Elizabeth Scarlett founded her eponymous brand in 2015, making it the eldest of her children. Scarlett describes her current daily life as “wonderful chaos”, starting her day with family breakfast followed by a walk through the park with husband and Elizabeth Scarlett CEO Alex, and their dog, Lamu.

Elizabeth Scarlett

The brand has a clear mission, which is echoed in its designs and charitable causes. Its velvet purses, washbags and glasses cases are embroidered with ornate depictions of various flora and fauna to represent the type of charity it supports. For example, proceeds from its Ocean collection, which features designs of turtles, go to marine conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation.

The business has raised over £680,000 for wildlife conservation charities via its pledge to donate 2% of proceeds from every sale.

Elizabeth Scarlett is celebrating a decade of business this year, and has become the first label to collaborate with premium womenswear brand Nobody’s Child. It also launched its first collection of crossbody bags earlier this month.

Drapers uncovers a day in the life of Elizabeth Scarlett as she navigates the challenges of scaling a family-owned business.

What does a typical work day look like?

Once I arrive at HQ [in London], I head straight into my morning design meetings to discuss any edits and selections for products.

I then take lunch and listen to a podcast whilst I have some focus time drawing new design work.

In the afternoon, I have my catch-up with the marketing team. I might also record some social media content or look through some moodboards for upcoming shoots.

I will also catch up with our charity partners about our conservation projects. I love hearing how our brand, collectively with our community, is making a tangible difference to wildlife conservation. This never fails to inspire me and reminds me why I started Elizabeth Scarlett in the first place.

I leave the office at around 5pm, and after that, it’s a total switch-off from work.

Describe Elizabeth Scarlett in one sentence

Elizabeth Scarlett transforms everyday accessories into useful, artistic expressions of nature’s beauty, giving back to wildlife conservation with every purchase.

You’re transitioning into bags for the first time. Could you tell us about this decision?

Our growing community has been requesting crossbody bags for years and I’m personally passionate about building out this category in the future.

Crossbody bags felt like the natural next step, combining the artistic details we’re known for with practical functionality that keeps hands-free for daily adventures.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a business and what have you learned from it?

Aside from navigating Trump’s plans over the past few months, the biggest challenge we continue to face is how to prioritise what comes next, while living within our means and values.

We consistently challenge ourselves to dream big, but have grown the business independently and remain fully self-financed, debt-free and family-owned. We have no intention of seeking external funding of any form.

It can be a good restrictor because it challenges you to really focus on the fundamentals of what is important. Sometimes that has meant slowing down to build proper infrastructure, creating the foundations for sustainable, rapid expansion. This year, we are likely to achieve 95% year-on-year revenue growth from £7.9m in the 2024 calendar year to £15.4m in 2025.

Adding a sneaky second challenge, the most important element of the “start-up to scale-up” journey is finding the right people to drive the vision to reality.

Our most valuable lesson has been recognising when our structure needs to evolve alongside our ambitions. In our early days, everyone was a generalist out of necessity. As we’ve scaled, we’ve intentionally built specialist expertise within our team. This transition has been transformative, allowing us to accelerate growth while maintaining quality and attention.

How do you select the wildlife charities that you partner with?

Our selection process prioritises partners with ambition, measurable impact and a shared conservation vision. We focus on partnering with organisations that have consistent, long-term impact alongside clear blueprints to build a sustainable future for wildlife in the areas they cover.

I’ve just returned from the trip of a lifetime to Ascension Island [in the South Atlantic ocean], where I witnessed first hand the incredible impact our Ocean collections make. Through our partnership with Blue Marine Foundation, our community directly funds a five-person ranger team who works tirelessly to protect the green turtle population as they nest and hatch.

What is your current best-selling product?

Our current bestseller is our Open Flat Makeup Bag. I think it resonates because it perfectly balances beauty with functional design.

Our customers love how it brings both joy and organisation to their daily routines, whether they’re using it for makeup, tech accessories, or travel essentials.

Who else in the fashion retail industry inspires you?

Patagonia creates products that are geared towards inspiring people to go outdoors, immerse themselves in nature, and build a personal connection to it. If we can do half as much as they have, I will consider our work a huge success.

I also admire the Oshadi Collective and Christy Dawn’s dedication to regenerative farming practices and “farm-to-closet” approach shows such integrity and forward thinking. They’re proving that fashion can actually heal solid and ecosystems rather than deplete them.

What truly inspires me about both these brands is how they’ve remained true to their founding vision while scaling.

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?

The best piece of advice I’ve received was to “create what makes your heart sing, and others will hear the music.”

This wisdom came at a pivotal moment when I was trying to figure out how to merge my lifelong passion for wildlife and art with building a sustainable business.

What’s next for Elizabeth Scarlett?

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are expanding significantly in three key directions. First, we are growing our bag collection after seeing how enthusiastically our community has embraced these designs. Second, we are accelerating our international presence, particularly across the US and Europe where demand continues to build.

Most importantly, we are using this milestone to reimagine our conservation impact. We are evaluating every aspect of our business, from materials to partnerships, asking how we can protect even more wildlife and natural habitats. The next chapter of Elizabeth Scarlett will be defined by creating beautiful products that make the biggest possible positive impact.