Much Wenlock schoolgirl sets up clothing brand in summer holidays

What did you get up to in your summer holidays? Ride your bike? Maybe head to the park with your friends – or perhaps relentlessly shout “I’m bored”?

For one Shropshire teenager, six weeks off school saw her create her own clothing business for fellow teens.

Jemima set up Mima Rose in August 2023 and started to design T-shirts from her home in Much Wenlock.

The 15-year-old has since sold more than 8,000 and even hosted a pop-up shop on King’s Road, Chelsea, all while studying for her GCSEs.

Jemima said she felt like she needed something to do during the long summer break and was inspired after spotting a gap in the market for “affordable teenage clothing”.

She approached her parents and asked them for a small loan to get her business underway.

Her mum and dad were aware that the business was a risk but offered her “a small amount of money” to get started.

“I decided to start off with T-shirts because they are versatile and can be worn the whole year round,” she said.

“Graphic designs were popular with my age group and quite fun, so I started to look online for designs that I liked.

“My dad gave me £700 to cover the cost of the T-shirts and then I started to look at my competitors to see how much I should sell my products for.”

“I’m quite careful with my money”, Jemima said. “It was helpful that I had aimed my tops at people my age.”

“I thought ‘would I pay this amount of money?’, ‘Can people my age, who don’t have any income, afford this?'”.

She settled on £15 each and credited her friends for helping to share her business page on social media and spread the word.

“It took off from there,” Jemima said.

Mima Rose originally stocked five products but 18 months later Jemima said she now offered more than 50 items in range of colours.

However she added running a business at a young age was not easy.

The “constant everyday admin of the business” was one of her biggest challenges, Jemima said.

“I am still at school so late nights and weekends are dedicated to packing items,” she added.

But her family and friends have been “very supportive” and were not afraid to lend a hand.

“I set my orders out on the kitchen table and my grandma helps me pack them,” Jemima said.

“My friends have helped too; they do a lot of modelling and photoshoots, they are happy to help.”

The 15-year-old was able to pay her dad back three months after her initial loan and said her summer holiday endeavour taught her a lot about how to run a business.

But she added it was not something she learnt at school.

“I really think there should be more education about money and things such as tax and how to save your money,” she added.

“It’s a life skill and fundamental to running a business.”

This summer she will return to London to sell her products.

“My favourite part of the business is face-to-face selling and I am very excited to take my products back to the capital”, Jemima said.

She added success of the company so far meant she had increased the price of her T-shirts to £17 and this enabled her to use thicker material with the addition of her own label to the back of the top.

Jemima said the next step for her business was to scale-up.

“I want to gain brand recognition, open more pop-up shops and gain a bigger Instagram following,” she said.

“I am launching a new product, tank tops, next week and want to keep expanding the range [of products].”