Leicester is packed full of independent creatives and designers and this month we’ve caught up with Nikki who is the lady behind the brilliant Silly Girl Club. Creating clothing and accessories out of fun, retro material, she’s quickly built up a great following with most of her products selling out as soon as they’re listed online. Imagine a dress made out of your childhood duvet cover? That’s what we’re talking about!
Tell us a bit about Silly Girl Club – how long have you been going and what is it you do?
Silly Girl Club is a colourful, fun brand reinventing your childhood sheets to bring you a nostalgic overload. It only really came to fruition in 2016 despite it existing in my life for 12 years before that! Sometimes you need that push from creative friends.
What inspired you to start the business?
Silly Girl Club as you know it now came from a colourful collision of my love for cartoons, obsession with carboots and hunger for new clothes. Back in 2004 when the internet sucked for shopping and the high street was your only hope, I could never find any clothes fun enough for me so I started making my own.
What is your favourite item you’ve ever made?
It’s my most recent make actually! I live in jumpsuits and I’ve been messing around with a pattern for ages but I finally perfected it this weekend. I’ll be using the same design for the store too soon!
Are there any cartoons or images that you’ve not yet featured in your designs but would love to?
I would absolutely love to feature Robin Hood as it’s my all time favourite cartoon but they really didn’t make much merchandise of that film which I think is madness! Although I’ve been teaming up with a friend to make our own cartoon fabrics based on cult films which is pretty exciting. Watch this space…
What are your other favourite independent brands?
Some of my favourites right now are;
No Basic Bombshell @nobasicbombshell who makes the most fab glitter earrings.
@GMMRS makes the most amazing colourful retro inspired knitwear.
@ponypeople who I did a trade with recently for one of the most amazing cat pot planters!.
Do you have plans to expand the range of items that you sell?
I’m forever expanding the range of items I sell. I love experimenting with pattern cutting and changing up the designs as I live for the excitement it brings. I’ve been designing some 80s/90s inspired patterns recently, which I hope to use in the future. I also plan to make the range plus sized as I currently only go up to size 18.
Your items always sell out really quickly – can people order 1 off pieces from you?
Between May and August it gets pretty hectic with festival season so I don’t offer custom orders however I do on smaller items for the rest of the year! I’m hoping to hire some helping hands so that I can offer the service of one off clothing soon, although saying that I really enjoy the excitement that builds around website upload day so who knows?
Where do you hope to be with Silly Girl Club in 5 years?
Well, if you’d have asked me that 5 years I wouldn’t have expected to be where I am now, so who knows where I’ll be in another 5 years! Hopefully I’ll have taken over the world with colour.
What do you think of Leicester’s creative scene and design community?
I absolutely love Leicester’s creative scene! From musicians to bakers and illustrators; all of my friends are incredibly creative and a lot work for themselves selling their crafts, it’s inspiring to be surrounded by likeminded people. I put on a makers market every now and then with a few of them actually, it’s nice to see other people doing those kinds of things too, it makes the idea of making your dream job a reality so much more in reach.
Where can people find out more about you?
The best place is on my website at www.sillygirlclub.myshopify.com or Facebook / Instagram.