24 hours with Janan Leo
She revolutionalised the party circuit with her comfy, classy foldable ballet pumps. Now, 30-year-old Janan Leo also has BAFTA and the Royal Ballet pirouetting for them. Here, she gives Coutts Woman a glimpse inside her life.
Janan Leo is founder of foldable ballet pump company Cocorose London. She lives in Muswell Hill with her boyfriend and business partner, Gareth Austin-Jones.
I get up at 6am but my day only starts when I’ve had a cup of tea – PG Tips spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and rose. That’s the way my mum always made it. Then I’m straight on my Blackberry checking urgent emails, often while still in my pyjamas.
Our ballet pumps are produced in China, which is eight-hours ahead. The time difference means my manufacturers are always ahead of me, so I’m constantly playing catch up, which I hate!
On a good day, I might have one urgent issue to sort out for them, which could be anything from a packaging concern to a material shortage. That will take about an hour. Other times, I could be sorting out issues like that all day.
I like to get into the office at 8am. Living in Muswell Hill, it’s just a ten-minute drive from work, and that gives me a head start on the 50 boutiques and stores like Fortnum & Mason we stock in across the UK.
Most mornings are spent answering emails, checking web orders and making sure our despatch manager is happy. Our warehouse is a social enterprise staffed by partially sighted people. Setting this up took a lot of time at first, we had to write big labels for everything and clearly separate out colours like browns and blacks. But now it works really well.
Lunch is usually a sandwich from the restaurant downstairs or a client meeting with BAFTA, for example. We’re working with them for a second consecutive year, designing an exclusive ballet pump to be included in the goody bags of all nominees and presenters at the Film Awards next month. It’s very exciting!
My afternoons vary depending on what time of the year it is. In January and August, we launch our new collections, so I’ll be attending a lot of trade shows. There are also client meetings and photoshoots, like one for the Royal Ballet this month to mark the launch of our limited edition collection with them this season.
But all this is the culmination of a lot hard work. Every six months, the process starts with design and material sourcing. Either Gareth or I will travel to China at the beginning and end of our production period – in the first few weeks to manage our sample creation and the last few weeks to oversee the quality control of our stock.
I usually stay in Thailand for a week or two afterwards to visit my parents and work. My father is Thai and mother is Cypriote, and while they both met in London, I was raised there before going to Leeds University.
Thailand is where I do our Cocorose photoshoots and start working on the next season’s collection. It’s a rare moment when I’m removed from the production and sales side of the business. It’s just me, a pen and some paper, and time to design freely.
Once back in London, I’m meeting distributors in the UK and abroad. We now supply 25,000 pumps every season to stores across the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan and launched in America this summer.
It’s a long way from my first order of 500 pairs four years ago, which I sold mainly at an east London market. Today, everyone from celebrities to City professionals love them as they’re a great travel product. But we also work hard to ensure each one has the comfort, style, convenience and functionality our customers have come to expect.
I leave the office at six and, while I check my Blackberry, I try not to open my laptop. When Cocorose was based out of our home for the first few years, we worked from the moment we woke up until the time we went to sleep.
It was even worse in the first three years when I was still working in product development at Virgin Trains by day and doing Cocorose on the side. I don’t think I slept more than five hours a night, what with dealing with China from 4am and then coming back to it after work. But Virgin were great. It’s a very entrepreneurial company and Richard Branson and his wife have been very supportive.
To relax, I’ll watch a film. The last one I saw was Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and I fell asleep halfway through because it was a Friday night and I was just knackered! My exercise regime has equally gone to pot. I used to be an aerobics instructor during university, now I’m happy if I get a walk in Highgate Woods or Hampstead Heath with Gareth on the weekends.
I love Sundays because it’s my day to relax. But by evening, I’m back preparing for the week ahead. 2011 was a big one for us in getting our brand truly global, and there’s more growth and expansion planned for this year. I’d like to grow the team, open a flagship store and keep increasing brand awareness for the future, and that only comes with sheer hard work.
Visit the Cocorose London website for more information and this season’s ballet pumps
As told to Barbara Walshe
