Friends turn business idea brewed over a cup of tea into reality

A new boutique aims to put inclusivity and affordability at the heart of fashion—thanks to a spontaneous idea by two best friends over a cup of tea. Besties Boutique , run by Grantham friends Cherina Mason and Karla Brame, opened on Saturday (April 5), bringing colourful fashion to Welby Street. The venture began as a TikTok business 18 months ago, offering a vibrant, unbranded collection from UK wholesalers.

The duo started by selling wholesale stock through live streams. “We’d just had a cup of tea and Cherina was showing me some clothes she’d purchased, and we were talking from there,” said Karla. “I’m very spontaneous—once I get an idea, I go with it.



A week later I phoned Cherina and said, ‘I’ve got the premises, I’ve got the cash, let’s do it,’ and within two weeks we were on TikTok.” Despite neither of them initially knowing how to navigate the platform, they quickly built a following on TikTok. The idea for the shop came when Cherina, 30, a nail technician with a salon around the corner, and Karla, 38, who also works as a supervisor at Specsavers in Grantham, realised their TikTok following was outgrowing their living rooms.

They quickly secured a premises - formerly a kitchen and takeaway - and carried out nearly all the renovations themselves, including taking the kitchen out, replacing the floor and skirting boards, putting rails up and transforming it into a colourful retail space. Karla also reduced her hours at Specavers although the pair plan to continue with their ‘day jobs’, at least for the time being. The back of the building will double as a content creation studio.

“We’ve worked hard to keep it affordable,” said Cherina. “We’ve tried our best to offer a variety for women of all different shapes and sizes. “Many items are one size, as they suit different body shapes better.

” “We wanted something that works for real women—our sizes fluctuate, our bodies change, it can be a nightmare, so our clothes should too,” said Karla. Many garments fit across sizes 8–26 and plus sizes 16–26. “We hadn’t planned on opening a shop so soon,” said Cherina.

“But once we saw the space, we just went for it.” With nearly 7,000 followers on TikTok, the pair use livestreams to model outfits, gather feedback and steer their stock choices. Their opening day drew enthusiastic support.

“It was fantastic. We were more than happy for one customer to walk through the door, but the support we got was absolutely amazing,” said Karla. The duo will be supported by a small team of staff including Cherina’s mum - and they’ll each work a day themselves in the store.

They plan to use the space behind the store for their TikTok content creation. Besties Boutique is open 9am to 5pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday..