{"id":1262,"date":"2022-11-11T11:09:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T11:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2024-11-08T10:41:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T10:41:56","slug":"lincolnshires-designer-slippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/business\/lincolnshires-designer-slippers\/11-2022","title":{"rendered":"Lincolnshire’s designer slippers"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s anything more comforting in the winter months than heaving off a soggy-soled\u00a0pair of outdoor boots and slipping into some furry and cosseting, we\u2019ve yet to experience it. \u00a0You\u2019d think the slipper market was beyond evolution. And yet, Angi Hussey and Chantelle Gill proved they were one step ahead of the market when they established Laines London in 2019, with a newly established brand of luxury slippers that has put its best foot forward ever since\u2026<\/h3>\n
\"Laines
Laines London slippers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Da Da Da Dah, Da Da Dah\u2026 it\u2019s Saturday evening, time for the grand final of Strictly Come Dancing 2022, and on Lincolnshire\u2019s East Coast, Angi Hussey and Chantelle Gill are on the sofa, with two dogs \u2013 their sausage dog and their pug \u2013 plus two mugs of tea, and two chocolate Hob Nobs.\u00a0Could the scene get any cosier? Actually yes. They\u2019re each snuggled into a pair of plush, hand-finished, beautifully made slippers, designed right here in Lincolnshire but sold as far away as Europe, the UK and Australia.<\/p>\n

Angi & Chantelle have earned the chance to put their feet up (briefly), because over the past few weeks, they\u2019ve been crazy busy, fulfilling orders for their slippers, sold under the Laines London brand. Established in 2019 this is, in fairness, a business still very much in its infancy, but one that has enjoyed a stratospheric start. Their products have already been sold in Harrods, Selfridges along with over 300 boutiques worldwide.<\/p>\n

So how on Earth did such a young brand \u2013 albeit one with great products \u2013 manage to gain such immediate traction in the market, especially based in a Lincolnshire seaside town, rather than in the city?\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve always loved Skegness. It\u2019s our home,\u201d says Angi, who was in the hospitality trade in the town for 25 years and worked in the family business with her parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family we still run bars, hotels and restaurants in the town. Being raised in a family business we all needed to muck in and work hard. And that\u2019s one of the best qualities you can have in business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChantelle and I had a homeware and interiors business in the town, and I really enjoyed designing the interiors for the family\u2019s businesses, so we were used to choosing products that we felt were well-designed and well-made. In 2019 we were looking to do something different and to establish a new business, something in the fashion industry which wouldn\u2019t compromise existing businesses, like fashion retailers, in the town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at what we could improve and realised that among the products we would do better, slippers were at the top of our list. I love design and spent a lot of time creating our first collection, which launched in time for autumn and winter 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome slippers on the market looked great but weren\u2019t particularly well-made or durable. Others were practical but not necessarily all that desirable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo really, our aim was just to design-in the values of comfort and luxury, whilst manufacturing-in practicality and wearability. After that it was a case of ensuring that the price point reflected the quality without giving our designs a huge price tag.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a product that looks fairly straightforward, there are all sorts of design decisions to make: practical considerations like how many lines you create and how many sizes you offer, but then beyond those, ethical considerations too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to have products manufactured to the quality we want in this country without them incurring really high price points.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can, though, make sure our embellishments are all hand-sewn and that our products are finished by a local team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the materials we use, too, we don\u2019t believe there\u2019s any need to use animal-derived products like fur.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can manufacture faux furs that feel better, that are more consistent and that wear better. As a result, all our products are vegan in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur soles, too, have been designed to become a part of your feet, to sort of cuddle into you, but they\u2019re also supportive and sturdy enough to allow you to go outdoors when you\u2019re letting the dog out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve a classic design available in six colours \u2013 black, cream, grey, navy, pink and toffee \u2013 with around 100 different embellishments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also offer sliders with extra cushioning and a bespoke, deep-tread sole, and we\u2019ve designed our socks, pyjamas, kimonos and eye-masks to complement, as well as a range of handbags and fashions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a couple of weeks ago we took delivery of our new Christmas collection, three designs \u2013 nutcracker, snowflake and Christmas tree car \u2013 which we\u2019re really thrilled with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Covid lockdown saw a boom in the slipper market, especially online sales, as more people were working \u2013 or not working \u2013 from home, suddenly the business exploded on social media and we found ourselves in retailers like Harrods and Selfridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an exciting time, and nothing fuels your enthusiasm for building a business like success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe run-up to Christmas this year has already been busier than ever. My two daughters and son are all roped-in to help out, firstly to fulfil orders for retailer, and then to satisfy online orders direct to customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been thrilled to see how well our products have been received and even prouder that they\u2019re designed right here in Skegness. Meanwhile, we\u2019re already well on the way to completing our spring\/summer collection for 2023 and we will soon be working on our autumn\/winter 2023 collections too.\u201d<\/p>\n

So really, there\u2019s only a brief amount of time for Angi and Chantelle \u2013 or their family \u2013 to put their feet up. Which is a shame. Because if they did, they\u2019d be able to slip into a pair of their own designs, settle down in front of the TV, and cheer on their favourite Strictly finalist! n<\/p>\n

Laines London is the Skegness-born business of Angi Hussey and Chantelle Gill, ably assisted by a fabulous team of Skegness ladies who help the whole business run smoothly! You can purchase their slippers, sliders, kimonos, eye-masks and fashion accessories online, direct, at www.laineslondon.com.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Laines
Laines London slippers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s anything more comforting in the winter months than heaving off a soggy-soled\u00a0pair of outdoor boots and slipping into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[335,74,336,334],"class_list":["post-1262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-laines","tag-lincoln","tag-loungewear","tag-slippers"],"acf":false,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1266,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions\/1266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}