Way back in 2002, when the grass was greener and the sun was warmer...
Billi had a jolly fine idea. She wanted to adorn her mate with a
t-shirt to celebrate the tin pot town he had aspired from. The concept
was here, but how to bring it to fruition was another matter.
A month or so later as fate would have it Billi met Jasmine (sounds
very movie like and romantic, but we assure you this isn’t that kind of
story!). They met through their respective blokes, who go way back, and
got talking about the idea. Jasmine being a dab hand at graphic design
suggested they both sit down and try to nut something out, and so it
began on one hung-over Sunday, they created their 'first’ design,
‘Pukekohe – burn the dirt'.
This initial collaboration was not only a great laugh, but also
spurred another great idea. Why not bust out a business and have a
crack at selling t-shirts with quirky NZ designs. With no research or
business plan to speak of, they launched into it, boots and all and
Billi Tees was born. Instantly they were drawn to the idea of an online
store, so kiwis no matter where in the world they lived, could get
their own slice of home at the click of the mouse.
There was however one slight hiccup in this grand plan. Jasmine and
Ryan were due to blast off on their OE in just a few short months. They
were planning to only be away for 2 years, however that kinda stretched
out to 4. So always being up for a challenge, Billi and Jasmine decided
not to do things the easy way. Why run a normal business in the same
city... or country for that matter. Whilst Billi held down a full time
job and Jasmine trekked the globe, they defied all odds and pursued
Billi tees via early morning phone calls, late night emails, the odd
telepathic moment and the occasional email from dodgy internet cafes.
With
a lot help from some handy people who know about law, accounting and
other crucial stuff Billi Tees was officially set up in Billi's spare
room in Takapuna. Anna introduced them to MYOB, Andrea helped with the
legal stuff, Denise did the website and bingo, October 2003, they were
up and running. Its crazy to think their first batch of tees was small
enough to fill only a few filing boxes!
On top of all of this,
Billi decided to add to the mix a couple of kids – but don't be fooled
into thinking that she took maternity leave. No way, there was a
business to run and internet orders to fill. On top of that, Sam kept
cruising off to sea (being in the Navy it was kind of called for), just
as well Billi had 4 sets of hands, some very good friends and a uni
student called Duncan in the summer to handle the overflow.
January
2006 saw the Richmond’s move down to the mighty metropolis of Bulls
(for Sam's work), so naturally, Billi Tees HQ moved along with it (HQ
meaning Billi, her computer and a bunch of t-shirts) With 2 kids on
board now, there was no spare room to take over, so the garage got the
call up, as did our first real employee – Di Murray. Billi Tees was
growing rapidly, it was time to take on the big guns now and lease a
somewhat 'modest' building in Bulls... things were really starting to
take shape.
Jasmine finally decided that NZ was truly where the
heart was and her and Ryan finally arrived home in October 2006. They
decided that Bulls wasn't really where they wanted to settle down, so
opted for the windy capital. Here Jasmine started freelancing, whilst
working for Billi Tees part time. With Bulls only 2 hours drive away,
they didn't know what had hit them!! Not only were Billi and Jasmine in
the same hemisphere with the same time zone, but they were practically
in the same region!
Then one winters day Sam had this great idea
that Billi Tees should buy a vacant shop on the main drag of Bulls and
convert it into the Billi Tees Flagship store. Shop on one side, HQ on
the other. Jasmine didn't know whether to laugh or cry... had they
really gone mad up there?? Well, something must have convinced her as
two weeks later, Billi Tees had signed the papers, and they were proud
owners of an old hairdressers on the High St of Bulls. The next 6 weeks
saw a flurry of DIY. Friends, family and anyone else that could get
roped in, took to this old dunger and converted it into the funky home
of Billi Tees.
Along with a new shop, came Pauline to run it,
and boy did she do that. As well as Pauline, Cheree at a tender age of
15, joined the ranks for Sunday sales. So in a matter of 2 months,
Billi Tees had gone from 3 to 5... holy smokes!!
With Bulls
charging along, the girls decided to make hay while the sun shone and
opened another shop in Tirau... Why Tirau? Well, just like Bulls, it’s
in the middle of major destinations and a good stopping spot for
travellers (and secretly, we have a penchant for small towns). So once
again, it was all hands on deck to convert an empty shop (this job
wasn't quite as mammoth as the Bulls shop) into another Billi Tees
store. Having learnt a few things a long the way in terms of building /
painting / hanging and displaying, Tirau was ready for action exactly 1
year on from when Bulls opened its doors. October 2008 saw Billi Tees
with 2 shops and 8 staff... double holy smokes!!
And here they
are in 2009 (October to be precise… as you may have picked up, we have
a thing for this month). After 6 years finding our feet in the world of
business, we decided to make our duo into a trio, so along came 'the
mystery man' (AKA Charlie Carter-Johnson of Streetwise Apparel) who is
going to help them tackle some of the important stuff so Billi Tees can
grow in a new and funky direction. It wont be all about tees with
prints anymore, no sir-e. We have some great plans just waiting to
burst into life.
So there you have it. Billi Tees in a nut
shell. Not bad for a couple of small towners! Stay tuned for the next
chapter… coming soon (October maybe!!)
Wanna read more?
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