There’s a funny thing that happens when you run a small brand.
You start because you love creating things. You have ideas scribbled in notes, screenshots saved on your phone, colours you can’t stop thinking about and products you desperately want to make.
And then, somewhere along the way, you start looking around.
What is everyone else making? What’s selling out? What colours are everywhere? What shapes are trending? Should we be doing that too?
I think most small business owners probably fall into that trap occasionally. I certainly do.
But lately, I’ve been thinking much more about what makes something feel Kit & Hop.
Not what is trending. Not what another brand has sold out of. Not what I think I should make.
What would I make if I simply followed my own ideas?
And that feels much more exciting.
So, what does “Kit & Hop” actually look like?
I don’t think a brand identity has to mean making the same product over and over again.
For me, Kit & Hop has always been about colour, print, texture and pieces that make everyday life feel a little less ordinary.
Sometimes that’s one of our colourful cotton bags.
Sometimes it’s a beautifully individual leather bag where the markings and character of the hide mean no two pieces feel exactly the same.
And increasingly, I want it to be in the little details too.
An unexpected frill. A playful shape. A brilliant print. A useful strap that becomes part of the look rather than simply something functional.
Those are the things I want to explore more.
More ideas that start here
One of the things I’m most excited about is developing more of our own designs.
I have a heart-shaped frill bag in my head at the moment that I cannot wait to bring to life. It feels playful, a little unexpected and very Kit & Hop.
I also want to work towards creating our own fabrics and prints.
That won’t happen overnight. Kit & Hop is a small business, built alongside teaching, family life and all the other things that fill a week. But perhaps that is part of what makes it special.
There is time to let it evolve.
I don’t need to make everything.
I want to make the right things.
A small brand can have its own rhythm
The internet makes it incredibly easy to feel as though everyone else is moving faster.
Someone launches something.
Someone sells out.
Someone announces the next thing.
And suddenly you can feel as though you should be running too.
But I’m beginning to think one of the best things about building a small independent brand is that you don’t have to.
Kit & Hop doesn’t need to become enormous.
I love teaching. I love running this business alongside it. And I want to keep creating beautiful things that people genuinely get excited to own.
So perhaps the next chapter isn’t about doing more.
It’s about making each new thing feel a little more ours.
More colour.
More personality.
More unexpected details.
More pieces you look at and think:
“That has to be Kit & Hop.”
And that feels like a pretty lovely direction to be heading in.
Em x