SUCCESS has been tailor-made for Barnard Castle’s Fiona Brookes, who is celebrating two decades in business at her Market Place shop today (Wednesday, October 30).
She is inviting customers, past, present and future to join her and her staff at Brookes Tailoring to mark the 20th birthday celebration with an open afternoon and evening.
Mrs Brookes said: “Normally we do a discount thing for customers to celebrate each year, but this time we decided to do something different.
“We really needed to do something to mark the occasion. We’re hoping customers will pop in and join us. We are going to be serving Prosecco, but not until later in the afternoon otherwise we’ll be squiffy.
The mum-of-four set up the business after being made redundant from Ken and Margaret Brown’s Tailors, with the help of two former colleagues Sharon Clark and Carol Longstaffe.
Mrs Brookes added: “We didn’t know where to go really. Mum and dad gave me a bit of help financially to get set up and it’s been hard work and long hours and a lot of juggling.
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years. Sharon and I joke we’ll be coming out of the work room on zimmer frames.”
Initially setting out to make men’s suits and sell a range of men’s clothing, the business has grown over the years and also caters to women.
She said: “I can’t remember how many years ago it was we branched out into ladieswear, but it was because our suppliers, Viela, had a small range and it grew from there.”
The shop, which is spread over two showrooms, now caters for both ladies and gentlemen with a wide range of accessories for both, though tailoring still remains Mrs Brookes’ focus.
She added: “Sharon and I are still in the work room. The tailoring side of the business has remained pretty constant.
“We still do custom made suits. It’s usually someone wanting something for a special occasion, but I do have regulars that come back time and again.
“At Ken Brown’s we only did alterations to their suits, but here we do alterations to most things.”
Daughter Ellen, who joined the business 10 years ago, is in charge of front of house, social media and also models.
She said: “We’re not opening up at 9.30am but at noon so we can set things up and we’ll be open until 8pm. We just thought it was a nice opportunity for people to come and see what we are all about if they have never been in.”
