If you've not heard of Bloody Nora Pam...well you're bloody well missing out on a beautiful brand of positivity. As the founder, I had the absolute pleasure to have a few moments of time with Emma & Adam to talk about what keeps them going, their rise as a small business from 2016 and their favourite designs.
Hi lovely folk! Tell us your names, and a little bit about yourselves.
Hello! We are Emma, Adam and Leafy and we are BLOODY NORA PAM. We are a tiny family run business creating bold positive apparel. After learning that life is too short when we lost Adams brother Josh aged 24 suddenly due to Sepsis, we started this adventure aiming to spread love and positivity. An adventure that we wanted to begin when me met each other 12 years ago.
What inspired the name ‘Bloody Nora Pam’ for your online store?
The name BLOODY NORA PAM name was inspired by the most beautiful and amazing person that we have ever known that we tragically lost too soon, Adams brother Josh. It comes from one of the many hilarious moments that he gave us. When his great aunty Pammy put sugar in uncle Johnny's tea which he was totally not expecting and shouted “Bloody nora Pam have you put sugar in this?” This made Josh laugh in only the way he could. When he found that something that funny he just couldn’t stop repeating it until we were all laughing too and saying it. Since this moment all of life’s unexpected surprises can be navigated through with a shout of ‘bloodynorapam!’ and a laugh and a smile.
When did Bloody Nora Pam start, and what have you got coming up this year that we can get excited about?
Bloody Nora Pam has existed since June 2016 and this year we will grow to have 10,000 followers which is completely amazing and overwhelming. We had no idea what the journey to this point looked like 12 months ago and we really honestly have no idea what the next 12 months have in store. When we started we thought we would make a few t-shirts and our friends and family might buy them but it has grown so quickly. This year we will hopefully get some brand reps to help us spread even more love and positivity. We are also working on setting up studio space in our home to get screen printing our new designs ourselves later this year and who knows mugs might even return to our store.
We LOVE the fact you give 10% of all your profits to the UK Sepsis Trust, how much have you raised so far?
We have raised a total of £2530 so far for the UK Sepsis Trust this comes from sales and also running the Be More Josh charity auction via our Instagram which so many amazing small independent brands donated items to.
What keeps you going through hard times?
Our followers and customers and all the amazing inspiring things they share with us, reading their messages and stories, seeing their beautiful images and positive reactions is always beautiful and incredibly overwhelming. We are a family still grieving for some one we love and miss terribly everyday and finding the balance when running a business from home whilst being together all the time with a our 2 year old makes some days are exhausting but some days are amazing because we all go on adventures together as a family to the beach or museum which also helps. Also coffee lots of coffee.
Do you have a favourite quote/saying that keeps you going?
We don't really have a favourite quote or saying that keeps us going. In fact when we think about quotes or saying we are always reminded of Josh's’ love of ridiculous motivational quotes and pictures on his social media. He once posted “In the words of Winston Churchill - ‘Don’t stop, never give up. Hold your head high and reach the top’. ” This was typical Josh still makes us all laugh now just as much as ever and I'm sure he was a secret S Club 7 fan. This memory keeps us going.
We love that you're passionate about spreading positivity, have you got any advice for any young people who may be having a hard time right now?
You are not alone. Don't be afraid to ask for help there is someone there who can help you. Things cant stay bad forever and you do not have to suffer alone.
Do you have a favourite design you have done? If so, can you tell us why?
Our latest Be More Josh design is our favourite we have done because it was inspired by Josh and the hashtag #BEMOREJOSH which was created by his friends and the people that love him just after he died. He was just amazing, he brightened up every room and filled in with laughter and fun no matter where you were and there really isn’t anyone else like him. Thats when we realised that there isn’t anyone quite like anyone else we are all unique and wonderful in our own way and should be proud of that. We believe this message is so important for everybody and this really makes love it so much more. Our friend Teri from Deep Breaths Collective created the design for us so being able to collaborate on it just bought it all together.
Where can we find your store and know more about what you do?
Our store is here bloodynorpam.co.uk
Our Instagram is where we share most about what we do @bloodynorapam (All photos are from their Instagram page- where you can find out more about their store, collaborations and lovely content!)