Cardiff students launch clothing range

Two Cardiff students will be launching their own clothing brand called Elsie & Arthur this week (Friday May 10) after being awarded a launcher loan of £8000 from School for Startups, founded by ex-Dragon's Den investor Doug Richards.

One half of the duo, Allie Lawson is currently studying Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. Along with Jack Williams, a Business student at Cardiff Met their country clothing range features high quality knitwear, cashmere cardigans, summer dresses and silk scarves.

Allie said: "We are so lucky to be given the financial backing to turn our idea into reality. When we applied, we had to stop ourselves from getting too excited. We knew there was only a slim chance of getting the loan.

"We want to be an affordable version of the designer brands that everyone has heard of. We will constantly be changing our collections and we will be offering limited edition items. There won't be millions of each Elsie & Arthur item available; if you want it you'll have to buy it quickly."

Jack Williams added: "Living in the countryside, we understand our target market, from the beginning we had in mind the type of items that we were looking to sell. The hardest part was finding the suppliers and making sure that we were using the best materials."

The business has been shortlisted in the final three of the Cardiff University Spark 2013 Ideas Competition and Jack and Allie will be taking their event stall to various shows around the country over the summer. The range will be launched online from Friday on www.elsieandarthur.co.uk