Talk to me about how and when the business was founded.
CLG London was founded by myself (Courtney Fumarola) and my business partners Hannah Houghton. We both worked for a prestigious Royal Warrant holding leather accessory brand for a combined 15 years, it is here where our love for leather and beautifully made products was founded. During the pandemic we found ourselves in the position to create a Company that we felt so passionately about, utilising a useful and versatile material, and to offer a luxury range of leather goods for corporate businesses.
After 6 months of business development CLG London was launched on the 1st January 2021. Fast forward and as we approach our 2nd birthday, we are completely overwhelmed with the growth we have achieved, especially as a small team of two. We took a risk at an unprecedented time and we haven’t looked back!
What was the inspiration behind CLG London?
CLG London was founded on a simple idea; shouldn’t corporate gifting leave a positive and long-lasting impression?
Our vision was to inject a much needed shot of elegance into a traditionally old fashioned category. To move companies away from plastic branded water bottles or USB sticks to products they are proud to gift and serve a long-lasting purpose.
What sets you apart from your competitors?
The market is inundated with mass-produced products, all with the opportunity to personlise with brand logos. None of which offer a luxury quality product and service.
Instead of holding stock on the shelves and offering products for exceptionally low prices, we have positioned ourselves within the market to offer luxurious, beautifully crafted lather accessories. All of which are made completely bespoke to our clients specifications; size, design, leather colour, stitch, embossing finish etc.
This has allowed us to maintain our zero waste policy, with every order completely made to order. Therefore, we don’t allow for wasted stock sat on the shelves, we intend for every product crafted to be put to use and enjoyed.
How has the company grown since its launch?
When we first launched CLG London, like many newly launched businesses we needed to prove to our clientele that we were the go to business for luxurious branded goods. Our orders started small on the 30pcs scale, and often for the smaller and lower priced items.
We’re confident that our products speak for themselves, that’s why when any customer enquiries come through, we will gladly send them a sample to showcase the leather texture, quality and craftsmanship of each piece.
As we hit our one year milestone we started to see organic traction and interest from new customers. This naturally led us to branch out slowly into hospitality pieces, which is where we’ve seen considerable appetite for our A5 Menu Covers.
What would you say has been one of your proudest moments for the company thus far?
Working with brands of such high caliber has been a constant pinch me moment. In our first year we created a bespoke glasses case for Kirk Originals who launched a collaborative piece for their Esquire edit.
In our second year we had the privilege of creating luggage tags for Claridge’s hampers.
But nothing brings us more joy than to deliver an exceptional product and service to our clients, especially when this leads to repeat orders, some of these have been for clients such as: Knight Frank, The Berkeley, Edmiston, The Mere.
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