We're Turning 5!
To mark Baxter&Baxter’s 5th birthday, founder Alexander James Baxter shares his thoughts on the brand’s past, present and future.
What motivated you to start Baxter&Baxter 5 years ago?
Initially Baxter&Baxter began as a creative outlet for me. My background is in film, driven by a desire to create and tell stories. Over time I felt that my job in production wasn’t delivering as much of this as I craved so I created the brand to fill that gap. It quickly became the vehicle for my creative energies and grew from there. I’ve always loved style and how clothes and accessories are used to express and transform one’s self... watching customers do this using our products never gets old.
How has the brand evolved over the last 5 years?
Looking back at how much Baxter&Baxter has evolved is a huge source of pride for me. I launched the brand with a small range of men’s ties, scarves and pocket squares back in 2017. The bracelets we’ve become known for came later, initially in the form of a capsule collection. The idea was a bit of a crazy one that just came to me one evening but after an overwhelming response from customers, bracelets quickly became the focus for us. Within just a few months we were featured in GQ, ELLE, Tatler, Gentleman’s Journal and The Financial Times.
I’ve always felt that the most successful brands evolve organically in response to tuning into customer needs and feedback. We will continue to delight customers with unique products by doing exactly that and reaching out to new customers with our offering.
How do you imagine Baxter&Baxter might evolve over its next 5 years?
Seeing the brand evolve into a unisex destination has been incredible. This direction for us as a brand is gathering pace and there’s such opportunity there. I’m excited to develop this more, reach a broader range of customers and champion diversity in our proposition. It feels like this is the direction the world should be moving in and I'm glad we can be part of that.
What has been your most memorable moment of the past 5 years?
The moment I was encouraged to view Baxter&Baxter as a business, rather than a hobby. This was the trigger point for me building my team and our brand proposition. Oh and I'll never forget the first time I saw a stranger wearing a Baxter&Baxter bracelet on the London Underground. It was a wakeup call for me and a moment of reflection about how far the brand had come and the scale of what we had created.
Tell us more about how you plan to celebrate
I’ll be celebrating with the team. The last two years have been crazy and we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy considerable growth despite challenges presented by the pandemic. Q4 2021 was our busiest ever so we'll be taking some time for us to celebrate as a team to reflect on how far we’ve come. We’ve also launched a new, limited edition piece of demi-fine jewellery to mark us hitting 5 years - The Sylfren Necklace. Understated contemporary and set in solid sterling silver, the pendant symbolises all that the Baxter&Baxter represents and our evolution as a brand.