Welcome to Pentlebay
Hi, my name is Clare. I live in Royston in Hertfordshire and I started Pentlebay in early 2018 with my husband Mark.
I love all things ‘summer and beaches’ having grown up in Cornwall and the inspiration behind the name ‘Pentlebay’ comes from my favourite beach on the Isles of Scilly that I used to visit as a child. I still take my children there every summer for holidays that we all love. Having lived in London, I now live in Royston with the countryside on my doorstep so I guess I am a country girl at heart.
I have always had a love of clothes and have worked within clothing retail for the last 10 years but started to become frustrated with the things I couldn’t change. I was also struggling to find the perfect place to shop online because, as a working mum of two, who has the time to pop to the shops?! And when I do, well let's just say I don't get to shop for me. I wanted original designs and not the dress everyone in the office was wearing!
I thought, why not start my own brand? I could bring my own experience to the project. I had the passion and know-how, so one evening I started sketching out designs, showed them to my husband and we haven't looked back since.
I love wearing dresses, so that’s what I love designing in particular. I try to create clothes that will be timeless and you can wear season after season but still look and feel stylish in an original design. We use viscose or cotton as they are biodegradable, which is really important to us. I try to use a mix of different prints and colours and there is also some Breton stripe in amongst the designs - probably my Cornish side coming out!
Designing is never far from my mind, so when the kids are in bed, I'm sketching away. Inspired by a colour or style that I've seen. So far, the feedback has been great, and what's also great is I take that feedback into consideration for the next round of designs. After all, it’s not just me I'm designing for.
I hope you love the range as much as me.
Thank you 