Business Love Stories - Creatiques Bridal Boutique

Located on Albert Road in Southsea, with its unique atmosphere and diverse mix of independent businesses, Creatiques Bridal Boutiques sits.

An area renowned not only for being a bustling hub for independent shopping, dining and entertainment but also home to some well-known residents of times gone by, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes,  and comedian Peter Sellers.

Today I was lucky enough to speak with current Southsea royalty and prolific fundraisers for many amazing causes in an around the Hampshire area, Andrew and Robert, owners of award winning Creatiques Bridal Boutique.

Founding the business 30 years ago, this duo are quite the power team, I chat with Andrew about hand selecting every gown within their boutique and how they pride themselves on looking after and giving their valued customers the confidence they need when buying the most important dress of their lives.

Welcome to Creatiques Bridal Boutique.

What made you set up on your own?

“I had been designing and making ballroom dresses for the last 30 years’ when a friend asked if I would consider making her wedding dress. Initially I said no as I did not want the pressure of a friend’s wedding day on my shoulders, however after considerable thought, a few months, 1 wedding gown and 9 bridesmaids dresses later things changed, and she had her wedding day of dreams. From that time on it all just snowballed.”

Can you remember the moment you decided?

“I was working from home, handmaking the dresses and regularly attending wedding fairs and events. It was at one of these events that I first met Rob, who alongside his successful retail career designed and created bespoke jewellery, which we started to sell together with the wedding dresses. Soon the business grew and juggling both of our jobs became tricky, so we thought, let’s just give it a go, and made the decision to put all our efforts into the wedding dress business, open a shop and launch Creatiques Bridal Boutique, what had we got to lose.”

How would you describe your relationship with your business right now?

“There is always a lot to do in the shop and although very successful we are still a small business only 2 directors and one Saturday person. The shop is our lives, but we have been able to fashion our own work life balance. Lockdown showed us we don’t have to be in the shop every day, we have access to our emails and are at the end of the phone to book appointments and answer any questions our lovely customers may have. 99% of our appointment bookings are via our online diary system and we aim to respond to customer emails, online booking enquiries or telephone messages within 3 minutes. Making emails and mobiles work for us and our customers is important, enabling them to book appointments at a time that suits them outside of what is deemed to be normal working hours.”

When was it at its worst? What was happening for you then?

"Covid was the worst, all the wedding dresses for April, May and June weddings were due but lockdowns meant the business had to temporarily close its doors, very tough times. Moving forward to present day, we do have a cost-of-living crisis, but at this point in time, we do not seem to be badly affected. Brides are budgeting and spending less, they are cutting back on extras like wedding favours and bridal hair, but they always want that special dress.”

What advice would you give to another owner who’s feeling disillusioned?

“Look outside the box, look at what other people are doing, what they’re achieving and the reasons why you’re not.  How can you improve the situation? Speak to other people in the same industry, don’t be afraid to ask their advice and share ideas.”

What keeps you connected to why you started your business in the first place?

“The passion for our industry, our business, and our wonderful customers. We wear many hats, we are dress experts, councillors to the brides to be, their bridesmaids and the mothers and fathers of the brides. We become their new best friends, at their side from the beginning through to the end of their wedding planning journey, making sure they have the day and the dress of their dreams.”

Would you say you love your business? Tell us about something you’ve done to show your business love and nurture your relationship with it.

“Yes, we do love our business, when we go to events people know who we are, and the great business that we have. We are the most awarded shop in the south coast and take immense pride in what we do and what we have achieved. Rob is a window dressing genius, creating show stopping master pieces that grab the passers-by attention, we receive many positive comments on our window displays from people who are not even in the market for a wedding dress. Making sure our business looks good on the inside and out is important. Aromas sell and we have created bespoke scents, under our other business name, Bustle & Bertie. Our shop smells divine and we gift all our Brides one of our bespoke diffusers as a thank you.”

Who or what keeps you going in tough times?

“Each other, we both have the same psyche and ambitions for our business and as partners who share ideas helps take the pressure off. We have the most amazing seamstress Claire who always provides encouragement and support, helping us through the good times and bad.”

What do you love about working for yourself?

“The freedom of being your own boss, to do what we want when we want to do it. To be able to go on holiday when we want, and not to feel guilty. Working for ourselves give us flexibility.”

How seasonal is our business?

“Going back 5 or 6-years January, February and March were peak buying seasons for brides. Fast forward to present times and people have the choice to get married any day of the week, any month, any year, any destination, changing the buying patterns of customers to them buying throughout the year. The only problem now is the lead time for dresses, prior to Covid-19 and Brexit, lead times were 14 weeks, post Covid-19 and Brexit lead times are 6-9 months.”

We’re living in interesting times, what steps are you taking to ensure your future?

“We are always forward thinking, holding instore events for brides and mothers of the bride, as we look to capture the girls at the right time. We also keep a close eye on our business budgets, making sure we don’t overspend, constantly re-evaluating the costs of  the dresses and how they meet our customers changing needs. Although we look at ways of keeping within budgets, we never let the standards of the shop slip, we have found by working smart we have identified and accessed local and small business grants available to us.”