“What a year we’ve had at Dressup!” says Roshana Rasheed, obviously pleased. “Who would have thought that we would be where we are now doing what we’re doing and having the time of our lives just 8 months ago! And we’re still growing each day.” Roshana is so excited because she took a leap of faith and it has paid off.
Last year, she and her two sisters launched an online jewellery and accessories boutique. Each item of jewellery sold, promised the Dressup page on Facebook, was hand-picked with ‘a clear eye for fancy.’ The owners of the fledgling company loved vintage jewellery and their eclectic tastes were perfectly reflected in their ever growing catalogue.
Quirky, pretty pendants, bracelets, rings and earrings made of brass and alloy metal were chosen for their authentic vintage look and feel. (“All our items are nickel and lead free,” promises Roshana.)
Now Dressup has gotten bigger – they’re offering more to more people. The company is popular despite or perhaps because their showroom is entirely virtual. By the beginning of 2012, they began to spread out on to other social networks. “We’re now not just on facebook but on Twitter, got our own blog going, and have our own youtube channel!,” Roshana tells the Mirror Magazine, adding, “Dressup has (touch wood) grown beyond our wildest expectations. From a 2000+ fan base, we’ve now grown to a fantastic 18,000 in just over half a year.”
When we first met Roshana it was to discover that she was just back from an 8 week long work cum holiday which took her from Colombo to Malaysia, then to Sydney and in and around New South Wales. Having explored to her hearts content, she’s returned with many new treasures for the Dressup catalogue – “we’ve got some absolutely gorgeous limited edition vintage jewellery boxes we’ve unearthed here from Sydney!” Visiting family and friends, checking out other stores and making the acquaintance of new suppliers have given the team a boost. “We’re just bursting with ideas, plus what’s great is that we got to spend time with our family. We’re just excited beyond words to come back and unleash it all,” says Roshana.
Its perfect timing, since they have big plans for Valentines. Having neglected one sex for so long, she’s also thinking of launching Dressup Men. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she says.
For their thousands of fans on Facebook, Dressup has been rolling out competition after competition. They started off the year by giving away a surprise gift pack to the first person who wrote on their wall on the 1st of Jan and followed that with a gift pack to the ‘Top Dressuper’ of the month.
Other lucky fans walked away with generous gift packs, and they’re currently running a competition where the first 30 fans to introduce Dressup to 20 other people will win a gorgeous necklace worth Rs.800/- All the competitions seem to be luring the customers in, and Roshana says she’s put some thought into making payment as easy and secure as possible.
They began by allowing people to transfer the amount directly to the Dressup bank account and that remains customer’s preference for most part. Now, they’ve added the option of paying with Paypal. With Dressup having been given such a warm reception, Roshana is really looking forward to 2012 - “It’s going to be an exciting year for us. |
E-mail
