We’re over the moon here at TW Towers to be featured in this week’s edition of Stylist Magazine. We’re huge supporters of Stylist and it’s terrific to have their support. To celebrate, we’re offering a one month free trial. Simply click here to get our trial offer.

Trinket Women feature in Stylist - 25/04/12

A few weeks back we set off to the swanky May Fair hotel to attend the most recent Stylist Network event.  This time the capable team focused on ‘How to be a Wellness Entrepreneur’. We heard the insights from Liz Earle (17 years in the making and what an inspiring lady), Clare Neill from Radiance Cleanse (great energy gal whom we already knew from B.Hive),  Nahid de Belgeonne, founder of Good Vibes and Glow Yoga and Emma Barnett, founder of Essential Escapes.

The event was pitched as an opportunity to listen from women who are not only experts in their fields, but shining examples of the benefits that can be reaped from redressing the balance of the rat race and working 9-5.  They certainly ticked all these boxes as the businesses they have started all have a focus around ‘looking after ourselves’ and getting back a bit of ‘me’ time.

It’s hard to do though, isn’t it? Some days it seems near impossible, the idea of setting aside time for yourself becomes a luxury, something you have to plan for and then try really hard to not allow someone or something hijack the allocated time you’ve set aside.  Kate and I call it ‘personal admin’, we’ve always believed that planned timed out for ourselves is a vital part to preserving our health and wellbeing.

Last year we ran a competition to win a year’s supply of Trinkets. We simply asked our entrants to tell us that if they magically got an extra two hours back in their day, how would they spend it.  We were overwhelmed with the results, as most women told us they wanted a bath and some time out. Nothing complicated, no big requests for expensive diamonds, trips to New York or complicated house extensions, all they wanted was to simply run the bath and a chance to shut the door.

Often we stretch ourselves to the limit, we make promises to do a hundred things and get disappointed with ourselves when either we cannot complete the to-do list or worse, do an average job and mess it up. Stylists are right when they say we need to re-address the balance of the rat race.

The message from our competition responses was loud and clear, we need to make time for ourselves. Just as we do for our careers, our kids, husbands, partners, pets, parents, in-laws, friends, community groups and colleagues (see how long that list is). There’s a wealth of ways to achieve this, of course we firmly believe Trinket Women is part of this formula to help with the ‘to-do list’, but we also know there are many avenues to turn your attention to help create some space in your day.

Start today, make a list and choose one or a few that work for you, you’ll be amazed how you feel and the difference it can make.

When it comes to choosing your tampons, we believe cotton is the only choice for your body.  Here’s some reasons why we chose to make our tampons from this natural and versatile fibre (as opposed to other brands who make their tampons from a range of synthetic materials – and not from cotton).

Cotton’s fibre is incredibly versatile and can be woven or knitted into fabrics like velvet, corduroy, chambray, velour, jersey and flannel – as well as being used to make TRINKETS natural cotton tampons We only use first grade cotton – the best for women’s insides.

Cotton has some fantastic properties:

• It is hypo-allergenic, since it doesn’t irritate sensitive skin or cause allergies.
• Cotton’s softness makes it a universally preferred fabric for underwear and other garments worn next to the skin.
• Cotton has a high absorbency rate and at saturation point can hold up to 27 times its own weight in water (one reason it’s great for tampons, liners and pads).
• Cotton actually becomes stronger when wet.
• Cotton breathes easily as a result of its unique fibre structure.  This helps make cotton more comfortable to wear than artificial fibres unable to provide similar ventilation.
• Unlike synthetic fibres, cotton is a natural product and contains no chemicals.
• And, of course TRINKETS natural cotton tampons contain no chlorine, no chemicals and no dyes, what could be better for your body?

Return to our products page or click here to visit our home page.

Genevieve and Kate (beach holiday)

Kate and I grew up together in Australia on neighbouring farms in rural Victoria in a tiny country town called Minyip.  Minyip’s real and only claim to fame is that it’s where they chose to film the TV series, The Flying Doctors. As young teenagers growing up, this was possibly the best thing ever, as when they came to film in our town, it was packed with action, excitement and TV stars.

Being farmer’s daughters and both of us the youngest of big families, we had an idyllic childhood. Our norm was our Mums cooking in the kitchen preparing food that was grown on the farm, this was everything from the milk, fruit, vegetables and meat.

A life of farming was economically unpredictable, payments for the crops our Dad’s grew were governed by the success of the harvest which was 100% reliant on the weather.  The decision to feed large families from the food grown on the farm was the most cost-effective means of survival.  As a result, Kate and I have long history and appreciation for natural products, so it was by no accident that we insisted that Trinkets be 100% cotton from the very beginning.

Kate and Genevieve (1979)

It’s also by no accident that we decided to forge a business partnership and start a company together.  Kate will tell the story that I remember the day she was born and it’s true, I do remember that phone call. We go back to the very start and it’s not often that business partners can say that. However, it works.

We certainly didn’t grow up thinking we would move to London and start a business together. However since moving here over 9 years ago, working together and recognising we have complimentary skills has been key to making Trinkets work. I’m the talker, the connector and the one doing deals. Kate is precise and is a genius with everything numbers (you should see those Excel spreadsheets). She also has a creative side which makes for a perfect balance and genuinely brilliant partnership.

Kate and I took our time to work on our branding and packaging, we knew it was critical to get that right if we were going to make a success in the challenging category of feminine care. We’d done the research and there were only two brands on offer for all these women living in the UK, we knew there was opportunity here.  We also knew that we had to create and bring the women something different. As we mentioned, having a 100% cotton product was never negotiable. So, with a chic brand, a beautiful box and a premium product,  we were ready to go to market.

During our branding stretch, we always envisaged we would launch Trinkets in the retail space, that’s where women bought tampons right? But what if there was another way. The decision to create and develop an e-commerce website was helped along by two friends who said to us, “why can’t someone just deliver our tampons, we always run out”.  I distinctly remember looking at Kate and she was looking at me as if lightening had struck, it was a light bulb moment which sounds like a cliché, but that’s exactly how it was.

Everything made sense from that day on and isn’t life strange sometimes when something is so obvious, but you don’t get it?  You see, Kate and I had been working in the mobile content sector for the past 7 years at that time. All our expertise was based on technology, online and mobile. We just didn’t connect the two together. Tampons had such a strong retail representation and marrying them to an online subscription business was certainly not at the forefront of our distribution strategy. I still love the reaction we get, when we tell people what we do, there’s always an awkward 2 seconds, followed by the same light bulb moment we had at the beginning. It’s the realisation that getting your tampons delivered for your monthly period is possibly the most accurate and suitable  subscription you could ever sign up for.

When we’re asked the question, why did we start the business, we talk about the lack of choice of good quality products available to women. Our vision has always been about bringing a premium quality natural cotton tampon to the women of the UK, add to that the convenience of having it delivered and we’re quietly confident that we are building a successful business.  There’s tonnes of challenges, but as we hear so often, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Genevieve and Kate 2011

This is the first time we’ve ever written about us and told our story. We’ll keep you posted and let you know how we’re doing along the way. What we can tell you, so far Trinkets has been the best decision we’ve ever made.

That famous Logo

This week we attended an event by Stylist Magazine which was all about launching a business online.  We heard the success stories from a number of inspiring business women including Sarah Curran, founder of my-wardrobe.com (hats off to this lady), Tamrara Herber-Percy, CTO and co-founder of Mr and Mrs Smith (one of our fave websites), Shelley Hoppe, founder of Southerly Communications, Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet (what a story that is) and Tracy Doree who offered advice on funding and investment.

We should also mention that it was hosted by Lisa Smosarski, Editor of Stylist and Media Woman of the Future. Lisa has been a real supporter of Trinkets, which we are very grateful for.

Google, on the inside...

This fab business event was held at the famous Google offices.  We were rather excited about getting to see the inside of Google.  We’ve read the books and we can confirm that we did see some quirky and beneficial areas/elements for the staff and visitors.

Reception with bowler hat lights, way cool..

The event was actually held in the staff canteen, best dam canteen we’ve ever seen.

All and all, it was a terrific night and ticked off one of ‘must do’s’ from the list.

This month, The Eve Appeal is running the ‘kiss of life’ campaign which marks the first ever Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month.  A host of celebrities have puckered up in support of this campaign including Jo Brand, Rupert Grint, Dannii Minogue, Jenny Éclair, Helen Lederer, Matt Baker, Donna Air, Lorraine Kelly, Sharon Maughan, Trevor Eve, Kay Burley and Yvie Burnett  These stars have donned their favourite red lipstick and set a ‘kiss’ to encourage women to get involved.

18,000 women are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer in the UK every year and of these women, 7,500 will die.  The Eve Appeal, the only national charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness of all gynaecological cancers, is launching a new annual campaign with ‘a touch of red’ theme.

Public knowledge of gynaecological cancers is woefully low. There also remains a strong embarrassment factor associated with all matters ‘down below’ as one in four women find talking about gynaecological symptoms embarrassing even with friends and family.

The focus of this year’s campaign, the kiss of life, aims to collect 7,500 ‘kisses’ – one for every woman lost to gynaecological cancer each year in the UK.

There are opportunities for everyone to join our celebrity supporters and get involved in the campaign:

• Text ‘EVE’ to 70800 for a link to download our free iPhone app to send kisses to family and friends (£1 per kiss)
• Free download of the kiss of life iPhone app from The App Store (£1 per kiss)
• Upload a photo of your own kiss or chose a pre-set kiss image to send to a loved one via www.gcam11.org.uk (£2 per upload)
• Put on your favourite lipstick and kiss a card (available from 020 7299 4430 or www.gcam11.org.uk) and post to The Eve Appeal for a minimum donation of £2.  The charity will upload the card to the website
• Text ‘KISS11 £2’ to 70070 to donate

All above details and instructions can be found on the www.gcam11.org.uk home page.

Thank you to everyone who entered our ‘win a year’s supply of tampons’ competition.

We are delighted to announce the 3 winners are Kelly Horton, Ann Delaney and Dejeniera Pygott. Congratulations to you all.

Our three lucky winners will select their choice of cotton tampons from our range and each month a special little parcel will arrive with their name of it. The monthly delivery is the gentle reminder that having their tampons delivered means never being in the unbearable situation of getting caught out.

Our aim is to help women and getting your Trinkets delivered might just be the answer to one less thing to think about, which means a little more ‘me’ time.  The competition results told us that some of you could really benefit from a little extra time in your day.

Stay tuned for more competitions and giveaways from Trinkets. Thanks for being part of our competition and  don’t forget to save a little time for you each day, even if it’s running a bath at the end of the day! xx

Over 12 years ago, the first of our close friends packed up her life into a back pack and moved from Australia to the exciting city of London. Over those next 3 years we all did the same and now 12 years on,  three husbands, 4 babies (2 on the way), a tampon business and various successful career progressions, some of us are still here.  That was never the plan though. We all kissed our Mums goodbye with the promise we would make best use of a two year working holiday visa and be home soon. Sometimes plans change don’t they?

People always ask the question, why are you here? You’re from Australia they say, what about all that good weather you have. It’s always about the weather. I think what happens is that you find a good job, you meet interesting people and you become addicted to travelling. You can’t nick off to Paris for the weekend when you live in Melbourne. But there are massive sacrifices and it’s not the weather that causes the bout of homesickness (yes even after all these years, it still happens), it’s being away from family and the people you have left behind, that’s the hardest bit. 

So, what happens here in London, is that you create and nurture a different kind of family. A family of friends.  These are the friends you drink wine with on a Friday night, share Christmas with and what’s now become an annual event,  make tomato relish.  We all grew up helping our Mothers do the same and re-creating the event here in London has developed into a type of ceremony. Every year we gather for 2 days to produce 12kgs of tomato relish. We stand around the pot and discuss life, love, potential love, how much sugar we should add and sometimes there are tears. There’s a mandatory ritual that each person stand at the pot and stir in their own good energy and story. Fertility was a big theme 2 years ago and now we have 4 babies (2 on the way). There could be something in this.

What I love most about the experience, is the coming together, being in the kitchen and sharing our stories. There’s also the very satisfying feeling of producing 35 jars of delicious relish.  We finish the weekend with the usual discussions about dividing up the jars, identifying which ones are good for gifts and who will get through their allocation the quickest. Finally, we kiss each other goodbye knowing that inside each jar of relish contains more than just tomatoes, onions and spices, but the stories of love and friendship from a group of women eager to see what might unfold from the stirring of the pot.

Love. Friends. Relish.