Twin sisters who launched design studio Buttercrumble look for fresh approach

Twin sisters Abigail and Chloe Baldwin grew up together and even went to Leeds University together to do the same BA in graphic design and communications course.

The duo, who launched their business Buttercrumble in 2017, want to bring a fresh perspective to the agency as they admit to being similar in terms of their approach to design.

Abigail Baldwin told The Yorkshire Post: “We’re advertising for a creative assistant at the moment. Anybody that comes in now is going to have quite an impact on the business and their role is going to be varied because it’s only a small business.

“As we grow I suppose we want to get like maybe slightly different specialisms into the team.”

Her sister says the business, which the twins have been running full time for just over two years now, is at a “pivotal point”.

Chloe Baldwin added: “The business has grown now to a point where it’s sustainable and we can keep going like this. That would be great but we’re 24 and we could have another 40 years doing this.

“We’ve decided that we’re going to grow the business because we just don’t have the capacity to take on any more projects but we’re really keen to.

“We are at the stage now where we’re growing our team and we are moving into premises. In the future we want to keep it personal and we don’t want to grow so big that we lose what’s at our heart – which is the love for playful design.”

The two sisters currently specialise in combining their illustrative skills with graphic design and a ‘young at heart’ approach to creativity.

Chloe, who is the older twin by ten minutes, said: “I don’t think I would have gone into business if I didn’t have Abigail because I just don’t think I’d have had the confidence to do it.

“Our working relationship does work because I feel we can be honest with each other and we’re just always pushing each other further.”

Both of them developed a love for design at an early age despite no one in the family showing similar creative tendencies.

“Ever since we could pick up a pencil we’ve been drawing,” says Abigail. “It’s almost within us in a way. It’s part of our personal- ity.”

Despite the similarities between them, the twins do have varying experience. Abigail previously worked at a digital marketing agency and has more knowledge in online design.

Chloe worked within a public relations agency.

Abigail said: “We have got slightly different experience but with design our style is similar. That’s why it’s another good reason to have another person in our team who can…”

“...bring a fresh approach to things,” Chloe says, finishing her sister’s sentence.

Recently, the duo displayed their creativity at the Playtime Paris Show – a trade show for the children’s industry – after being spotted by a Department for International Trade (DIT) representative while exhibiting their live illustrations at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

“We’ve just signed up to do a project with a company based in New York, who do children’s bags, so that’s really exciting,” Chloe added. “It just shows that you can go abroad and that there is a real gap there for British design.”

Combination of sweet tastes

The name Buttercrumble is inspired by the two sisters’ joint love for sweet food and baking.

Chloe Baldwin said: “It goes back to the time when we were just starting out on social media. My username was Butter Scones and Abigail’s was Apple Crumble. Just because we really love sweet things and we liked baking.

“We just put our user names together and became Buttercrumble.”

The duo were at Leeds University from 2013 to 2016 and set the business up in January 2017 after working “casually” on it for a few years prior to that.