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Young Hearts is an Irish based bonnie mob stockist, and is owned by sisters Debbie and Sarah. Being a family run business ourselves, we know that working with family can be both amazing and at times, a challenge... So we wanted to find out a bit more about how they get along working together and meet the people behind the store.
What's it like working with your sister?
Myself and Sarah are really close, when we both lived in London I lived in the flat upstairs and we saw each other every day! Since I moved home to Dublin we don’t get to physically see each other every day, but we make up for that in Skype / Facetime calls! Working with Sarah is so… easy! We are very similar, both very decisive, and both respect each others opinion or gut instincts, so to date we have never disagreed on a business decision. We both also have the same taste, which is really handy when it comes to fast buying decisions! We have the exact same vision, and want the best for our customers.
Do you have the same tastes?
Yes! Exact same tastes, which is excellent. I love all things interiors so I might have more of an interest in that side, and Sarah has lovely Casper who is 1, so she has an eye for the practical! We are thrilled to see more designers focusing on educational aspects of products. We stock muslin cloths which are designed to be stimulating for 0 -3 month olds as their eyes develop. We have sensory story cards which are great for parents to help their children’s imaginations develop, and we also have Yesmum cards for mums and tots which are designed to provide a positive thought for the day. We love products that are conscious, thoughtful, and encourage all of the good things in life.
Any funny/ happy stories about working together?
Our first trip to Paris on a buying trip was a whirlwind, I was only in the city for 12 hours and we were under such time pressure to get back to the airport… but we hadn’t seen each other in so long we hopped on the train and started chatting. Half an hour later we realized we were very far from Paris… in the opposite direction of the airport!!! Not so much a funny story, as a stressful one!!
What are both of your career backgrounds?
Sarah’s background is in Business and Marketing, and I studied Communications in DCU and have worked in the TV industry for 14 years. Our father has his own business and is a customer care expert, so in our home growing up the customer was always the focus of business. If your customers are not happy, you won’t have a business for very long. This was an important lesson for us and it’s still in our mind’s eye every day.
What made you decide to focus on the Irish market?
We are Irish so we understand the market and the customers here. We do ship internationally and about 20% of our business is into the UK. UK customers are really lucky, there are lots of independent stores providing diversity to the childrenswear market. In Ireland there is a huge High Street presence of well-known chains, so we were keen to bring independent designs to customers here to provide choice and diversity. Our ethos is to provide that diversity by way of organic and ethically produced goods (which is why we love Bonnie Mob so much!), but also diversity in terms of trends that might not be so popular on the high street such as monochromes or the Scandinavian aesthetic. We are really conscious that when people want to buy a gift for someone, they like the item to be special, so we try to keep all of that in mind when we are buying for our store.
Aims for the future?
The dream is to have thousands of happy customers who are enjoying years of wear / use out of their purchases with us. We are inspired by the success of sites like Notonthehighstreet.com and netaporter.com, they are both associated with high quality products that you might not find on the high street, and that’s the space we want our customers to see us in.
Young Hearts' Spring Summer photoshoot by Sarah Tobin Photography
Young Hearts' photoshoot featuring items from The bonnie mob's SS17 collection
