A north-east design, print and embroidery company is reporting “steady growth” just months after relocating from Aberdeen to a purpose-built studio in Kintore.
Ripples Custom Designs & Prints has also won a gong in the Scotland Prestige Awards since its move from Centurion Court in the Granite City.
To be recognised for our services as we enter our ninth year, shows we are not stopping anytime soon.”
Founder and self-proclaimed “girl boss” Ola Adeyemi said the new location had delivered an immediate boost to the business.
Sales are currently up 23% year-on-year and on track for a 60% increase in the first 12 months after the move, she said.
Ripples was thriving before the relocation and needed more space to meet growing demand for its products, she added.
The firm designs, prints and embroiders a wide range of garments as well as customising and branding promotional and corporate gifts.
Small beginnings
It was incorporated in 2010 and Mrs Adeyemi, 38, went full-time with it a few years later, initially working from home.
The business now employs five people, with a mix of remote and office working within the busy team.
Ripples’ new premises are rented but there is potential to buy, which Mrs Adeyemi, who boasts a postgraduate degree in international commercial law from Aberdeen University, said would allow it to work with bigger companies – such as distilleries and those within construction – and schools.
The long-term goal is to provide a facility for people to come in and create designs themselves, offering teaching opportunities.
Former radio station
Ripples’ newly developed studio was once home to North East Community Radio, prompting Mrs Adeyemi to retain the name “The Studio” as part of the address, alongside traditional features of the building, such as the stone walls found inside.
Gordon Lee, owner of Craigdon Construction, which carried out the rebuilding work, said: “The vision was to combine a space that would act as both an agency and a workshop, while including traditional and modern features for high-technology machinery and printers.
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“I would check in with Ola every so often to hear her thoughts on our progress, but we worked well together and she trusted me to just get on with it.
“She definitely had big ideas and it was a pleasure to provide more capacity for Ola and her team to work with a large variety of clients.”
Ripples’ triumph in the Scotland Prestige Awards – launched in 2019 to recognise business success throughout the country – came in the embroidery service of the year category.
Mrs Adeyemi, who co-owns the company with her GP husband, Ade, and also owns north-east clothing brand Urban Caledonia, said: “This award means so much to me and the Ripples team as it validates our hard work.
“I have been running Ripples Prints for over eight years now, and to be recognised for our services as we enter our ninth year, shows we are not stopping anytime soon.
“The company has grown from my home and we have recently moved to fully operational premises in Kintore which will enable further expansion of the business.”