The story behind our mid-life passion project brand

Hello! We are Jolene + Mil aka the pyjama people aka Irregular Sleep Pattern

Thank you for your interest in our irregular world. We wanted to tell you a little about how we got here. If you'd rather watch than read, you can here me not letting Mil get a word here here.

If you are anything like us, when we discover a new brand we like this look of, the first thing we want to do is learn about the people behind it, so here we go! 

In 2015 we got married + moved into a new home here in Glasgow with our combined four daughters. We couldn't find any really cool responsibly made grown-up arty bedding, then began musing about why no-one made cool pyjamas, but only slouchy or sexy. We joked that we should make them ourselves, but then carried on with our busy lives...

In 2017, we were turning 40 + 50 and it felt like a 'now or never' moment to follow our dreams - Mil is a product designer who has worked in fashion and as a brand consultant, I was a TV producer good at 'making stuff happen' - how hard could it possibly be?*

We got a huge piece of paper and coloured marker pens and started sketching our ideas - number one was that it had to be about much more than just selling stuff - we wanted to build community, to use our voice for good, to produce products responsibly putting people + planet above profit, to not follow seasons, trends etc, to encourage slow + considered purchasing (enter our irregular pyjama sizing) and to centre JOY in our products / brand in general. 

Mil immediately came up with the genius name IRREGULAR SLEEP PATTERN and *ping* a lightbulb moment - "Irregular" would be our guiding principle governing not only the aesthetics of our products, but how we run the brand.... 

We launched in 2020 with our hero products of pyjamas + duvet sets after a lot of R&D, and in the last year we have been branching into homewares due to popular demand. Before we launched Mil said 'there is one thing I know for sure, I don't want my face to be featured ever'. Ha! / oops. That was never going to work! We can now be found posing on our doorstep each morning, always leading with joy in getting older + bolder and the liberating attitude of not caring what anyone thinks. 

Probably the most 'irregular' thing about ISP is that around 90% of our customers wear our sleepwear as day wear due to the tailored / workwear style construction, and this visibility has organically built a community of like-minded irregular souls... 

It has been a steep learning curve to say the least (particularly challenging for me learning how to run a business while navigating wonky hormones), continuing as I type after five years, but there has been so much joy along the way.... Highlights include: 

 

• Countless love letters from customers about how our products make them feel. This one (about our wasabi robe) made me cry, "Bought as a birthday present to myself after coveting for months and could not be happier. I adore bright colour and bold print but tend not to wear them (body image gremlins)... how wrong was I? First outing over jeans and a t-shirt and I had so many smiles, nods and compliments , someone said I looked SENSATIONAL!! This is now my robe of confidence and I will definitely be buying more" 

 

• Our pyjamas being sandwiched in between Kylie + David Mitchell (on Joe Lycett who owns around 8 pairs, including two custom sets he asked us to make featuring his own art work)

 

• Making friends around the world, because our brand attracts like-minded folks. Here we are in NYC with Jean & Valerie aka @idiosyncracticfashionistas

 

Trying to run a brand / make a profit when we are following our irregular instincts is definitely not easy (Mil still has two other jobs which keeps us afloat) but:

1) we couldn't sleep at night if we were doing it any other way, and

2) we 100% know that it builds real connections with our customers, and a solid base from which to grow. 

When you order from a small brand like ours, we really really appreciate it, and your order will be packed lovingly in our small studio in Glasgow by one of us personally. If you have any issues or questions, it will be us helping you - we really care + really love connecting with our customers. If you made it this far, and want to check out our shop, please remember and sign up for 15% off your first order on the pop-up. 

We look forward to welcoming you to our irregular tribe 

 

Jolene [+Mil]

 

*[actually, VERRRRRY HARD 🤣]