Taking inspiration from the modern, retro, cool, not so cool, famous, not so famous, stereotypes, etc … my guest this week is Hayley from Wedgie, the independent wooden doorstep company and their merry group of funky doorstops. Come on in and meet the wedgies…….
Hi, I’m Hayley, the co-founder of Wedgie.
What inspired you to launch your business, Wedgie?
My husband and I were fortunate to live in Sri Lanka for a prolonged period, moving away only 2 years ago. Working in the textile and creative industries, we were fortunate enough to meet and work with many creative individuals and small start-up companies on the island. When we moved back West, we we wanted to keep our relationship with Sri Lanka going and started to explore ways in which we could keep working and supporting some of the people we knew and the industries they worked in. And that’s how Wedgie was born. It has an East meets West philosophy; the ideas, designs, inspirations and character references come from the West, with the handmade crafted and painted side coming from the East.
I do so love “Sid” and “Spyros” makes me laugh out loud. What wedgies have proved popular with customers so far this season?
We don’t really have a best-selling Wedgie. We find that each Wedgie character resonates with different people in different ways. If you love Disco, you’ve got Brutus, if you love cycling then you’ve got Brad, our motorist hating cyclist! That said, I’d say Spyros has probably received the most attention; I think it’s the thick chest rug and slinky speedos that just draw people inI
Out of all the wedgies, do you have a particular favourite?
Probably “Major Dave” our nod to the legendary David Bowie. I am a big, big Bowie fan, so there was a lot of pressure on getting the character description and design right. We went through a lot of trials and rejections along the way but I am pleased to say Major Dave has answered the call from ground control and has now joined the Wedgie family!
What has been the most unusual Wedgie you’ve created? Have any been really difficult to reproduce?
Not yet finalised, but our most difficult Wedgie design so far has been the Yoga inspired Wedgie. I have a vision of a hippy / yoga Wedgie in some crazy position with limbs all out of sorts but have found this really hard to recreate using a fixed template of a basic doorstop. Its an ongoing process so watch this space. Our most difficult, but hopefully rewarding Wedgie to date! Namaste.
Your collection of Wedgies takes inspiration from the cool, not so cool, modern, retro, famous, not so famous, stereotypes… Were your ideas influenced by customer requests?
A lot of the character ideas come from my husband and I’s personal interests or experiences. That said we are always open to ideas and listening to customers’ requests on social media. So yes, get involved! Who would you like to see join the family? The most important thing to bear in mind is that the character has distinguished features otherwise it is really difficult to portray them on a door wedge!
Have you any new Wedgies or Wedgie collections in the pipeline yet for 2017?
We have a few more characters in the pipeline: Wonder Wendy – our super hero doorstop, Tasty T – our alarm clock wearing gansta rapper wedge, and many more. We cannot give away too much at this stage!
What’s next on your clothes/shoe/accessory wish list?
My next wish list purchase is …..a pair of Doc Martens. Not the most glamorous choice of clothing I admit, and call it a midlife crisis, but it’s taken me 32 years to build up the courage to buy my first pair and I’m determined to do so before the year’s out.
Boots or Shoes?
In Sri Lanka, the weather was perpetually hot all year round, so wearing boots is still a novelty for us. In just two years I have managed to purchase a lifetime’s worth of boots!
All website and social media links :
E: hello@meetthewedgies.com
W: meetthewedgies.com
F: facebook.com/meetthewedgies
T: twitter.com/meetthewedgies
Oh Hayley, I’m a big Bowie & Boots fan too! Doc Martens can be pretty glam too – a friend of mine seems to collect Doc Martens like they are a hobby – she has them in all sorts of colours and designs! It was lovely to meet the Wedgie family and I look forward to seeing all the new additions! So dear readers, what fun figure do you think would be a good addition to the Wedgie family? And, what’s your view on Doc Martens too?As always, drop me a line and let me know!
STOP PRESS: 15% discount off your entire order for my dear blog readers until 30 November 2016. Quote promo code: BOOTSSHOESANDWEDGIES
Linda x
All photographs have been published with kind permission of Wedgie.