Jude Ross turned her passion for sustainability, fashion and collecting souvenirs into a business venture during lockdown when she realised the scarcity of memorabilia from her favourite Scottish places. We chat with Jude about her inspirations, aspirations and the success of her circular business model, Kings.
Hi Jude, please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit about the brand.
Hi, I’m Jude, former fashion buyer and souvenir merchandise enthusiast. Kings is a sustainable clothing brand creating hyperlocal merch inspired by nostalgia and nature. I make merchandise for the places in Scotland we all love but that aren’t usually found on merch – it’s niche! I love history, photography, people, and their stories so a lot of the designs are based on archive photos, old books or historical societies and clubs (The Highland Squirrel Club, Dingwall, being a personal favourite!). I also draw on retro designs from the souvenirs I’ve collected over the years.
What’s the story behind your business and where did the name come from?
King is my mum’s maiden name and the name of our family fashion retail business, which was founded in 1936 by my grandad. Throughout my childhood I spent a lot of time in the business and have such vivid memories. It’s what inspired me to pursue a career in retail and using the Kings name now for this brand is really special.
Your motto is “inspired by nostalgia and nature” can you share more of your ethos with us?
I think it’s impossible not to be inspired by nature in Scotland. Mountain, river, forest, and sea…we have it all! As a family we spend all our free time outdoors… Surfing, walking, and exploring so I wanted the product to reflect that lifestyle. I also wanted the designs to reflect the time of my childhood (the 80s and 90s) to make people feel nostalgic for those more innocent times when holidays were magical, and a simple souvenir was something to treasure.
Can you tell us a bit about the area you live and work in?
I grew up in Deeside, Aberdeenshire and then moved all over Scotland and the UK for work but am back settled in the Aberdeenshire countryside. It’s such a peaceful place to raise children and afford them the same freedom we had as kids. If anyone hasn’t explored Aberdeenshire, I would encourage them to. It’s such a diverse landscape and there’s loads of amazing rural businesses doing interesting stuff.
What’s your favourite design and what’s the story behind it?
I have lots of favourites, but the Cape Wrath tee is the first one I designed after we visited Cape Wrath many years ago. I had just finished reading Lighthouse Keeping by Jeanette Winterson, which is set in Cape Wrath. There is a real mysticism to that whole inaccessible corner of Scotland, and you can feel it in the wind when you stand on the Clò Mòr cliffs.
What motivated you to turn your experience in fashion and your passion for collecting souvenirs into a business venture?
It was during lockdown when, like many people, I was clearing out the garage and realised how many souvenirs I had collected over the years from travels all over the world. I love a pin badge, hat, T-shirt…Whenever I go somewhere I buy some kind of memorabilia. I love the way it replicates the feeling of a place or time. I realised that I had very few from my favourite places in Scotland, so decided to make some.
Having worked in fashion and merchandise for a long time and for various high street brands I was all too familiar with the hugely wasteful and harmful production processes of the current linear model. From the start, I wanted to ensure that what I was doing was circular so that anything that was made could be reprocessed back into the system at the end of its life cycle and remade into new garments rather than end up in landfill. All our garments come with a QR code on the label that can be scanned, and the item returned for free (and store credit) to be reprocessed into new product. A lot of our current range is already made from this recycled organic cotton.
I also wanted the business to be zero waste, so our products are printed to order, using water-based inks, so there’s no waste from over-stocked designs and sizes. What is made is only what people need when they need it. Our garments are posted in mailer bags made from plants not plastic and we’ve done away with swing tickets, superfluous labels, all the wasteful additional elements usually found when buying clothing. Read more about our sustainability journey here.
Are there any insider tips or lesser-known spots that you’d recommend to adventurous travellers based on any of your designs?
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time in Argyll, particularly around Loch Awe, and love exploring the Kintyre peninsula. Machrihanish is a favourite beach of mine down there and you can get to the wee community owned Isle of Gigha from Tayinloan as well as practically touch Arran and Northern Ireland!
What are your future plans and aspirations for your brand? Do you have any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about?
The immediate plans are to keep developing new designs, there are SO many places I’ve not covered yet… That list is long! In the short term I plan to extend the range to include other types of merchandise using the most popular designs.
I also currently have a range of T-shirts where £5 from every sale is donated to environmental charities. For example, the Sandwood Bay tee donates directly to the John Muir Trust who maintain the path to Sandwood Bay, and all the surf location tees support Surfers Against Sewage. I’m talking to more charities and organisations which is lovely, and I want to do more in this area.
INTERVIEW BY Eryn Inglis
IMAGES BY Kings
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