Charles Heller, co-founder of Mon Breton Limited, explains why the business should win the Startup of the Year category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
Mon Breton sells Breton shirts with a twist. Isla the Creative Director was reflecting that it would be so much easier if she could have a uniform for the office, like her husband Charles and she struck upon the idea of solely wearing Breton shirts. But Isla couldn’t find the perfect Breton so she and her husband set about creating a British Breton brand from scratch, and Mon Breton was born.
But how could Mon Breton distinguish itself from the masses of striped t-shirts that flood the market? Well, these shirts are made in Brittany by skilled craftsmen and women. They are ethically sourced with a low carbon footprint not having travelled halfway round the world from a country with questionable labour laws. But the big difference (and this is the twist) is that the shirts can be hand-embroidered with any design you want, whether that’s initials, an emoji, your favourite dog; anything that will make your Breton top unique.
Mon Breton has an active social media following having run campaigns such as “Bretro-spective”, “Earn Your Stripes” and “Breton Babe”, regularly keeping their followers updated with the latest designs. Multiple magazines and blogs have featured the brand in their fashion pages leading to fantastic growth in the 12 months since its inception and 2016 promises to be a break-out year for Mon Breton; the British Breton brand with a twist.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
