When Aberdeen mum-of-two Minnie Singh was on maternity leave she discovered a flair for crafting.
The 38-year-old made baby clothing and gifts from the spare room of her home.
Now, nine years later, she has turned her side hustle into a new boutique gift shop in Cults.
As well as selling Minnie’s products, Braw Boutique sells a range of clothing and gifts, including jewellery, books, and décor, many of which are locally produced by independent suppliers.
Minnie, who is married to Sandeep, rents out shelves in her shop to local crafters.
From side hustle to shop
Minnie started her business after making a nappy cake and posting it on a Facebook group.
Within minutes people had started asking her if she sold them.
Minnie, mum to nine-year-old Daanvir and four-year-old Sarnaee, said: “When I was on maternity leave I was on Facebook and someone had posted a picture of a nappy cake.
“At first I didn’t know what it was but then I decided to give it a go myself.
“I used my son’s nappies, my husband’s tie and some artificial flowers I had at home and made my own nappy cake.
“I posted it and asked for people’s advice. The feedback was great and I got asked if I sold them. That’s how it started.
“I’ve always been creative but had never thought about starting up my own business until that point.”
Going viral on Etsy
Minnie’s online business continued to grow over the years with her expanding to baby hampers and personalised clothing.
But it was when she had just given birth to Sarnaee that she was inspired to make her biggest seller yet – a baby vest.
Minnie said: “It was in 2020 that one of my baby vests went viral on Etsy.
“I had my daughter a couple of days before lockdown.
“I made a vest that said my mummy and daddy didn’t take social distancing seriously.
“I put it on Etsy and I woke up to my phone pinging one after the other. I had so many orders and I had no idea how it had happened.
“It went crazy and was the maximum amount of sales I’ve ever had on Etsy.
“We’d put the kids to bed, I’d be making them and my husband would be packing them.”
Move from online to Braw Boutique
Minnie, who also works full-time in the oil and gas industry, then started making adult clothing and had two different Etsy shops.
One is called Little Bundles and the other Dapper and Spiffy.
But although selling online was going well Minnie had a desire to run her own shop.
She said: “I used to drive along North Deeside Road every day to drop my daughter off at nursery when we saw the unit advertised for rent.
“For the past eight years I’ve said to my husband that selling things online is great but it’s always nice to have the local connection.
“People may think going in to brick and mortar is crazy but I thought I didn’t want any regrets and wanted to try it.”
Braw Boutique ‘something new’
That was six months ago and Minnie, who got advice from Business Gateway, has seen Braw Boutique grow from strength to strength.
She said: “When we opened I thought if I just do my products it’ll be a very niche market as not everyone is looking for baby clothes.
“I thought just as I was looking to get my products touched and seen that maybe there would be other crafters who are interested in renting out a space.
“We had lots of interest and selected what we thought would suit best.
“It’s been great and getting busier as people are finding out about it.”
Keith Smith, Business Gateway adviser, said: “Braw Boutique has brought something new to Cults. It’s always rewarding to support a business that demonstrates the importance of bricks and mortar stores.”
Conversation