A South Cumbrian entrepreneur is appealing for investment from the public to help launch a luxury tie business.
Harry Gordon, 28, of Windermere, got the idea for launching his business Primal Ties when he needed to replace his own silk ties he wore for work.
He said: “I needed more ties and I just couldn’t afford to replace the ones I had with the quality I wanted,” he said.
Harry, who also works full time as sales manager for AW Jenkinson Forest Products, near Penrith, set himself the task of making his own ties cheaper than he could buy them.
Inspired by board shorts he had seen on a holiday to Mexico, he decorated the ties with seahorses, octopuses and turtles.
“When I turned up at work, everybody thought they were really nice,” he said.
“I thought maybe there is something in this.”
Harry has begun a Kickstarter campaign to raise £3,500 to fund his first production run of the ties.
So far, the project has attracted over £2,300 of funding from more than 40 backers. If he raises the funds, he hopes to launch a website selling the products by early May.
Harry said he hoped to be able to set up a base in the Lake District.
“My goal is to create a business that uses an online store and ordering system that then flows through to a fulfilment centre to distribute orders,” he said.
“This would let me be one step removed and generate income without being involved in daily activities, letting me not lose focus on my day job.”
Harry said entrepreneurial spirit ran in his veins, as his dad Ian used to own the Rush clothing chain in the Lake District and Lancaster.
“I think people are happy when they are progressing and moving and that’s when the best opportunities happen,” he said.
“When I have an idea I like to just run with it.”
Harry is also working with his girlfriend Madeleine Sidi on to sell eco-friendly yoga mats and run pop-up yoga classes in the Lake District, which he hopes to launch this summer.
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