Sugar sweet sisters breaking the mould with business model
By admin
Sisters Clare and Cerys Thomas look like they should be on the front cover of a glossy lifestyle magazine, but just six months after launching their own company are creating quite a name for themselves…as local businesswomen.
The multi-talented siblings, from Fleur-de-Lis, near Blackwood, came up with the idea for their entertainments and fashion company Totally Candilicious after returning from spells working in the entertainment industry in London and America.
Clare, 27, and Cerys, 24, launched the business in May 2008 and straight away opened a purpose built unit and headquarters for the multi-armed company in Aberbargoed – a move that the sisters say has been invaluable in allowing them to keep control of the three separate entities that make up their business.
Totally Candilicious has already signed its first girl band to its own label, has received orders for its fashion range and is in the process of putting together a string of events to showcase talent across the region.
With the aim of developing the talent they felt was all around them in South Wales, the sisters have dedicated their time to building the Totally Candilicious brand, recording their own material with their first signed band – all-girl group Candy Girls – and securing orders for the first season of their Candy fashion range.
The sisters, who both attended Blackwood Comprehensive School in followed by separate spells at Coleg Gwent’s Cross Keys Campus where they studied Performing Arts and Fashion before working to gain experience within their respective fields.
It’s the culmination of a dream that took its first steps to reality while the girls were still very young, one day hoping they could combine their creative talents to work together. It was a dream that quickly began to materialise when Clare returned from working at a record label in London in 2006.
Already known for their individual talents – Clare for her singing under the name Clare Thomasa, which included releasing her own single from her personal record label, and sister Cerys for her clothing label Thomasa – a fashion success in Cardiff’s Pussy Galore boutique – the sisters’ Totally Candilicious website went live at the end of September.
Visitors to the website are able to download music from the Totally Candilicious label, buy items from the new Candy clothing range and find out about music and fashion events hosted by Totally Candilicious.
And the sisters will be the first to say that behind their sugary brand stand two cool-headed businesswomen who know where they want their brand to be and the scope for a business like theirs to grow in South Wales – a marker of which is the sisters’ entry to the Young Business of the Year category in this year’s Caerphilly Business Forum Awards.
As a rule, business awards haven’t always been the places where you would expect to hear about start-up companies, or a new business with a product that’s a little out of the ordinary.
Now in its seventh year of recognizing and paying tribute to businesses in the area, the Caerphilly Business Forum Awards look to honour companies from all sectors and sizes from across the County Borough of Caerphilly for their achievements over the last 12 months.
Clare said: “It’s a really exciting time for Totally Candilicious as we go forward and continue to develop our brand. Our business has been a life-long dream for my sister and I which, thanks to our experience working within each of our sectors, is really starting to pay dividends.
“It is quite different for a company such as ours to enter a business awards event, but it is testament to how diverse the businesses in the Caerphilly County Borough are and how the Caerphilly Business Forum Awards support the diversity and achievements of small businesses.
Caerphilly Business Forum chairman Mandy Weston said: said: “It is great to see a company like Totally Candilicious getting involved in the Caerphilly Business Forum Awards. The borough is renowned for being a home to dynamic, forward thinking businesses so Totally Candilicious is a very welcome entry to this exciting and vibrant category.”
