Our business was launched in early 2007 by founders Amelia Haywood and Hari Bhatta. Having spent a number of years manufacturing for other brands, they wanted to start a line of their own. Their concept was to provide beautiful prints, easy care fabrics and flattering shapes.
It's a family affair!
In the early days, Design and Marketing was managed by Amelia with help from her sister, Polly, briefing two freelance print and garment designers on each collection.
Whilst Amelia travelled back and forth from Nepal, where Hari and her ran their own factory, our parents John and Jane managed distribution - literally trading out of their garage in Cornwall! With the help of an agent, we sold into the south west, particularly capturing the holiday market. As the brand grew, we were excited to be able to purchase a warehouse in Launceston, Cornwall. This meant that we could employ more staff and expand our offering. From there things really took off!
The siblings were soon joined by their brother Ben and more recently, Ben’s wife, Jo, making it an all family concern. Even the brand’s name has a family connection, as Lily is Amelia and Hari’s daughter.
In 2012 we opened our design office in Gloucestershire and with the addition of a print designer, garment designer and garment technician we were able to bring all of the design in-house.
In the past few years we have undergone rapid growth, relocating both the warehouse and offices to Gloucestershire.
''Creatively considered''
We love creating pieces that make people happy. Beautiful, timeless clothing to turn to season upon season. For us, it's all in the detail! From concept of fabric, print design, shape and style (we love a good pocket!), right through to our swing tags, marketing and our customer service.
Lily & Me now feature in over 300 stores in the UK and Europe and in 2019 we opened our first stand alone store in our home town of Stroud, Gloucestershire. Having supplied independent stores for the past 12 years, it felt right to venture onto the high street ourselves!
Find out more about our factory and our sustainability drive...
