Today I went to Cobden Chamber, the heart of Hockley and the Creative Quarter, to interview the owner of Ursa Minor Apparel. Ursa Minor is a quirky shop that stocks a range of unique brands. I was welcomed by Claire who shared her inspirations, thoughts and feelings. To find out more, read our interview below...
Hi Claire, Tell us a
bit about Ursa Minor and how it came about?
Ermm… I’m
38 now and I’ve been doing this kind of thing for a long time, I’ve had a
couple of other businesses and I just felt like Nottingham needed it because I remember
Nottingham back in the day when it had loads of independence so I thought I would
give it a go here!
Could you
give us one word to describe Ursa Minor?
Fun!!
How did you
come up with the name of your brand?
Ursa Minor is
more of a shop than a brand, I was going to do my own brand later on but it’s
just the name of the shop and it’s the little bear star conciliation which is
something that I’m into, astrology and symbolism and all that sort of thing.
And my name is Claire, so it’s Claire the little bear!
What brands
do you stock?
I stock a
lot of big brands like UNIF, TIALS, The Ragged Priest, Long Clothing, Lazy Oaf,
The Dudes Factory, Kuccia and Melody Ehsani (I’m the only UK seller for this brand)
What makes
you stock these brands in particular?
They are
all big brands that you can get in places like London (apart from Melody Ehsani
which is only available here and in America) but they are different, really good
quality, have good ethics, they’re fun and just really good brands, I don’t know
why Nottingham hasn’t got them already!
What makes
you stand out from other independent stores in Nottingham?
Unfortunately,
the thing that makes me stand out is that I’m one of the only women’s
independent shops in all of Nottingham and there isn’t enough!!!
That’s
quite shocking!! What do you like about the fashion scene in Nottingham?
It is
varied, its interesting and the people! The art scene that comes into the
fashion scene which is nice, through places like Montana. There is a really
good vintage fashion scene here, a lot of really good vintage shops so you see
people mixing things up a bit which is nice but unfortunately we are over run
by high street so the fashion scene is quite tame here whereas I think it could
be a lot more fun because of the amount of creative people we have got here
Tell us about your inspirations?
In terms of
fashion I love self expression rather than following trends, I think people get
too tied up into ‘ooh what’s everyone wearing in the magazines, I’ve got to
replicate that’ but for me fashion is most fun when it’s just someone
expressing themselves and just being crazy! I guess the punk scene, Vivienne
Westwood and Alexander McQueen, those kind of people that aren’t scared to push
boundaries, that’s what I love! When you see somebody walking down the street
that just doesn’t give a sh*t basically! They are just doing what they want to
do and are confident and happy and I’m really supportive of that! I don’t like
people that judge in terms on fashion
Do you have
a favourite piece in your shop?
Probably
the Ragged Priest Wilson Dress which I’ve been wearing!
Photo Credit: Ursa Minor and The Ragged Priest
If there is
anyone, who would you like to see wearing any of your clothing?
That would
be different for each brand but I would love to see the people of Nottingham
wearing Ursa Minor
Good answer! What do you
hope to achieve with Ursa Minor?
Originally,
I wanted to make enough money within 3 years so that I could pass it onto
somebody else and get their fresh ideas coming into in and for me to be able to
sort of move onto something else. Now, it’s changed a little bit with the
dynamics of this space, so it’s sort of hit and miss! Right now, I just want to
keep getting people into the shop
What would
you like to see happen or change in the future of fashion?
I think I’ll
answer that more specifically towards Nottingham! I’d like more independent
stores to open up. I think we have the brilliant courses going on at the
universities, we have a great art scene, there is no reason at all why Nottingham
cannot be known for becoming more independent in retail. I think the council
needs to do a lot to help!
Do you have
any advice for aspiring designer’s/shop owners?
For
aspiring designers, I think its really exciting, I think go for it, there are
some brilliant courses, don’t be scared, start small! And for people that want
to open a shop, question whether it would be better to do it online first!
Build up your followers, get loads of people excited about what you’re going to
be doing before you take on a shop! If you are going to open up a shop, which
was my dream! I wouldn’t stop you, I’d support you, but you need money in the
bank!
What are
some of the best lessons you have learnt from starting Ursa Minor?
You can survive
on nothing! You have to enjoy what you do, when you start to feel like you’re
not enjoying it then it’s time to question what you are going to do!
Perfect! Thank you Claire - see you during NFW!!
Come along this weekend to get some inspiration for your wardrobe and remember to hashtag #NottmFW!
Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand
