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The Courier
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Perthshire fashion designer's journey to dressing Taylor Swift and £2m turnover
At secondary school in Perth, Jade Robertson was known for customising her uniform. Fast forward two decades and her flair for design caught the eye of one of the world's top pop stars. Orders for Jade's Perthshire-based fashion brand 'skyrocketed' when Taylor Swift was spotted in one of her velvet dresses last year. However, the incredible success of Little Lies is down to far more than just the so-called 'Taylor effect'. Founded in 2015 by Jade and husband Stuart Robertson, the business – which specialises in bohemian, 70s inspired styles – turned over £2 million last year. It began as a small, online boutique operating out of the couple's bedroom. Clothes, while carefully curated, were bought in from wholesalers. However, since 2023, Little Lies, headquartered in Glencarse, has been selling solely its own creations. Jade, 35, will share more about her remarkable story at this month's Courier Business Conference. The event, on Tuesday June 24, is held in partnership with Henderson Loggie and brings together pioneers of gaming, music, fashion, design, media, and digital innovation in Dundee to explore the future Scotland's creative sector. Speaking to The Courier from her Little Lies HQ this week, Jade said: 'So much has changed since we started Little Lies 10 years ago but the ethos remains the same. 'For me, it has always been about helping women of all ages and sizes express their authentic selves and feel comfortable in clothes that are made for their bodies. 'Little Lies isn't a brand that chases trends. 'We are inspired by the music and free spirit of the 70s but want our pieces to feel timeless and be worn again and again. 'The antithesis of fast fashion, we care about quality and fit and use reputable factories.' Perth-born Jade credits her aunt Eve Graham, who sang lead vocals with the New Seekers, with inspiring her love of 70s music and fashion. Jade would dress up in songstress' vintage stage wear and listen intently to tales of parties with the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. She recalls: 'As a young girl my aunt's influence was huge and definitely got me hooked on the music and style of that era. 'I've always had my own unique style. I used to customise my own clothes, including my school uniform, and at one point wore bright pink shoes to school.' Attending Craigie Primary School and Perth High School, Jade excelled in art, music and English and took part in the school drama shows. But despite an impressive haul of Higher results, she decided to leave after fifth year to run a charity fashion show, Rock the Catwalk. Jade immersed herself in the planning and staging of popular event at Perth Concert Hall for four years – even roping her architect dad, Billy, in to be a model. At 21, she decided to apply to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow to study technical theatre – but the degree wasn't quite what she expected. 'I loved working behind the scenes at the Concert Hall and decided I wanted to learn how to do all the technical jobs. 'I enjoyed much of my time at the Conservatoire but after two years I realised it wasn't for me and I was going to end up a qualified electrician rather than doing something creative.' Never one to be doing just one thing, Jade's 'side hustle' came to her rescue. She continued: 'I had been making tie dye t-shirts so I started to make more of them and sold them to independent shops to cover the remainder of my rent.' After a brief stint with Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, she began working in a boutique in Dunfermline, which stocked her t-shirts. It was there, she met her now husband, Stuart, 38, who was friends with the owner. The pair immediately clicked and within a matter of months Stuart had persuaded Jade to set up her own business. Jade said: 'I remember the moment we decided to go for it. We were driving back from a gig and Stuart said he would support me all the way. 'I have always been quite spontaneous but I think I needed that push from him to realise I could make it work. 'Little Lies has been a joint project from day one and I'm so grateful for Stuart's support.' Starting small, Jade set up Little Lies as an online boutique in 2015, sourcing garments that both fit her aesthetic and she knew women would feel good in. She bought a small van and attended tattoo conventions and held local pop-up shops at Aviva and SSE's Perth offices. At the start of 2018 she opened a small standalone Little Lies store in Dundee. While Jade loved chatting to customers on the shop floor and helping them chose outfits, running costs and profitability were a struggle and she made the decision not to open again after the pandemic. However as one door closed, another opened and soon after she got the keys to the current Glencarse unit, Little Lies began selling its own designs. There were a number of reasons Jade was keen to start designing, notably to offer better size inclusivity. She explained: 'Our clothes now come in sizes 6 to 24 and in two different lengths. 'It's important to me to cater to everyone and while the average women's size in the UK is a 16, it can be hard to source over a 14. 'Now sizes 14 to 18 are my biggest sellers.' Turnover was steadily increasing year-on-year until January 2024 when Taylor Swift was spotted wearing Little Lies' Sweet Jane olive crushed mini dress on a night out in Brooklyn. Orders and pre-orders flew in from across the globe and Little Lies met its monthly target within 24 hours. Jade said: 'We usually sell 200 to 300 per style but we sold 6,000 Sweet Jane mini dresses. It was incredible. 'Taylor is the perfect ambassador for the brand. She embodies female empowerment, is unapologetically herself and has strong value that she stands up for. 'She didn't just wear our dress, she wore an affordable £58 dress from a tiny, Scottish female owned brand that comes in inclusive sizes. 'The Taylor effect was a flash in the pan moment in terms of long-term sales but it increased brand visibility and has given me new opportunities to share my story, such as the Courier Business Conference.' Jade, who was recently asked to design St Johnstone FCs third kit, is excited about the future of Little Lies but is also enjoying the 'stability' that 10 years in business brings. Mum to two-year-old Naila, her work/life balance is more than important than ever and her weekends now involve more soft play trips than gigs. She added: 'I used to hate the 9-5 but am now glad to be able to have my evenings and weekends free to be with my family. 'Running your own brand can be stressful so I am happy to be in a stable place right now and work on slow growth and releasing collections I really love.' The Courier Business Conference will also hear from Dundee games boss Chris van der Kuyl who will demonstrate a new virtual design studio and his company, 4J Studios' new game. Held at The Big Real at Water's Edge in Dundee, the keynote speaker will be Geoff Ellis, chief executive of DF Concerts, who will reflect on his career putting on high profile music events including T in the Park and TRNSMT. Tickets are available from
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Courier Business Conference to feature legendary T in the Park promoter
Geoff Ellis, the man behind major Scottish music festivals T in the Park and TRNSMT, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Courier Business Conference. The chief executive of DF Concerts will reflect on more than 40 years in the music business, during which time he has dealt with everyone from Oasis to Beyonce. DF Concerts is also behind the Summer Sessions concerts which brought Noel Gallagher and Stereophonics to Slessor Gardens in Dundee in 2022. This year's Courier Business Conference 2025, held in partnership with Henderson Loggie, will have the theme of powering Scotland's creative economy. This year's event brings together pioneers of gaming, music, fashion, design, media, and digital innovation to explore the future of one of Scotland's fastest-growing sectors. Last year's conference at the new Innovation Hub at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, looked at the plans and potential impact of the Eden Project coming to Dundee. This year we are also holding the conference in one of the city's newest spaces – the £9m virtual production studio at Water's Edge at City Quay. The studio is able to create hyper-realistic digital film sets on a giant digital screen and use cutting-edge techniques such as motion capture, made popular in films like Avatar. Dundee games entrepreneur and Water's Edge owner Chris van der Kuyl, will give an overview of the new technology and explain why it will draw businesses to the city as well as benefiting local companies. As the co-owner of 4J Studios, which helped make Minecraft a global phenomenon, he will also give his views on the games and tech sector. The conference, which runs from 8.15am to 2pm, will feature a panel discussion from representatives of the creative sector before Mr Ellis' keynote speech. The Courier editor David Clegg will chair a panel discussion featuring local businesses on 'monetising creativity in Scotland'. He said: 'Scotland's creative industries are among the most exciting and dynamic parts of our economy – and Tayside, Fife and Stirling is right at the heart of that story. 'This year's Courier Business Conference will shine a light on the talent, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit driving growth in music, film, games, marketing and beyond. 'I'm particularly looking forward to hearing from Geoff Ellis, whose career reflects just how powerful creative vision can be when paired with business acumen.' David Smith, managing partner at Henderson Loggie, said: 'As sponsors of the Courier Business Conference, we're proud to support a platform that's spotlighting the creative industries shaping Courier Country. 'The conference is great event for business leaders to connect and hear from the creative minds driving change in our region. 'It's an exciting time for our local economy, and we're looking forward to being part of the conversation.' Tickets for the conference are available at
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Investigation details 'dubious' payments at Scottish college
A separate report into allegations of bullying, discrimination and corruption in the college's construction department has criticised the culture in place and recommended further investigations of, and training for, staff. Neither report has currently been made public. Speaking anonymously to The Herald, one member of staff at the college said that they had been 'suppressed'. The Henderson Loggie review was instigated during a meeting between the firm and college leadership in February 2023. The investigation was initially to focus on four specific areas: part-time pension contribution rates, processing of leavers, pensions, and long-term absences final calculations. However, the scope was subsequently extended following a request by the college's Head of HR to also investigate the use of 'salary advances' in order to 'artificially adjust payroll figures following identification of payroll errors.' A separate report into the issues around part-time pension contribution rates has already been submitted. Staff from Henderson Loggie were asked to determine whether salary advance transactions related to three ex-employees were 'genuine and appropriate' and to evaluate how they had 'impacted upon the College, the ex-employees concerned, and HMRC". Their report reveals that staff were overpaid after administrative failures led to them being kept on the payroll system after their leaving dates. Instead of seeking to recover the money, administrators used 'salary advance' processes to 'net off' the overpayments, but 'these transactions were purely artificial, and did not represent any actual monies being repaid by the ex-employees.' One consequence of this approach was that the college underpaid HMRC for PAYE contributions. Investigators found that a note from a meeting on 3 October 2023 stated that 'these transactions were created in order to trigger refund payments from HMRC, which is currently held by the College and not refunded to the respective employees' and that 'as the transactions are erroneous, concern was raised on the grounds of legality and appropriateness of this.' It was agreed in the meeting that the payments must be reversed and the college should liaise with HMRC. Henderson Loggie also uncovered an earlier email from the college's previous Head of Finance. On 27 September 2023 they told Finance, Payroll and HR team members: 'I have to repeat, for what will be the last time, that we cannot make phantom payments to people through the payroll to correct an error or whatever, as was discussed. We have a few of these that we will have to tidy up before the auditors come in. If they find them, we will be roasted." The report also explains further erroneous uses of salary advance facilities, including a 'reduction in salary to recover the equivalent value of goods stolen' by an employee who subsequently left the college. Although the use of salary advances for these purposes has now stopped, investigators recommended that the college 'should consider undertaking a detailed exercise to determine how the historical overpayments to employees and pension schemes, as well as underpayments to HMRC, should be addressed and communicated to staff and other relevant stakeholders, including HMRC". READ MORE: The report also confirmed that South Lanarkshire College has been making pension payments to a number of individuals despite a lack of any written records explaining the terms of this agreement. College payroll systems were found to include a number of former staff members classed as 'pensioners' after taking early retirement. There are 'no copies of any agreements for these former colleague to receive the money' and in some cases the recipients are actually next of kin. The report states that the 'only available evidence' explaining these payments 'are copies of letter sent to the Scottish Office Education & Industry Department in October 1995". In the absence of further clarity, investigators state that there are 'insufficient grounds to stop payments and that payments should continue until the death of the 'pensioners' or their spouses, as evidenced by regular verification checks". In addition to the financial irregularities, the report also details internal failures to properly process and submit pensions data for staff, leading to legal breaches. The college is expected to 'supply timely and accurate information' to the Strathclyde Pension Fund Office (SPFO), but has experienced 'systemic and long-standing issues' complying with this requirement. Weekly payroll submissions were found to be 'several months out of date' when examined in April 2024. Similar problems were found regarding the submission of information to the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA). The report found that 'for a number of years, including in 2020/21 and 2021/22, the College has failed to submit annual data to the SPPA by the deadline of 31 May.' It also notes that the Chief Executive of the SPPA reported the college to the Pensions Regulator in September 2021, and that the following year a letter was issued 'informing the Acting Principal of a serious delay in submitting member data to the SPPA. It was stated that despite repeated efforts to engage with College staff, the College had failed to provide SPPA with accurate and timely data by the deadline of 31 May 2022' – this matter was also reported to the regulator. In some cases, the submission of information of staff leaving the college was delayed for several years – the report found that 'the longest delay was 1,932 days, which relates to an ex-employee who left the college on 20 November 2017 who had their leaver form submitted on 6 March 2023. The use of salary advances to 'net off' overpayments also played a part in problems with submitting pension data. READ MORE: The Herald has also been made aware of another report that has been instigated by South Lanarkshire College but not released to the public. In October 2024, legal firm Anderson Strathern submitted an 'investigation report' dealing with allegations including bullying, harassment, violence and corruption in the colleges construction department. Their investigation found that there 'may be a culture which may have fostered' aggressive behaviour and this may not have been 'appropriately addressed by management'. It also said that the college may wish to 'consider investigations into the allegation' that a member of staff passed assessment answers to students, and recommended training 'all staff within construction' and perhaps beyond. Specific training for management was also suggested. The construction department at South Lanarkshire College was the subject of scrutiny in 2022 when The Herald reported that staff had been accused of using college time and materials to 'build, model and repair' their own homes and other properties. An earlier Audit Scotland report had also found that the college had failed to comply with governance standards. The Herald approached the college and asked neither of the reports in question have been released to the public, and included the allegation that they are being 'suppressed'. We also asked how the failures detailed within were able to take place at a major public institution, and who has been held accountable for the long-standing issues outlined during the investigations. In response, a spokesperson for the college said: 'This was a regrettable historic operational failure during a previous administration, which was picked up and was addressed with the utmost urgency. The College has taken this matter extremely seriously and has followed governance processes and ensured the Auditors, the Board of Management, the Trade Unions, and staff have been kept informed throughout. This is public knowledge as per the Annual Audit Report 2023-24. Everything that can be published is already in the public domain. 'South Lanarkshire College is committed to fostering a culture of openness, inclusion, and shared responsibility. Both the College and the EIS-FELA South Lanarkshire College branch are committed to working collaboratively to ensure a positive working environment - one where staff feel respected, supported, and empowered to deliver the best for our students.'
The Courier
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Courier Business Awards 2025: Entries open as new categories revealed
The Courier Business Awards 2025 are open for entries as we look to share success stories from companies across our region. The awards, held in partnership with Henderson Loggie, have been celebrating the achievements of companies operating in Dundee, Angus, Fife and Perthshire since 2013. They recognise the ambition, resilience and innovation of the region's most outstanding companies – from established enterprises to game-changing entrepreneurs. And, for the first time this year, we are also welcoming entries from businesses operating in the Stirling area, reflecting The Courier's wider geographical coverage. The Courier Business Awards are without question one of the largest and most respected awards in Scotland. Last year more than 700 people attended the black-tie awards ceremony at Apex City Quay Hotel in Dundee. Taking our top honour of Business of the Year 2024 was Montrose Port Authority. Other winners last year included Blackadders, Carnoustie Golf Links, ESP Group, Bella Mella and Alpha Projects. Entries are now open for this year's awards. The awards cover a variety of categories including Innovation and Technology, Family, Service, Growth and Transition to Net Zero. This year we have two new categories. The new Medium to Large Business category looks to celebrate businesses of more than 16 employees that are crucial to the economy in Courier Country. Firms that employ 15 or fewer staff are welcome to enter our established Small Business category. The Employer of the Year trophy will honour an organisation which fosters staff engagement, retention and personal development. It is free to enter at Entries close on July 14. The Courier editor David Clegg will chair this year's judging panel. He said: 'The Courier Business Awards are a powerful celebration of the innovation, resilience and ambition that defines our local economy. 'Each year, we highlight the outstanding businesses, large and small, that are creating jobs, driving growth and making a real difference across Dundee, Fife, Perthshire and Angus. 'I'm especially proud that, for the first time, we're expanding into the Stirling region – recognising the incredible enterprise and energy found there. 'These awards are about more than trophies. They're about honouring the people and organisations who help our communities thrive. 'I would strongly encourage any business with a story to tell to enter and join us in showcasing the very best of our growing region.' David Smith, managing partner at Henderson Loggie, said: 'Being part of the Courier Business Awards is about more than just sponsoring an event. 'It's about celebrating the incredible businesses and people that make Courier Country what it is. 'Every year, we're blown away by the stories of those who go the extra mile – the innovators, the risk-takers, the teams who pull together to make great things happen. 'The Courier Business Awards shine a well-deserved spotlight on that hard work, and we're proud to support it. 'If your business has a story worth sharing, we'd love to hear it. Enter the 2025 Courier Business Awards and let's celebrate your achievements together!' The Courier Business Awards helps fulfil The Courier's mission to support key industries and be a vital connector across the business landscape. We want to strengthen our communities, fuel growth, and give a powerful voice to the organisations shaping the future of Courier Country. This year's awards will take place on Friday, October 24.
The Courier
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Courier Business Awards 2025: Employer of the Year
Entries are now open for The Courier Business Awards 2025 Employer of the Year category. The Courier Business Awards, held in partnership with Henderson Loggie, celebrates the achievements of companies operating in Tayside, Fife and Stirling. Since the awards started more than a decade ago, we've heard about the exceptional service offered, innovative products and solutions brought to the market and remarkable growth stories. Entries are now open – we can't wait to hear more about your accomplishments over the past 12 months. Winning a hotly contested Courier Business Award is a fantastic achievement for any business. It means a winning company is a leader in its sector and can be used to promote its products and services. It is also a boost for staff to know the work they do has been recognised. Our winners will be announced at a black-tie awards ceremony held at the Apex City Quay Hotel in Dundee this October, which brings together hundreds of business leaders for a night to remember. Entering is simple and free. We'd love to hear about your business. The Employer of the Year category is sponsored by Calforth Construction Ltd. This award is open to any organisation which puts its staff at the heart of the business. Winner will demonstrate: Entries close at 5pm on Monday July 14. Click here to enter the Courier Business Awards 2025 Employer of the Year category. CalForth Construction Ltd are a Buildings, Civils and Landscape Contractor providing services to Clients in both the Commercial and Residential markets. Its Commercial work sees it working all over Scotland where it has been involved in District Heating Projects, Solar Farms, Wastewater Power Stations, Electric Car Charging Points and a variety of others. The firm's Residential work sees it involved from the smallest Garden Project all the way up to Full Kit Builds. It prides itself on providing a straightforward, honest, and transparent experience for its clients, ensuring that their project is delivered safely, on time and on budget. A Calforth Spokesperson said: 'CalForth Construction Ltd is honoured to be this year's sponsor of the Employer of the Year award at the Courier Business Awards. We look forward to celebrating with all the wonderful nominees.'
