A design and manufacture business tucked away in the corner of Fermanagh is producing modern dress-up clothing that is being sold in the world’s most famous department store, Harrods.

Fable Heart items are also featuring on the Instagram accounts of key British style influencers.

Established in 2015, Fable Heart is the brainchild of Claire Perez, originally from Birmingham, who spent her teens living in Swanlinbar with her grandmother.

Claire, who had worked as a teacher for the British Council in Sri Lanka decided to settle in Fermanagh as her family grew. After having her second child, she was struggling to find teaching work so she sat down with her grandmother’s hand turn sewing machine and began making children’s dress up cotton and linen crowns and matching room décor.
Her next step was to purchase a book called ‘How to Start a Business From Your Kitchen Table’ written by the founder of Not on The High Street, Holly Tucker.

From the get-go, Claire intended to grab the attention of high-profile people who would help her drive her business forward.
She was accepted onto Not On The High Street and began selling online but felt that she could do better with the right advertising. She followed Holly Tucker on Instagram, sent her a package of goodies and was delighted when Holly posted photos of the products on her social media channels and relayed Claire’s story on her blog.
“Then the orders started to increase for me,” said Claire.

Claire took a low interest loan of £1,000 from Fermanagh Enterprise which allowed her to work with a Dublin-based designer, Twelve And A Half, to come up with a logo. “I’d encourage anyone starting out to invest in your logo because you are going to be looking at it for a very long time,” Claire advised. 

She also invested in a new sewing machine and began renting a premises in Enniskillen’s Buttermarket.

Noticing that her highest sales were for the crown, Claire dropped the room décor and made dress up capes and wands. 

Explaining her concept, Claire said: “Fable Heart stands for quality British and Irish design. It is longevity over quick fashion fads. It says no to technology and buzzy flashy toys, and yes to imaginative play.
“We want our crowns, capes and wands to be brought out year after year for birthdays, to be part of family traditions and something parents are proud to have invested in.”

Claire gained UK media exposure after Claudia Winkleman’s daughter suffered severe burns when her Hallowe’en costume was set alight by a candle.
“Businesswise, I found a gap in the market for safe, well-made dress up clothes,” she explained.

After two years in business, Claire had to refinance to take on new staff.
“Fermanagh Enterprise have a craft fund of up to £5,000 and can also put you in touch with a UK enterprise body that can lend up to £25,000. It’s not a low interest loan but it was my only option because when you are on maternity leave, there are not many banks that will say yes to a loan,” said Claire.
“I now have a wonderful designer called Jessica,” Claire said. “Her skill set is brilliant and has taken us to a new level. She was working for Abercrombie in the US and I imagine she is the type of person we would have lost to Belfast or London had I not employed her. We also took on Jelena who is a brilliant seamstress,” she outlined.
With the help of Photography by Ciara, they built up a bank of images which has led to a new customer base.
“Taking on staff is the most nerve-wrecking thing I’ve done,” Claire added.

The business is now based in a unit behind the Sheelin in Bellanaleck.
Instagram is integral to Fable Heart’s success and Claire is never off her phone. As a result of Claire targeting specific celebrities, Fable Heart has been worn by model Alexa Chung, BBC Radio One presenter Nick Grimshaw, TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton’s daughter Honey and the sons of blogger Giovanna Fletcher, the 2016 Celebrity Mum Of The Year.

After national press coverage in March this year, Claire received a phone call from Harrods.
“I thought it was a joke first,” said Claire. “Then they said: ‘Can we see your catalogue?’”
Claire sent Harrods a copy of her catalogue and they wanted to see more. 
“We didn’t have more and I was in slow labour with my third child but we said we would send them our new catalogue in 10 days. 
“Jessica didn’t sleep for three days. She designed a little boy’s velvet jacket that is currently retailing in Harrod’s for £300.
“Then we called Ciara to do a photography shoot. I had the baby. The baby was seven days old when we photographed this entirely new range: the jackets, big skirts, lots of new capes and fairy wings and dresses.
“Everything was done within a week.
“My husband and I were up until 3am trying to edit this catalogue because we knew if we said No they would not come back.
“Harrods really liked it, so they placed a big order with us in May that we had to deliver in September.”

Signing a 40-page contract with Harrods and accepting even less of a cut than they would from other shops was “scary stuff.”
“It’s so difficult to make a profit in fashion if you are based in the UK and Ireland because the costs are enormous,” Claire explained. “We are competing with massive design houses which have everything made in India to cut costs. Wholesale normally demands that the people who make the product get around 40 per cent. Out of that I have to pay UK wages and buy the stock from a UK warehouse. We just can’t make it any cheaper which is very frustrating, but we hope our hard work and attention to detail comes through in our products.”

Fable Heart sells a cape for around £60, while Harrods sells it at £80. A Fable Heart crown sells at around £25, while Harrods sells it at £40.
“Our full cream moon and stars skirts sell for £120 each. Not many people around here would spend that, but the budgets people have in central London are ridiculous. We are the cheapest thing in there by a long way. Our products are next to children’s dresses priced at £500-£1,000,” said Claire.

“We’ve made the sacrifice of working from May-September for such a poor rate but since we’ve launched in Harrods our turnover has trebled so it has been worth it beyond a doubt,” she added.
“They call it a halo effect, getting your product into Harrods. It has increased our sales massively and it is easier to get celebs and bloggers to promote our stuff because Harrods gives them reassurance that we are telling the truth and that we are as good as we claim,” Claire said.
Looking ahead, the mother of three girls (Isla, five; May, three and Honey, seven months) has ambitious plans to enter the bridal market, with Carrie Bradshaw-style tu-tu dresses for brides who want the less formal look and page boy and flower girl clothes. She also wants to go into women’s wear because that’s what her customers are telling her they want.

Her husband, Spanish-native Angel Perez, is helping to promote the brand through video, which Claire believes “gives us an edge.”
The busy entrepreneur concluded: “Fashion is so fickle. Every six months you have to constantly reinvent, even at children’s level and you don’t know whether people will like it or not. That is the beauty of online and keeping the manufacturing here with us. I can make one thing, photograph it well, put it out there. If it sells, we will make more.”