Company Bloggers Style the Highstreet

We recently attended 'Company Bloggers Style the Highstreet' at Tobacco Dock.

Walking though the dock, we entered pure heaven with all the hair styling, face glitter, lip glitter, nail painting and brow styling- we weren't sure where to start!

Alice went for the beautiful face glitter

And we had a stunning gold leaf manicure. Then it was time for the show which kicked off with beautiful and soulful vocals from Nina Nesbitt.

With bloggers styling the highstreets AW15 ranges, everything was affordable, which made for some serious picture taking and note scribbling! The shoppable video made by Company was a godsend. Here are our highlights:!

The Little Magpie for Warehouse

Shewearsfashion for River Island

Emma Hill for M&S

Hannah Louise for Primark 

Pages by Megan for ASOS

We especially loved Ella from Cocosteapary styling of Next's range in the theme of Gossip Girl.  There was a certain luxe feel that took you right over to the Upper East side....

We loved this pencil skirt and the green and orange combination.

There was so much to love about Pages by Megan's styling of ASOS AW15. Our favourites were this gorgeous embellished dress...

and this embellished co-ord set....

If there was one trend that featured throughout the night, it was co-ords. Looks like they're here to stay for a while and we're very happy about that! All of you curvy and booby ladies know what it's like having trouble finding dresses- at least with co-ordinated sets you can buy two different sizes!

We also loved a lot of Kavita from Shewearsfashion's styling for River Island.  In particular this sequin dress...

This embellished shirt coupled with a white tweed jacket.

And this beautiful fur trim coat...

We loved the trenches and neutral shades styled by The Little Magpie for Warehouse:

EJStyle for M&S featured this belted wrap scarf, which we absolutely adore! It's sure to make an appearance in our winter wardrobes!

The finale was Hannah Louise F styling Primark's AW15 range. Our favourite pieces were this dog-tooth coat

And we love the colour and cut of these destroyed jeans!

And of course there was more dancing from the models and BB Kaye.

The beautiful BB Kaye stole the show with his charisma, dancing and THAT face.

Overall a fantastic night- we can't wait for the next one!

Telegraph Festival of Business

We were very privileged to be invited to The Telegraph Festival of Business this morning at London's The Brewery.

Photo: The Brewery

Not only was the venue amazing, the breakfast and lunch spread was mouth waveringly delicious (we may have snuck home a few meals going extra..!), but the main highlight was the incredible speakers: 


Nigel Wilson, CEO Legal & General:

Nigel spoke about increasing the UKs economic productivity through 'slow moving', namely investment. Although we, as Geographers at heart, we didn't exactly agree with one of his answers- developing on the Greenbelt, we did agree that investment is key to improving our economy.

"We need to understand our customers better" 

There was also a great Einstein quote:

"The significant problems that we have created can not be solved at the level of thinking we were at when we created them."

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnerships:

We were then lucky enough to hear from Charlie Mayfield, who spoke of the benefits of employee ownership underlining that SMEs could benefit most from this.

"Work should be a vector for social mobility"

"Conduct, education & ownership, the CEO of the workplace"

The panel that followed included th founder of Brompton Bicyle, Will Butler- Adams and Julie Kenny of Pyronix. There was an interesting focus on education and how schools can do more to forge links between businesses and students, helping to inspire both parties and help students realise dreams of starting their own businesses.  The general concensus what that schools are too focused on league tables and are reluctant to make the time to bring businesses in to inspire students- let's not forget that some businesses are also 'too busy' to make the time to go and speak. Julie urged businesses to make time to create these links and also highlighted a flaw in our education system- OFSTED focuses on educational progress but not on student destinations and what the student wants to do. It doesn't make sure "children achieve their aims" in terms of a career- which would be a very good measure of sucess and we found rather thought provoking.

We were then lucky enough to hear from an amazing panel in a session titled 'Exporting to the world'.

Thea Green, Founder, NailsInc. :

Thea gave great advice about researching foreign markets- the best way being to spend time in the local area. Thea also advised brands newly exporting to be patient! 

"Patience is the key to expanding globally"

"The best thing about exporting is you get to start again in every country"

Reinvention in every market

Andrew Graham, CEO Graham & Brown:

Andrew highlighted the importance of employing local management as a means of gaining trust and a deeper understanding of the local market place and issues faced. He also underlined the importance of keeping your brand and it's roots strong in your home market- afterall, it's where your business was born for a reason!

"Think global, act local"

Angus Thirwell, Founding Director, Hotel Chocolat:

As well as gifting guests some amazing chocolate, Angus had some interesting export examples to share.  One problem any business faces is whether to enter a competitive market with proven demand or enter into a new market. Angus highlighted differentiation as key to entering a market with successfully established players.  Hotel Chocolat took a risk entering the competitive market of chocolate in Copenhagen, but their unconventional flagship store design and a seriously cool looking cocoa bean roastery, gained them fantastic press coverage and customers love it.

"Create a hub in a market that anchors the brand, then branch out"

Thank you very much to The Telegraph for what was a wonderful event, we look forward to returning next year.

Going back to where it all began- KCL Enterprise Connect

We are celebrating, as Innovation at our old university is back! We cannot be happier. Last week we had the honour of listening to Baroness Dido Harding and MBE Cath Kidston.

Photo: Baroness Dido Harding, MBE Cath Kidston, Enterprise Connect

Both inspired us so much we had ideas bubbling in overload while listening to them. 

The dynamic between the two was extraordinary - demonstrating that there is much to be learnt from business owners and CEO's of large corporations.

Brand Spotlight: TalkTalk

We were quite surprised to have found some common ground in TalkTalk's ethos' and our own, very much inspiring us.

Photo: TalkTalk

TalkTalk started with one powerful idea; 'free' - making things free for customers. It's no surprise then, that as a company it was born into chaos, as it was flooded with 200,000 customers within 6 days- not over its estimated 6 months. The TalkTalk inside joke is that it was a company acting like a teenage octopus, with fast growth and not able to control its limbs!

TalkTalk's starting point with anything new is the customer - they ask 'Why would our customers be pleased to be our customer?'

Photo: Enterprise Connect, KCL

The company is formed around their 'Bright Basics';

1. Customer - every company knows their customer can go elsewhere and only if the company continues to deliver will the customer remain loyal. TalkTalk have been nominated the worst company for customer services and won the Money Mail wooden spoon twice - Dido commented that this wooden spoon sits on her desk and spurs her on everyday. 

2. Innovate - why zig when the world zags? TalkTalk aims to approach things unconventionally and innovatively.

3. Value - our customers live on a budget so we must also. That means no big bonuses or first class travel for employees and ultimately lower charges for the customer.

4. People - be yourself at work, TalkTalk encourage individuality, which promotes diversity. 

5. Community - TalkTalk make decisions because they are right, not because they are profitable.

These philosophies are what we share with TalkTalk - it was a very big surprise that we share the same values as a big multi national in the telecoms sector.

1. We prioritise the customer - we are a company founded on the premise that customers are underserved by current lingerie brands and we, as customers, want to do something for ourselves and every other customer that shares our frustration and disappointment with bras on the high street.

2. We believe we buck all the trends - we zig when the lingerie industry zags - we are approaching our business from the opposite end to most people, and mixing up the design process to do it differently than all other competitors. Why follow what the industry is doing it wrong....?

3. Why would we complain about misleading advertising then mislead our customers with our advertising? All our campaigns will be shot with real women, ourselves included, and without any photoshop or photographic manipulation.

4. We want our company to be a place where everyone is themselves, a part of the family and loves the job and work they do daily. We get the honour of working on our dream job, we would love to give others their dream job, or something close to it.

5. We have always remained true to one premise - we are a business founded to solve a problem. We conduct our business first and foremost around solving this problem.

We then had the privilege of listening to an interview with Cath Kidston.

It was fascinating to hear how Cath created a huge, global business with no prior business knowledge or business education.



She started with the Yellow Pages and an explosion of ideas in her head that she was convinced customers would love.



She achieved her success by trusting her instincts, following her passionate enthusiasm for designs that were not available on the market and gaining the best and most experienced, trusted team.

As huge, huge Cath Kidston fans, it was an extraordinary experience to talk with her after the event!

We have always wanted to create a company where everyone that we employ adores working for Attollo.

It is one of our dreams to create a working environment that people adore and where they love working. Cath provided a wonderful insight into how to make this possible, and how to create a team that is loyal to the company ethos's and values.

Thank you not only to Cath and Dido for inspiring us and spurring us on, but also to our university for persistently engaging us with the most fantastic contacts that we have the privilege to be influenced by and learn from.