Nansledan’s Bex Osman from Love of Lemons and Love of Vintage has today been named Small Business Ambassador for the South West by the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.
The prestigious accolade means Bex is one of just 12 small businesses in the UK singled out by Start Up Loans as a leading and inspiring example of a start-up business that has been backed by the programme.
Bex started vintage clothing business Love of Lemons during the Covid lockdown has since grown to include two shops in Nansledan at Kew An Lergh.
The annual Start Up Loans Ambassadors programme, now in its eighth year, celebrates exceptional business owners who have launched an enterprise using funding from the government-backed scheme.
Bex has been selected as she embodies the can-do mindset it takes to make a start-up successful.
Bex opened her first store in Nansledan in 2021, selling hand-picked vintage items alongside sustainably produced new brands. She relocated to a brand new shop over the summer and has just opened a sister store, Love of Vintage, nearby.
Talking about her experience of starting up, Bex said: “I won’t pretend that it hasn’t been scary, but I think without that emotional drive it never would have happened. I worked for eight years in fashion retail in Cornwall before branching out on my own during lockdown by launching online, but ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted my own shop. My first Start Up Loan helped me open Love of Lemons and this year I took out a second loan to open Love of Vintage.
“It’s been a huge step for me. I’ve always been creative and had a lot of retail experience styling, buying stock and managing shops for other people, but I’ve always found the numbers side a bit daunting. The process of applying for the loan, working on business planning and projections has been a massive help. Above all it was knowing that the Bank had faith in me that I could make this work. Having that external validation of what I was trying to do gave me a huge boost in confidence and believing in yourself when you’re just starting out is so important.”
Bex says she loves chatting with her customers and helping them find something they’ll love and describes what she does as ‘super-slow fashion’: “I remember everything I buy. Every piece has got a bit of my heart.”
That’s a far cry from when she was a little girl with a Fisher-Price shop till at home: “I used to get all my produce lined up on the floor and everyone had to come in and buy something, and if they didn’t I’d get really upset!”
Drawn from each of the UK’s 12 Nations and regions, the 2023/24 Start Up Loans Ambassadors reflect the broad diversity of sectors and business owners supported via the programme.
Bex and the other 2023/4 Ambassadors are being introduced at a launch event in central London today that kick-starts a year-long programme which will see the new Ambassadors take part in a series of local and national activities, helping inspire and encourage aspiring start-up founders to take the leap into business ownership
Steve Conibear, UK Network Director South West for the British Business Bank, said: “Bex is a fantastic example of an entrepreneur who has followed her heart in setting up her new business while keeping her feet firmly on the ground. We’re delighted that she is one of our 12 Nations and Regions Ambassadors and I hope that her story will help inspire other start-ups across the South West.”
