TSW Talks: How To Grow Your Business With Tomme Studio Founder Kelly Gunner

Looking to grow your passion into a business? Kelly Gunner, founder and owner of Tomme Studio, discusses how she did just that. Discover how Kelly went from a full-time 9-5, to following her dreams and starting up Tomme Studio. Her products are now snapped court side and at film premieres, worn by global stars and leading fashion influencers. Find out more about the face behind Tomme Studio here.

If you're looking for some top tips and advice, and want to learn from the best, then keep on reading and don't forget to catch the interview over on our Instagram page. For now, you can catch the episode on Spotify here.

Yes, so, do you know what? I never started in fashion. I started my career in the music industry, and so fashion was always on the side of what I was doing. Like, I studied shoe design - I was always making clothes - but I started in music working for Universal Music, quite a few years ago now. So yeah, my career has always been there. Music and fashion are quite closely linked, but it was always just the hobby on the side of the things that I was doing.

So, yeah, it's interlinked, I guess, in some ways, in terms of what I'm doing now. I learned skills along the way with the roles that I had and the things I was doing, and they've all helped me now. For example, when I started out, I was doing social media for artists, so digital marketing, and obviously it's second nature now, but back then MySpace still existed and Facebook just turned up. You know, you had other platforms that you were working with and you were trying to teach artists how to film themselves, how to post stuff on social media and stuff like that. So, I've learned social media as I've gone and worked in commercial partnerships, which is where you look at doing brand deals with artists. So again, it's how you use talent, how you use talent to market a brand and making those connections and things like that. So yeah, my career has been intertwined, but it's never been like, fashion is what I'm going to do and I'm going to have a business and do this stuff. It's never been like that. But yeah, just learning things along the way.

Yeah, so I started doing Tomme... people think the success has come really quick. Like it's something I have been doing since probably 2018/2019. I was doing it a little bit before that and was probably working on the prototype of the bag that it is now. It's taken years of really developing the process and working out what basketballs work and what basketballs don't. So if you look at the first prototypes, they are absolutely awful.

But yeah, I started the brand just as a hobby, it was to have a creative outlet. It was to... I had all these ideas. I was reworking stuff I had around the house and just kind of reused things that I could. And it kind of just organically happened. I used to play basketball and I had a basketball and I think I'd seen a collection from Moschino from like 2014, and they had something very similar and I was like, all right, let me just cut my basketball up and see what it's like inside.

Initially I was thinking I could use the panels to do something else but it kind of stayed in shape and I was like, oh, ok, let me see what I can do with this. And then I glued a zip in and it looked terrible! I think I had some wooden handles that I just got from Hobby Craft. It looked so bad, but yeah, it's just gone on from there really, and just kind of buying basketballs, trying to work out how to make handles, trying to work with leathers and, and going from there really. I'd like to say there was a plan, but there wasn't. It was just 'cut some shit up and see what happens'.

Yeah, it was a happy accident, as they say. But yeah, because there wasn't really anything out there at the time. I think it just was one of those things that was good... It came at the right point. Now there's lots of people doing very similar things and that's great, but at the time I was one of the only people doing it. It just fit into that space.

Tomme Studio comes from - I did a t-shirt around 2016 which was a dictionary definition t-shirt of what it is to be a tomboy, and one of the phrases was the crossing of feminine and masculine with ease and confidence. And so I knew I wanted that kind of tomboy element to be in it because obviously we had a basketball and a cross between the feminine and masculine. So it kind of is a mixture of the word tomboy, homme and femme. So it's like Tomme, hence why I say Tom and not Tommy or Tome you know, or however the people say it, which is absolutely fine if you want to say it like that! But yes, for me it's Tomme and it is because it's crossing tomboy with homme and femme, and crossing that masculine/feminine. So that's where that's where the name comes from.

It's studio because it was clothing, and that is something I will do at some point but it's not part of the brand at the moment. And just 'Tomme' on its own - people didn't really understand that was a thing. So I added the studio bit because obviously we want to be more than that - I say we, it's me - want to be more than just one thing. So, you know, there's other things I'm working on that will fall under the brand. It's just Tomme Studio for that reason.

Do you know what, social media has been at the heart of everything I've done, to be honest. It's the thing... It's the platform... I mean *I hate Instagram* but I have to acknowledge the role that it's played in the growth of the brand, really, because the product is inherently 'Instagrammable' and is a product that suits both sport and fashion and streetwear and all of that merging together. It's something that catches people's eye on Instagram. That's my biggest platform and that's been the thing that's helped the brand grow. So, yeah, it's been kind of integral to me doing what I'm doing really. It started quite slowly to be honest, and I was putting things out there and then it just started to kind of catch on and build and build and, you know, having a bit of a plan of like, working with influencers, working with friends who've got brands that we can collaborate with.

And then after a while of that organic, natural growth it kind of took off. But yeah, it's hugely important and obviously I'm working on TikTok and I have Facebook and LinkedIn and all these things. It's important to not focus on just one platform, which is what I try to not get sucked into, because obviously the biggest platform I have is Instagram, but you have to try not to get sucked into that.

As important as that is, you also have to think about your community and having your own email newsletters and things like that you can give them access to, not just your Instagram. But yeah, it's been incredible, but like I say, I guess it's an Instagrammable product. So that definitely helps as opposed to, I don't know, if you're trying to sell something a bit boring it's a little bit harder.

Yeah! I mean, to be honest, if you want to start a brand, just start doing it, because where Tomme is now, I never set out to be like 'I want a brand'. It was just something that I started putting on Instagram, started making the products, and the rest of that has just kind of come through from that.

So don't be afraid to put your shit out there because if you don't, then no one will see it. But in practical terms, I guess, there are things that make a brand, like looking at photographic styles that you want, doing your logo, making all of that look cohesive, you know, and trying to work out what is the core that make up what you stand for.

Those are the things that kind of helped me figure out - that means you can figure out where your niche is, where you fit. And those are the you know... Even if you don't know where to start, there's things that you can look up and research. You can find business plans online, things like that help.

For me, giving myself a bit of a structure to my thoughts really helped me figure out when this started to take off, where I wanted it to go and what I wanted it to be. So there's start up loans companies, there's templates you can just download, for example. There's lots of other ones online. You don't have to just go with that one. But you know, there's things there that are - they're boring - but, in practical terms, at some point you will need to do them if you want to make it a viable business. The same with doing boring things like cash flow. My brain doesn't work with spreadsheets, but unfortunately it's one of those things that you have to work out.

Like I'm working with NatWest at the moment. Don't want to brand name specific banks, there's probably other banks out there that do the same thing. But there's an entrepreneurs’ group that you can join, and you have to apply to be on it, but they give you practical tools. You can be at any level, and it's practical tools in terms of a mentor helping you with what you do, how you define what your brand is, how you do your pitches and all sorts of stuff. It's like for every level. But things like that have helped me because I need to help define what I need because, like I say, I never planned on doing it. Sometimes you need a little bit of support and help to deal with the boring bits of the actual business bit, and also know about your VAT and your taxes because those are things you need to know about! In the beginning you can just do things, you can do things on Instagram. And I was doing it as a side hustle and you don't need to know all of these things. It's more about when you want to make that practical jump, the things that I wish people had told me about, like, you know, being self-employed versus being a company because there's things you have to pay like corporation tax, which is very boring and very annoying, but you need to know about these things.

So there are tools online to help you do that. And also trying to work out, like I said before, don't get stuck on being on one social media platform, work out what platforms work best for you, be on a couple of them, don't get stuck with one, because if it disappears tomorrow, which could be a reality, you never know, you've lost your whole audience. So it's like, what is your email newsletter signup plan? You know, what's your Instagram? You know, if there are influencers you want to work with, try and find work for yourself because in the beginning you're the creative director, the marketing and the social media person. You are all of those things. And a little bit of knowledge is good until you get to the point where you can maybe get people to help you. But yeah, work that out for yourself because then when you do work with people - and I've been through this - you know what you want.

I get social media agencies coming to me all the time, being like "we can do this, we can do that" and you start working with them and they think you're an idiot. You're like, 'no, I'm questioning you and I'm doing this and I'm doing that'. And they're like, 'Oh, you actually know what you want and know we're talking about'.. Like, yeah, so if you want to do what you're told!?

So yeah, it all helps to have a little bit of knowledge across those things. But to be fair, coming from the background I come from with my job, I have a little bit of privilege when it comes to that because I had a little bit of knowledge and expertise and I could pull on things that I knew, people that I knew. Working with artist managers meant I could gift Billie Eilish and exponentially grow my social media.

Not everybody can do that. But LinkedIn's a powerful tool. You can go on there, you can message the people you want to message and try to hustle your way, I guess. I get people message me, they want to collaborate, and I'm always open to things like that because you never know. So, yeah, use the tools that you've got because you have got tools when you maybe don't even think that you do. You might have something that you're doing in your day to day that can help that you don't even realise. Yeah, there's definitely practical tools out there and I'm always open to help advise anybody if they ever have a question.

Yeah, like I say, don't get me wrong, I'm still learning now. I still suck at doing cash flows you know. There's things you need to do that are not your strong points. So then you can maybe lean on someone else to help you, but you need to know the basics. If you want to run a successful business, you do need to get a grip on the budget stuff, and as creatives, sometimes we're not that way inclined. I know it sounds boring, but sometimes there's a few things you just need to get a grip on.

Um, it depends on the feedback. If it's someone saying something stupid, like "my item is stuck in customs and I'm really angry at you" I'm like OK, there's nothing I can do about that, that's not my issue. If it's constructive, then you know, I'll take it on board and I look at it. I had a customer the other day who had some feedback on the bag. OK, cool. I will take it into consideration because some of it was valid, some of it wasn't. So, you know, sometimes people just want to be negative for the sake of being negative. Like people have messaged me like "I would never wear that." I'm like, well, why are you taking the time to message me or comment to say that you wouldn't? You have to have a bit of a thick skin about it to be honest.

In the beginning, I would let it really bother me because the brand is very personal for me and I do everything, and I don't think people sometimes see that behind the brand. They think that there's a team of people and there's more than one person and they can kind of aim that negativity and it doesn't affect anybody because there's probably more than one person. But because it was me, I was wounded. But now if anyone comments anything negative, I don't delete it, I leave it. I'll either respond to it with a positive, or just leave it. Because if you delete it or if you just acknowledge it, you're giving them potentially what they want, which sometimes is just attention, you know. Then, like I say, if the feedback is constructive, then I'll take it and I'll see if it's something I can address. Um, you know, because it can help you potentially make a better product. So I will take it on board. But yeah, sometimes you can just say shit to be negative and you just have to kind of ignore it, you know? Trolls on social media are unfortunately a real thing. So yeah, just have a thick skin about it and just look at it like, is something I need to pay attention to?

Yes, OK, no, move on. Because if you dwell on it - again, the habit I've had to get myself out of - is they are a person, maybe on the other side of the world, they've said it and moved on and you're still thinking about it. You just have to compartmentalise it and leave it. So, yeah, you have to try and not let it bother you and just, yeah. Just forget about it.

Yeah, exactly. I mean sometimes people just want to vent. Like, to be fair, I haven't had that much negativity at all. Most of the negatives have been people are upset that their stuff is stuck at customs or that shipping is delayed, you know, it's stuff is really out of my control. So then you just have to be like, OK, I'll try to fix it. I'll do my best. But sometimes you're just never gonna please everybody, and that's the thing. Even if it's something that you probably do have to try and help with, they may still not be happy at the end of the day. And then you do just have to think ok, you've done everything, you've addressed it and they're still not happy. So they're just never going to be happy. And you can't please everybody unfortunately. Like I say, when people messaged me saying "I wouldn't wear that!" and it's like, ok, you wouldn't wear it, fine. It doesn't affect me, alright, leave it.

So yeah, you do get people like that, but you just have to forget about it, to be honest.

Learn about VAT and taxes! I would have advised myself to be more confident and to start things sooner. I waited for such a long time before putting things out on Instagram. I was worried about people's negative feedback, things that people were going to say about it. Is it any good? Like, all of those things. Then there are the practical things, like I didn't want to take a risk in leaving my job and things like that. It was just a hobby, you know, so I would tell myself to just forget everything and just start putting it out on social media sooner and just take that leap and do that.

And yeah, to not be so kind of worried and unconfident, just go for it. Then the other practical side is to learn about VAT and taxes and money and cash flows, but yeah, just kind of do it a bit sooner.

Yeah. So I think like, now as well... You can have a hobby and have a successful hobby and still have a job and be happy. You can find that balance, and for a long time I had that balance. I was doing it on the side and I had a job and they kind of co-existed and it was fine. And then came the point where I had to make that decision of I can't do both anymore. So I had to take that leap into making this a job and then from a practical standpoint, I had things like a mortgage and bills to pay and things like that.

But I think now people aren't so worried about going freelance, quitting their jobs, especially since the pandemic. I think people kind of changed their perceptions of happiness and what makes them happy and they're prepared to take a step back, maybe in terms of like that kind of.. The hustle culture isn't gone, but people still want to be happy.

And I think more people probably want to be happy doing what they love rather than just grinding nine to five and making the job their life, do you know what I mean? And wanting to achieve houses, cars, money, blah, blah - the shift of happiness and what makes you happy has kind of changed. So I think people are probably less scared to quit their job to go out and travel, or quit their job to start a business.

There's probably more awareness of things out there that can help them do that. You know, and trying to find the things that make you happy rather than just kind of working nine to five and not being happy. I mean, people say it all the time. I was like, just do - the Nike slogan - just do it. Just put it out there. I can't overstate that enough. Like, just put your stuff on Tiktok, on Instagram, whatever platform you feel comfortable, and kind of just see what happens. Reach out to brands you want to collaborate with, you know, all they can say is no. And if they say no, they say no. They're not going to think any worse of you. It's just one of those things, just try it! And if it doesn't work and you're not happy with it, try again. But, you know, it's taken years to get to this point. So it unfortunately will probably take a few years.

It's not going to happen overnight. People think Tomme happened overnight and it didn't. I think it happened in the pandemic which maybe made it feel like it happened overnight. But yeah, it was a few years in the making and there's years to go.

Yeah. Yeah, they do. It's one of those things, unfortunately, that today we have so much instant gratification that we think that putting something out on... because there are anomalies, like don't get me wrong, those things do exist.

But for everyone else, that's not the norm. Like it does take the graft behind the scenes. It does take, unfortunately, putting out a thousand posts on Instagram for one to maybe go viral or for you to get something off the back of it. Same with Tiktok, you know. It just takes time and it takes work, unfortunately.

People want that instant thing and sometimes it just doesn't exist. And people you know, like I said, people perceive Tomme to be bigger than it is and think I have a maximum budget, and I don't. You know, I do very well, don't get me wrong, but I'm still doing things myself.

So, you know, it's perception versus reality.

Ooh, Melody Ehsani hands down is a huge inspiration. Like I love the jewellery she makes, I love the clothes she makes. She's creative director for Foot Locker now, you know, massive, massive inspiration.

And, Yoon Ahn, I love her. I think what she does is - her collabs with Nike are amazing. A huge inspiration. Martine Rose, obviously menswear designer, but you know, a female absolutely killing it. Love her. So yeah, I say Melody Ehsani is one of my biggest inspirations, but there are some really strong females out there killing it and all of those I look up to them, you know. Like... Not aspire to be like them because you want to be your own, but you see what they're doing and it's like ok, yes! I want to achieve something like that. You know, I want to be - I would love to be a collaborator with Nike. I'd love to be creative director at Foot Locker! Those are things to see women achieving on that level and be like, yes, that's where I want to be.

So yeah, you never know.