Everyone’s welcome at the Dinky Circus
Jump straight into the world of Dinky Circus, they’re on a mission to create a loved kidswear
brand focusing on playful graphics twinned with workwear sensibilities, and we’ve got front row seats...
A: Who are you and what do you do?
W: My name is Wesley Simpson and I have spent the last 12+ years in the “fashion” industry, I started out in buying/trend forecasting roles for numerous retailers, you probably have clothes from them in your wardrobe. I have spent the last six years running an independent design and trend forecasting agency called exposur and recently launched Dinky Circus, an extremely fun and playful kidswear brand.
In terms of what I do…it’s pretty much everything, but I do get help from my wonderful wife and two children, plus I get to collaborate with lots of interesting individuals on Dinky.
Why did you start Dinky Circus?
Having my own brand has always been high on the agenda and I have always loved kidswear because you can be so adventurous with the graphics, the palette and as they are so little the proportions can be really interesting…it’s always been my favourite product area to work on. Dinky Circus has been a very organic process pulling together a lot of the stuff I have been saving over the years. I also intentionally didn’t impose a timeline, which allowed me to collaborate with a lot of the amazing creatives, factories and individuals I have known over the years without having to worry about our schedules aligning.
Dinky Circus is a consciously designed kids-wear brand that combines fun playful/retro graphics alongside workwear sensibilities. We produce clothes that are functional, hard-wearing and comfortable, allowing for freedom and adventure. Drop one features graphic tees all made in the UK to our in house developed oversized fit.
What can we expect from Dinky Circus in the future?
There’s lots on the way with Drop 2 launching in the coming months, featuring an array of garment dyed worker jackets, dungarees, lots more interesting “pocket money items” and fun branded items too. Alongside this we are looking at doing lots more shoots and some markets in and around the Norfolk area.
Where’s your favourite place to visit in Norfolk?
So many places as we are really spoilt for choice but you will usually find us at the beach with our favourites being Holme Next To The Sea, Winterton On Sea, East Runton and Holkham. Outside of this it’s usually visiting some of Norfolk and Norwich’s amazing places to eat with The Old Store, Danomeys and Yard being very high on the list.
@dinkycircus / dinkycircus.co.uk
This interview was published as part of a paid collaboration within our printed newspaper.