Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chloe Moody. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Chloe , thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
True happiness in what you do. Wether it be professional or personal, I believe for something to have a chance at working out you really need to get great enjoyment from it. There are times when I get extremely stressed running a business solo, and I question everything I’m doing and really doubt myself. But I truly love what I do, and I have such a passion for it that it pushes me through the hard times.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Chloé and I’m the creator of the online clothing brand ‘Ambaar Bazaar’. I’ve always had a keen interest in fashion and style from a young age, my earliest memories are of dressing up in clothes from my ‘dressing up box’. Which was basically a box where my mum put all the clothing she no longer wanted! I studied Textiles Design at university, and then after this I went onto work in retail, and I did have a short stint in interior design. I learnt a lot from my experiences in retail, and then in 2020 I decided to launch my own clothing business.
Ambaar Bazaar was born whilst travelling in India, I fell in love with the textiles and colours that I found on my journey. It is a clothing brand for women which creates bohemian pieces inspired mainly by the 60’s and 70’s. I design pieces that make women feel fabulous, whilst feeling comfortable. My pieces are designed by me and then my creations come to life by my teams in India. The fabrics used are Indian silks and block print cottons, these fabrics are sumptuous, bold and unlike anything you find anywhere else in the world. My business in a lot of ways is a tribute to my love for India and my travels there. If you have been you know that it is ‘other worldly’.
It was really important to me that Ambaar would be an ethical clothing brand, which means that the people who make the clothes work in comfortable conditions and are paid fairly. I also only create in small batches which means there is zero clothing waste. I strongly believe that fashion doesn’t have to have a negative effect on people or the planet. The business always has a choice in their part to play. I’m a huge advocate for slow fashion.
As I’m sure many business owners feel… my business is my baby. I have poured so much love and energy into it and I’m really proud of where it is today and where it is going. Every order that I get feels me with so much joy, and I love speaking to my wonderful customers. One thing that I pride myself on is the quality of my products, and this is one thing that comes up regularly in my lovely reviews. I make pieces that will last, and that people want to keep because they love them. I envision that in 10,20,30 years time you will be able to find ‘Ambaar Bazaar’ pieces in vintage shops as they are beautiful pieces that are made to stand the test of time.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
I’m fortunate enough to have a few favourite sales stories, I really do have such lovely customers! There was one customer that I helped with a piece for her wedding outfit. She had already sorted her dress and wanted one of my flared sleeve blouses to go over the top. She understandably had a lot of questions as she was buying this piece online, and she was located in Australia and I’m located on the other side of the world in the U.K! So due to the distance we had to get it right. Once I had helped with extra photos and colour advice etc I sent the piece to her. I hadn’t heard from her in quite a few weeks or so and I was really worried that she had received it and it wasn’t right for her… But eventually I got a response and she sent over pictures of her on her wedding day wearing the blouse! She looked so beautiful and happy, and I was so honoured that one of my creations made it into her special day.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
So initially I was doing my business alongside a part time job, then covid hit. Before we knew what we now know about covid, our healthcare professionals in the U.K told certain people with health issues to ‘shield’. I was one of them and that meant I could only leave my flat once a day for a short walk, I couldn’t come into contact with any other people for 3 months. Stressful times! Once the 3 months were over I was told I could go back to work and resume normally activities. The job I was doing part time was really stressful and a lot of work for very little pay.
I thought why go back… why not just give my business a proper go full time. If it doesn’t work out I can always get another job. It was really scary especially from a financial point of view and I had people tell me it might not be the best idea. This spurred me on even more and I’m happy to say the rest is history! It has continued to grow and I’m so thankful to be doing it full time. I would advise anyone if you see an opportunity arise, even though it might be scary, just go for it! You never know where it might take you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ambaarbazaar.com
- Instagram: @ambaar.bazaar
- Facebook: Ambaar Bazaar
- Linkedin: Chloé Moody
- TikTok: ambaar.bazaar
- Etsy: Ambaar Bazaar