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HELPING women sleep more soundly is the aim of a Woking businesswoman, who wants to transform their bedtimes.

Selina Evelyn has launched a range of pyjamas that she is selling through an online venture called sleep + flourish, it is run from a flat Selina shares with her husband, Gaurav, in the town centre.

“I was struggling with poor sleeping habits and I had to look really closely at my sleeping routine,” Selina said. “I’d seen how difficult it was to switch my brain off and start to wind down after a long day.

“I’d tried all the usual things, such as stop looking at devices, get to sleep earlier, then I realised how much calmer I felt after I put on a pair of matching pyjamas. I felt more at ease.

“It was like a signal that the day was over and it was time to relax.

“I came up with the idea for sleep + flourish when I couldn’t find pyjamas that suited me.  I wanted to focus on fit, fabric, prints and functionality – and that looked great to wear. I wanted to create the ultimate pyjama set.”

As her idea developed, Selina left her job marketing financial books to strike out on her own.

“I wondered why I was doing all this for someone else when I could do it for myself,” Selina said.

So she set about creating her new enterprise.

Selina added: “The launch has been a year in the making, although not entirely by choice. Everything was set to go last summer, the designs, the marketing, and I had a factory in India all set when the pandemic hit.

“The big problem was that the manufacturers had to close to put in a host of pandemic safety measures, and that pushed us back.

“The designs are block print, which are so vibrant they make you think ‘I want that now’.

“I certainly did when I’d seen similar designs, but I could never find exactly what I wanted. Business people always says it, but I really do think there is a gap in the market.

“And the manufacturer has been great. A lot of them don’t want to know you if you’re not a national chain, but ours is happy to produce much smaller numbers for us.

“It’s also very helpful with the designs, picking up on my ideas and then improving them.

“We have five options in style and design, and we’ll probably stay with that for the moment, perhaps see what feedback we get. They’re 100% per cent cotton, in pretty colours and fun to wear.

“The aim is for us to be part of helping people to sleep well, which is why I was so keen to put some relaxation tips on the website. I’ve also added some hints from yoga teachers.”

Although the delay in launching the brand was frustrating, Selina put the time to good use.

“In one way it helped, because it’s given me more time to market the range and make connections through Instagram and Facebook,” she said.

“The pandemic has created so many more online forums for people to meet and chat, and a lot more people are aware of us now – we haven’t launched to tumbleweed!”

Selina is also quick to credit Woking Works business support and advice service for its help in bringing her brand to market.

“It’s an excellent resource for local budding entrepreneurs,” she said “I learnt about aspects of business from experts that I didn’t know before and met many other business owners with exciting ideas for products and services. It really fuelled me and my business.”

* FOR more information visit www.sleepandflourish.com. For business advice and support, visit www.wokingworks.com.

Credit: Woking News and Mail

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