A former model has found a niche in the fashion world by looking local for her customers.
Last summer, the Midlands grew a passion for all things British 鈥 thanks to Jubilee and Olympic fever.
Former model Maria Petitjean realised there was a niche for British-designed goods in her hometown in Stratford-upon-Avon.
So she decided to open a shop selling clothes and gifts designed in the 海角视频.
鈥淲hen they brought the Olympic torch to Stratford, thousands of people came to watch,鈥 says Maria, 50, who moved from Birmingham to Stratford 14 years ago.
鈥淭here was hardly any traffic because it was mostly local people who came to support it. There was a great big screen right by the river for people to watch. Stratford, like many places, really went to town with the Olympics. I couldn鈥檛 believe it. That鈥檚 when I thought people really do like British things.鈥
Maria took over a 16th century former National Trust shop, and began to search for British stock to fill the shelves and rails in between the quaint Edwardian beams.
鈥淚t was really difficult to put it together,鈥 she admits. 鈥淲e鈥檇 keep finding British stock and then discover it had been made overseas.
鈥淢y first order was with a scarf company in Scotland and when they sent the products, they sent a different material which was made overseas. I was really upset.
鈥淚 think sometimes even the reps don鈥檛 know whether products have been made abroad or not.
鈥淏ut when we contacted the likes of John Smedley, which is made in Derby, and Laburnum, which is made in Suffolk, they were delighted to be involved.
鈥淓verything we stock is British-designed. Some of it is made overseas but all of it is designed in the 海角视频.鈥
The shop is family-run. Maria鈥檚 husband Chris works on marketing and their children Maxwell, 21, and Heidi, 18, help out in between college classes.
Even Maria鈥檚 niece Jessica, 19, comes over from Sutton Coldfield to help out at weekends.
鈥淭hey love it,鈥 says Maria, 鈥渁nd our customers love the fact we鈥檙e family-run.鈥
The name Littlejohn reflects the family too.
鈥淭he most difficult decision was to choose a name for the venture,鈥 admits Maria.
鈥淎fter coming up with hundreds of ideas, I kept thinking it would be perfect if we could use our family name as we were all involved.
鈥淲hile I was born and bred in the Midlands, I could hardly use our family鈥檚 French surname Petitjean for a quintessentially British business, then I realised we could use the English translation of Littlejohn.鈥
Maria used to be a model, and did many shoots for the Birmingham Evening Mail in the 1980s. During this time, she was Miss Birmingham, Miss Aston Villa and Miss Birmingham City.
鈥淢y mum used to like seeing me in the paper so I always made myself available for fashion shoots. When I was Miss Aston Villa, we did a calendar with all the pictures taken at the football ground, on the pitch and in the McGregor Suite.
鈥淚t was great publicity as I went onto work for Le Coq Sportif and various big American sports companies for many years.
鈥淚 did shoots overseas, particularly in America. I did a great one in Las Vegas. After modelling, I went onto work in ladies clothes shops, so I鈥檝e always worked in fashion.鈥
Littlejohn stocks famous British labels like L海角视频E, based in Walsall, and Raging Bull, founded by England rugby player Phil Vickery, alongside lesser known brands like Scottish Brodie Cashmere and mother-and-daughter design duo Fran & Jane from Dublin.
鈥淧eople love the Bladen jackets we sell as they feature in the James Bond films,鈥 says Maria. 鈥淎nd our Helen Rochfort 鈥榃izard of Oz鈥 bags are great. They鈥檙e popular with celebrities like Holly Willoughby and Alesha Dixon.
鈥淢y daughter loves them.鈥
Littlejohn opened just before Christmas and has already gone down a storm in the Shakespearean town.
Maria says: 鈥淚鈥檝e kept the window classy by putting in a Welsh cushion, a Zatchel bag featuring a union flag and nice material bunting. The shop is really old and has lovely beams, it would ruin it to make it look tacky and fill the window with red, white and blue.
鈥淚 know my market, which is 25-plus ladies who are prepared to spend up to 拢200 for a British-designed dress and 拢99 for a beautiful cashmere jumper.
鈥淚t鈥檚 top end of the market without being too expensive. The shop is popular with local people and we hope it will become even more popular in the tourist season. Our gifts include everything from Scottish Soaps and Victoria & Albert chinaware to Tatty Divine and Rosie Fox jewellery.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place for tourists to know they are definitely taking back British-designed gifts.
鈥淲hen you look at today鈥檚 market there is an amazing resurgence in the British fashion industry. London Fashion Week is now recognised as the world鈥檚 best fashion show and the 海角视频鈥檚 top young designers are in huge demand.
鈥淢any of the major high street chains have launched British collections, established clothing manufacturers are once again expanding and new fashion companies are starting up all over the 海角视频.
鈥淲e intend to grow with this trend and build new business relationships with more and more successful designers right across the country who are all 鈥楤acking Britain鈥.鈥
