13
LUCKY
T
he founder of a fledgling fashion firm
is hoping 13 proves to be his lucky
number as he approaches the first
anniversary of his business start-up.
Hartlepool man Jonathon Bull set up
13 Apparel in January 2019 having always
harboured ambitions of running his own
fashion brand.
Since taking the plunge and placing
his first stock, Jonathon has watched the
business make a rapid rise which has led to
him taking on two business partners and
deal with issues ranging from shipping out
packages at 24 hours notice to coping with
a website crash due to the amount of people
placing orders.
January 2020 will mark the first birthday
of 13 Apparel, and Jonathon and partners
Liam Richardson and Lee Crowe have some
exciting plans in place to move the business
onwards and upwards in year two.
The firm offers a wide selection of urban
clothes, ranging from caps and bobble hats to
t-shirts, hoodies and oversized sweaters and
sales have been going through the roof since
the original stock completely sold out inside
the first month of being on sale.
Jonathon, whose full time role is as deputy
headteacher at Holy Trinity Church of
England Primary School in Seaton Carew,
said: “It has been a whirlwind of a year, but
we’ve learned a lot along the way and as we
approach the end of our first year we’re in a
great position to move forward.
“Myself, Liam and Lee have drawn up a
business plan and we’re looking forward to
the challenges that lie ahead.”
Describing the 13 Apparel range as
“exclusive but affordable”, Jonathon admits he
has taken inspiration from Steve Cochrane,
head of the Teesside-born fashion icon
Psyche.
“How can you not be inspired by a story
like that?” added Jonathon.
“Look at how that business was set up,
and how it has grown from Teesside. This is
a great area for fashion, not just Psyche but
TEES LIFE
Successful Hartlepool urban
clothing firm 13 Apparel is
approaching its first birthday
Style – sales of 13
Apparel’s urban
collection, ranging
from caps and
bobble hats to
t-shirts, hoodies and
oversized sweaters
have been going
through the roof.
Star quality – Boro stars Marcus
Tavernier and Lewis Wing with 13
Apparel founder Jonathon Bull.
some of the fashionable shops
in places like Yarm. You don’t
have to price people out of the
market, but people need to
be aware that they are getting
quality for their money.
“We set this business up
in Hartlepool and have tried
to grow the brand locally. I
get a great deal of pride when I see people
walking around with our logo on. I was in
the MetroCentre a few months ago with one
of our caps on, and there was a young lad
with his mum who pointed it out to her, he
said he’d seen it online. It’s a nice buzz when
you hear things like that.”
The 13 Apparel range is continuing to
grow, and Jonathon combines his day job
with hours of research to keep abreast of
the predicted fashion trends in the seasons
ahead.
“When we started off the colours for
spring 2019 were white, grey and pink so
they featured heavily. Now the summer is
out of the way the colours are darker, we’ve
brought out bobble hats and suede caps
aimed at the autumn and winter buyers and
we’re already looking ahead to next summer
to see what the in colours will be.
“Lots of brands target a particular
demographic, but we’re trying to get away
from that. I don’t want us to be known as a
Check out the 13 Apparel range at th13teenapparel.com
brand for teens, or the 18-30 market, or the
skateboard-style fashion group. Why should
we pigeon hole ourselves?
“Someone may wear a t-shirt and cap
for a night out, someone else may wear a
bobble hat when they’re out shopping. It
doesn’t matter about the age to us, and that
is reflected in our pricing. People of all ages
have placed orders with us, and long may that
continue.”
And finally, we had to ask: “Why 13?”
“Lots of people ask me why it’s called 13
when that is supposed to be unlucky, but
I’ve never really bought into that,” added
Jonathon.
“Our logo is designed from the Mandarin
symbol for 13, and a triangle which is deemed
to be unlucky in that culture. When the two
are merged together, I felt it looked a little bit
different, so that’s what we went with.
“I suppose the number 13 has a stigma
attached to it, but it’s proving to be lucky for
us so far.”
13apparelltd
13_apparel_ltd
13apparelltd
tees-life.co.uk
53