We have a new boss. From Dragons' Den (a.k.a. The UK’s Shark Tank).
At least she looks like a boss in our new barn jacket above.
“Anything you need,” Deborah Meaden told us after investing in Yes Friends. “Just tell me.”
We pondered this for a while. Then asked: “Would you be up for modelling for our autumn-winter photoshoot?”
This might not have been what Deborah was expecting.
“What if…” we said, shooting for the moon, “you bossed us about on camera, and generally made our founder Sam look like he’s ceded all control to you after a hostile takeover?”
We’d learned enough about Deborah to guess this question wouldn’t make her regret investing in Yes Friends.
Her exact response: “Good idea…”
So Deborah participated in antics with us in Somerset, bossing us about while we looked docile on camera, laughing immediately afterwards.
At the end of the morning, she asked us to take one more video to clarify something. “I’m not the boss,” Deborah said, “This” –she points at Sam– ”is the boss. We have a new partnership.” You can watch the video on Instagram.
She’s a wonderful partner to have. She gives great advice on business and ethical business – of course, we expected that.
But she’s also one of the loveliest people we’ve ever met.
After our moment in the Den, Deborah popped out of the studio to say hello to Sam and his wife Olivia, offering her a handshake before saying “Oh what am I doing?” and embracing her in a hug instead.
Over a year later, she stood with us under the shade of olive trees in Somerset, and she seemed in her natural habitat, like one of the crew, gushing about Yes Friends like a fan, not just an investor.
“It’s a good business, but it does good business too. I love that we know who makes the garments and we can tip our workers.”
“One of the problems with Yes Friends is the price is so low you worry about two things. Are they genuinely ethical? And is the quality good?
I’m blown away by the quality… and the reason the prices can be so low is there’s no middle man, they’re made in the factory and sold to you, there’s no compromise at all in quality or the way we look after the workers.”
She’s also a real lover of our new barn jacket…
When Deborah visited our office in February and saw all our new products for the first time, the sample barn jacket caught her eye.
Deborah says, “I remember walking straight up to it on the rack and going ‘Oh, that is a great jacket.”
We can understand why. It’s a jacket that would draw approving nods on the sets of both Gardener’s World and Devil Wears Prada. Made with heavy duty organic canvas and a brushed cotton check lining to hold back the autumn chill whether you’re tending the allotment or nightlifeing.
STOP TALKING AND GIVE ME THE JACKET
The pockets on this jacket are also big enough to smuggle apples out of an orchard...
We tried, the apples fit – and so do mini courgettes in case it’s a dealbreaker.
You'll catch attention to detail from every angle here – the deep contrast collar and cuff, the embroidery on the reverse and the gunmetal and brushed brass buttons, which aren’t magnetised but will attract admiring looks.
We’re pretty sure the jacket will increase the likelihood you’ll be mistaken for someone famous, so you can slip into a backstage area to meet your heroes – especially if your hero is Deborah Meaden.
DRESS LIKE DEBORAH
