for John Lewis for 2014. It’s a really exciting moment for my company.”

Nicola Gidlow buyer, Outdoor Living at John Lewis said: “Oily Rag is a fantastic product that was an immediate hit with us. We are delighted to be working with Julia to launch her fabulous outdoor cushions into our shops this year. We look forward to collaborating further with Julia on a bespoke range of John Lewis outdoor cushions for 2014.

“The PitchUp initiative with StartUp Britain has been a fantastic way for us to identify and support talented and aspiring start-ups. We have been overwhelmed by the popularity of PitchUp and look forward to seeing the next round of pitches very soon.”

Julia, along with 12 other finalists, pitched her products to John Lewis buyers at their headquarters in an event to support aspiring start-ups in October 2012.

Emma Jones, co-founder of StartUp Britain said: “Julia has done what every retail start-up would love to do – and it all happened because she entered our PitchUp competition. We’re looking forward to seeing more success stories like Julia’s as we take the competition forward into 2013.”

Julia, mum to Henry, 12, Rupert, nine, and six-year-old Mabel, came up with the idea of waterproof cushions when she was desperate to escape to the garden for five minutes peace.

She said: “I wanted some cushions that I could just leave outside on my tatty garden bench the whole time, so whenever I had a moment for a sneaky coffee in the garden, I didn’t have to get the cushions out, and then remember to put them away! The idea was to make my hard outdoor bench as comfortable and inviting as my indoor sofa and to bring some colour into my garden, when it was drab and grey.

“I made the prototype cushions and all my friends thought that they were an amazing idea and started to ask if I could make some for them. That filled me with the confidence to start making them commercially, but I never expected for a minute it would be as successful as this. I’m so grateful to StartUp Britain and John Lewis for giving me this opportunity!”

To enter, budding retail start-ups need to apply with details about their products www.popupbritain.co/pitchup

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Liz Slee .