Meet the Twin Sisters Behind Design Business Buttercrumble
Sisters Abigail and Chloe are proving that in business, two is better than one
Creativity was a key part of the sisters’ childhood, and this led naturally into their adult lives. ‘We’ve always loved being creative since we can remember and we’ve always been drawing and making things together. We just naturally kept pursuing a creative career, and started sharing our work online, like illustrations and designs, for feedback. Eventually we started getting commissions.’
Although the pair had spent time working separately, it was a no brainer that if they were going to start a business it would be together. ‘Deep down we’ve always wanted to do something together and this really enabled it,’ Abigail explains. ‘We’d find that we’d come home on an evening and be working on Buttercrumble together. We just thought it would be lovely if this could be our full-time business. It is a love-hate relationship, you’ll have a disagreement but then it’s all water under the bridge, and you just move on from it.’
‘We work with a lot of small businesses and a lot of female entrepreneurs. Often they’d come to us and they’d feel embarrassed about their business’
After committing to taking the plunge, the sisters began Buttercrumble in Leeds in 2017. ‘We’re very young at heart and a playful brand,’ Abigail says. The trust the sisters have in each other has helped the business to thrive, working with brands like Mamas & Papas, and John Lewis & Partners. ‘I trust her so much. I always wonder whether I would have set up a business on my own and then brought other people into the business because there’s so much trust required there. Because Chloe and I know each other so well we’re totally synergised, and it just all feels very natural and easy.’
The sisters’ own experience in setting up a business inspired their recent book, The Brand Power Manifesto. ‘We looked over the different business books when we were starting ours and a lot of them are quite male-dominated,’ Abigail explains. ‘Since starting Buttercrumble I’d always kept a notebook and written little notes to myself. After a while I had quite a wealth of knowledge and I thought there might be something in this. It really is about celebrating the power of branding because when we first started we were very shy and wanted to hide. Having a brand helped that because it wasn’t just the Chloe and Abigail show, it was about Buttercrumble, and that gave us a lot more confidence.
‘We wanted to share that with people. We work with a lot of small businesses and a lot of female entrepreneurs. Often they’d come to us and they’d feel embarrassed about their business. There were things that they weren’t happy about and they weren’t marketing themselves because they felt like things weren’t perfect. We’ve given them a confidence boost.’
With eight years under her belt, does Abigail have any advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs? ‘I always say you have to create your own opportunities – don’t wait for other people to knock on your door, you have to go out there and get to know people. Especially within the creative industry because you might have this amazing talent but if you’re just stuck away indoors at home and no one else knows about you then you can’t share that talent, and that’s such a shame.’
