Newsletter No.22
This week’s newsletter wasn’t planned, but after meeting a fellow founder and getting to see her product up close, I wanted to shout about it…
Naomi Raybould
I’m always in awe of anyone with the resilience to build a business from scratch. But often, it’s not until you meet the founders themselves that you appreciate just how impressive they really are.
Last week, I met Naomi Raybould, the Bristol-based founder of Beyond Nine. When she launched the business in 2017, she had just two jumpsuits, designed to be worn during pregnancy and ‘beyond’. Today, the self-funded womenswear label employs almost 30 people - a significant responsibility for any founder.
Around 75% of Beyond Nine’s customers have children under five - women Naomi describes as being in the “rush hour of life”. It’s an apt phrase for a stage when time is scarce, bodies are changing and clothes have to work harder. The premise behind Beyond Nine was that these women haven’t stopped wanting to look stylish; they simply need fashion to accommodate the realities of their lives.
Naomi understands this instinctively because she is living it herself. With young children and a growing business, she is without doubt in her own rush hour of life. When I met her dressed head-to-toe in Beyond Nine, I could immediately see her vision: the clothes looked cool but felt entirely practical; considered but never overly precious.
Beyond Nine has also found an entirely organic audience among older women, particularly those experiencing perimenopause. It speaks to something much bigger than maternity or even motherhood: the simple reality that women’s bodies are constantly changing. They shift from month to month, change through pregnancy and after birth, and transform again as we move through midlife.
Naomi’s philosophy has clearly resonated. Beyond Nine now has 363,000 followers on Instagram and, earlier this year, reached the milestone of 100,000 orders. Yet growth hasn’t come at the expense of the brand’s principles. Around 70% of its garments are made solely from natural fibres, while production is kept deliberately small-batch to meet demand rather than exceed it.
Having seen the latest collection firsthand, I’ve curated a selection of my favourite pieces below. Simply click on the images to shop your favourites.
We hope you have enjoyed our newsletter. Cam & Kate x