Julie Deane: Sophie Ellis-Bextor made my satchels sexy

When entrepreneur Julie Deane's satchels became a celebrity must-have, she knew she had created a fashion craze - and a tidy fortune.

In 2006, chartered accountant Julie Deane, 44, had a problem. "When my children went to school I wanted to buy them a traditional satchel, like the type I had when I was young. But I couldn't find any." She was keen not to return to corporate life after having children and had been looking for a business that could "be enjoyable, make money and be easy to scale up if it was a success". She decided to set up a satchel-making firm in 2007 to sell bags online, to local shops and, "hopefully, win a contract to supply a private school somewhere".

However, finding a manufacturer proved difficult. "I was getting expensive quotes for luxury, designer bags, but there was no way that I could sell them to school children and make a profit." Deane eventually found a private school in Scotland where satchels were compulsory and tracked down the uniform supplier. "At first he didn't want to tell me where he sourced his satchels, but I kept pestering him until he relented." Deane met with the manufacturer and spent £600 getting prototype bags made up. "When I saw them I was delighted. They were exactly what I wanted."

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.