MAKER Q & A : Enrich & Endure

MAKER INTERVIEW

Enrich and Endure

Just before the Coronavirus came along and reshaped the landscape of so many lives we had just bought our first collection of aprons from Enrich & Endure. We have all needed to gather ourselves over the last few weeks and in many ways emerge with a fresh perspective.

Enrich and Endure was founded by Sarah Quinn and her brother Lorcan to design and make the very best Irish linen aprons. Sarah runs Enrich & Endure handling the day-to-day realities of a small business, we took the opportunity to ask her about the course of the business.

Sarah exudes palpable warmth and passion about her family, about food and cooking, about her love of running (actual running) and about the business she’s built. And, about her puppy!

Here we asked Sarah 10 questions. Read on…

“I spend a lot of time on my own during the working day so getting out into the fresh air is so important to me.”

Q1 - Can you begin by introducing Enrich & Endure?

We are an artisan business making Irish Linen Aprons for creative people all over the world. Everything is made locally where we live here in County Down, N.Ireland. We also work with restaurants, cafes, cookery schools, florists, candle makers, artists and many other talented creatives. Our aprons are classically designed and our focus is functionality and durability with colour and style in mind. We want everyone who wears our aprons to feel inspired to be creative! Aprons do so much more than simply protect your clothes.

Q2 - Why did you chose to work with Linen?

We work with Linen for many reasons but the main one is our hometown, Banbridge was once famous for it! Structures from a booming industry still line our skyline today with mill chimneys and old mills scattered throughout the countryside. Everybody from our town has a connection with it somehow. It is a heritage product we are proud to help revive. It is also extremely sustainable as a fabric. Linen comes from the flax plant which needs little to zero chemicals to grow and requires hardly any extra water to irrigate. It's a natural fibre so it is breathable and extremely hard wearing. We love how incredibly durable it is and how it handles the rough and tumble of the daily grind in a kitchen.

Q3 - What is the design process ?

Our design process is all about colour. We try and play with colour as much as we possibly can, be it with contrasting coloured straps, pockets, stitch detail or embroidery. If we are designing for a trade customer like a restaurant we always look at their colour palette and pick up on an accent colour to highlight in the design. We want the aprons to be an extension of the aesthetic of the interior. We are all about the little details like the angle of a bartack stitch detail in the corner of a pocket or the length of the garment and how it sits when worn. 

Q4 - It’s a full-on thing running your own business at the best of times isn’t it, in the 'old-world' how did you divide your time?

Running your own business is definitely full on and unpredictable. I always make sure I wake up and start super early to ease the pressure for the rest of the day. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I work late into the night and struggle to switch off but I'm also pretty good at prioritising my time and workload. If I know the sun is going to be shining and there's a window I can escape to go for a run in the hills, I go. There are no rules to doing it for yourself, you just need to find a way that works for you. If I am sat by my computer for too long I tend to lose focus so I need to grab that fresh air when I can. I also drink a LOT of tea...admittedly I'm slightly addicted.

Q5 - The Coronavirus Pandemic has changed so many things for so many people. How are you managing as a business?

When lockdown first hit and we started to sell out of stock it took a few weeks to replenish the shelves. Basically, we outsource all our production locally and the team we work with specialise in making workwear (most of their customers are Nursing Homes for whom they make staff tunics). With everything that is going on right now they understandably had to prioritise other orders ahead of us. I'm very pleased to say though that their business has settled again, they were able to take on more staff (making from home) and are once again making for us. I have always worked from home anyway and our office where I pack all the orders is in a converted loft above my parents garage so thankfully we have no actual office space to pay for or a bricks and mortar shop as we are only online. In so many ways we have been very lucky and I am so grateful the business has been able to stay afloat amidst this chaos.

Q6 - I’ve been so impressed by how quickly many small businesses have been able to ‘spin-on-a-penny' and adapt to new circumstance. What has changed for you? 

The main change for us is of course restaurants and cafes no longer have the same appetite for lovely new aprons. We are hopeful when they start to reopen again that side of our business will pick up again but it has definitely been on pause for the past few months. However we are lucky to have an online shop where people can buy aprons for themselves or as gifts and with so many people finding themselves cooking more at home the demand for our product has actually increased. A lot of the purchases are sent to friends and family as gifts which is so nice to see.

Q7. How have you coped personally…what has been your strategy?

I definitely know I have been very lucky in lockdown because we live in the countryside and fortunately have a garden to breathe in. Also being stuck indoors with bulging shelves of cookbooks that I finally have time to work through is my idea of heaven. I definitely think cooking has been my main coping mechanism. I make a proper effort for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, everything! I have also started jotting down any recipes or concoctions that I feel are noteworthy. Who knows, maybe someday those scribbles will make it into a cookbook. I dare to dream.

I also commit to going for a walk or a run every single morning before breakfast, no matter the weather.

Meet Stevie Nicks: “We got a gorgeous little puppy so lockdown life since then has been fun filled with cuddles and piddles.”

“We had always planned to get a pup this summer but now with my husband and I working from home the timing couldn't be more perfect.”

Q8. What are your hopes for the future. (- this is a question I often ask, it’s funny how a little question can suddenly take on such significance!)

Naturally the business leans towards anything to do with food and drink so the plan is to continue to create a space of inspiration for people to get ideas for what to create in their apron. I plan on sharing more recipes and stories from my kitchen as well as peeping into the lives of chefs and other home-cooks. We might eventually create a cookbook (that's my dream) or bring out a collection of other products for the kitchen - this would be likely be produced in collaboration with other makers so if you know of anybody interested please do give us a shout. 

Q9. What is the best piece of advice you were given when you started Enrich & Endure?

Probably the best business advice I was given was to 'Grow Slow'. It's so tempting to want to expand when you have a bit of momentum at the start but what becomes very clear over time is that business constantly peaks and troughs so it is vital to keep it steady. Enrich&Endure has slowly grown for almost 7 years now and by constantly remembering to ‘grow slow’, we really feel it has a steady base and a strong community of customers and followers. 

Q10. When we first started this conversation I wanted to ask you “If you were handed a golden ticket where would you go? what would you do with it?” What would you have said then? Would your answer change now?

That's easy. In a non-Covid-19 world, I would take that ticket and hug all my family and smother my nieces and nephew in kisses. I would also love a good party - I am craving dancing with my friends so much!

A few months ago I had so many plans and dreams to travel. Due to Covid-19 we have so far missed 3 weddings abroad, a family holiday to Cornwall, trips to see our nieces and nephew in England and much more. We were hoping to go to New Zealand next Spring to another wedding and visit our friends in the town we used to live in but now that looks highly unlikely. To be honest though, all of this has given me a massive wake up call. We did take for granted that we could just fly around the world as we please without much thought, now, I feel that has changed completely.

My dreams now are to stay at home and be a tourist within Ireland. There is just so much to see and do here so as soon as regulations allow we will be heading for the hills. My husband and I are both fell runners so staying on flat ground has been pretty boring in comparison. But yes, above all else I would hug my family.

“My husband and I are both fell runners so staying on flat ground has been pretty boring in comparison. But yes, above all else I would hug my family.”