One woman's idea to clean up and sell used items on eBay has led to an award-winning family business.
Fashion Flair – run by husband and wife duo Adewumi and Samuel Akinyotu - now sells second-hand and new clothing and shoes from high street and designer brands.
But it had much more humble beginnings.
In 2011, after the couple had their first of three babies, they fell into financial difficulties as both struggled to find work.
Adewumi, 39, was working as a maths teacher at the time but stopped working to handle child care . She became pregnant again with her second child six months later.
"It was really hectic, so I had to look for something that would let me care for them at the same time," she said.
"There wasn't much money coming in, so I started getting rid of what I had online.
"At first my intention was not to have a business, but to support my family in my own way."
So she began renovating and listing used fashion online, and made her first sale in May 2012.
"Mostly we were selling things from sites online that gave things for free, as well as some items I made myself," she said. "When it started I was living with a friend through lack of money."
She began keeping inventory in a friend's house - which quickly became two friends' houses.
She says Fashion Flair went from there, and kept on growing.
Adewumi added: "I want to say that if anybody is struggling, to make ends meet, eBay is a great place to start. You don't have to have much to start. you can start with a pair of shoes, clean them up, and if it's appealing it will sell.
"Then it will keep multiplying. there is nothing stopping you being successful if you play by the rules, do your research and keep your customers happy."
She finds items by visiting shops, markets and car boot sales then cleaning up and reselling them, and has built up a network of contacts in the industry.
After the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, Adewumi got a warehouse to store the growing volume of Fashion Flair stock.
When the second lockdown came, all the usual places she found items were closed.
"We were lucky to have a lot of inventory, that kept us going, but it wasn't business as usual," she said. "We were not sure we could keep up with the cost of the warehouse. but fortunately the pandemic meant people were buying a lot more items online."
Her husband Samuel was the main photographer for Fashion Flair, but has gone back to teaching, while two of her sons help with packaging and storage.
"The positives of working with family are things get done quickly and it brings us together," she said. "But the negatives are if someone wants to do something one way, and another one wants to do it another way, it can longer to get things in order. The communication has to be there."
She said it can be hard juggling Fashion Flair with having three boys - so wakes up at 3am every day to get things done.
"By the time my boys wake up in the morning 50% of my work is done," she explained.
Due to the rising cost of living, Adewumi says many people are looking for bargains on good quality clothing.
"Many people are finding it difficult to cope with buying new items, but they still want to buy good quality, branded items," she said.
"Most of the things we sell are branded. They might be used, but mostly they are very close to new."
She has 100% positive feedback on eBay, and says this is because she tries to go the extra mile to keep customers happy.
"My feedback is something I treasure a lot, I put notes in packages to tell people to get back to me if they are at all unhappy and I sort it out immediately," she said. "If people are not happy, I will refund them right away. Most buyers are very surprised."
Last year the firm won the family business award category at the eBay for Business Awards.
"It means a lot, and the feedback we have from buyers is part of what eBay rewarded," she said.
