By HTE Founder, Erin Hughes
Sometimes the best ideas come from the simplest of places. For Tee Bright, founder of the colourful and unapologetically playful fashion label Yolky Club, it began with a feeling many mothers know all too well: loving motherhood while quietly missing parts of the person they were before it.
“Yolky Club really came from becoming a mum and feeling like I’d lost a little bit of myself along the way,” Tee shares.
“I absolutely love being a mum, but I think you can love motherhood and still miss the person you were before it.”
Having spent years working in fashion as a stylist and art director, creativity had always been part of Tee’s identity. But becoming a mother brought a new perspective, and with it, a desire to create something that would help other women reconnect with themselves.
“Clothes and colour have always been my thing,” she explains. She wanted to create something colourful, fun and a little different, something women could throw on and instantly feel good in, while still being practical for the realities of motherhood.
What started with one design has since grown into Yolky Club, a brand with a loyal community and a personality that’s as bold and playful as the clothes themselves.
And the best part? There was never really a grand plan.
A Little Colour, A Lot of Instinct
While some founders spend months perfecting business strategies, Tee took a slightly different approach.
“Nope, haha, I’m fast and loose! I think I’m like Hamish Blake,” she laughs when asked whether there was a defining moment that inspired her to start.
Despite her experience in the fashion industry, launching something of her own was entirely new territory. But rather than overthinking the process, she decided to give it a go.
“I never made a business plan. I still don’t have a business plan. I don’t even have a spreadsheet for anything,” she admits.
It’s an approach that might make some business owners nervous, but for Tee, trusting her creative instincts has become part of the brand’s charm.
Her inspiration comes from everywhere. Colour combinations, random words and spontaneous sketches all find their way into Yolky Club’s designs.
“I’m obsessed with colour. I notice colour combinations always!” she says. “I truly don’t overthink it. I’m just a shit doodler but it’s working.”
That instinctive approach has become part of what makes Yolky Club so distinctive.
With its playful graphics, bright colours and unmistakable personality, Yolky Club has become a celebration of individuality and self-expression.
Asked to describe the brand in three words, Tee doesn’t hesitate: “Colourful, joyful, unapologetic.”
More Than Just Clothes
For Tee, the real magic of Yolky Club isn’t simply in the designs. It’s in how those designs make people feel.
“Obviously I want people to love the clothes, but more than that, I want them to feel fucking amazing in them,” she says.
Her hope is that someone can put on a Yolky tee on a day when they’re tired, overwhelmed or simply not feeling themselves and experience a small moment of happiness.
It’s a sentiment that has resonated particularly strongly with women navigating the changes that come with motherhood.
Messages from customers who have rediscovered their confidence or found themselves reaching for colour again after having children have become some of the most rewarding parts of the business.
For Tee, those moments are a reminder of why she started.
But perhaps one of the most meaningful chapters in Yolky Club’s journey has been its ability to create conversations and connections far beyond fashion.
The Gigi Angel Tee, created with Bea, Gigi’s mum, in collaboration with Red Nose Australia, holds a particularly special place in Tee’s heart.
The collaboration opened conversations around pregnancy and infant loss, helping women, men and families feel less alone while raising more than $30,000 in just three days.
“Seeing this little brand create conversations around pregnancy and infant loss, make women, men and families feel less alone and raising over $30,000 in three days was pretty emotional,” she reflects.
“That made me realise Yolky can be about so much more than clothes.”
It’s a powerful reminder that even the smallest brands can make a meaningful difference when there’s genuine heart behind what they do.
The Messy Middle
Of course, behind the colourful campaigns, playful designs and sold-out collections is a reality that isn’t always quite so picture-perfect.
“Oh gosh SO messy,” Tee laughs when reflecting on the less glamorous side of running a business.
While social media can make entrepreneurship look effortless, the reality often involves incorrect samples, stock issues, late orders, long nights and the occasional moment of wondering what on earth you’re doing.
Tee is refreshingly open about it all.
She talks about the self-doubt, the mum guilt and the endless Googling when something goes wrong. And unlike the polished version of entrepreneurship we’re so often shown, she doesn’t pretend to have all the answers.
One of her biggest lessons has been discovering that running your own business doesn’t come with set hours. When suppliers make mistakes or an entire order arrives with the wrong tags, the responsibility ultimately falls on you.
Thankfully, she’s had the support of her friend Ange, a fellow business owner who understands the challenges and has become an invaluable sounding board.
“She’s truly my angel,” Tee says.
And while the challenges can feel overwhelming in the moment, Tee has learnt to see them as part of the process.
“But at the end of the day, messy makes you learn and grow!”
It’s this willingness to embrace the unknown, make mistakes and keep going that has helped shape both the business and the woman behind it.
Finding Herself Again
Perhaps the most meaningful transformation hasn’t been the growth of Yolky Club itself, but what building the brand has given Tee personally.
After years spent working creatively for other people, creating something of her own has required her to trust her instincts and back herself in a completely new way.
“Professionally, I spent years working creatively for someone else, and Yolky has forced me to trust and back myself.”
But on a personal level, the impact has been even more significant.
“Personally, it’s given me something that is mine outside of being a mum.”
While being a mother and wife to Jack remains central to her life, Yolky Club has helped her reconnect with the creative, ambitious side of herself that she felt she’d lost along the way.
And in many ways, that brings the story full circle.
What began as a desire to help women feel like themselves again has done exactly that for its founder.
Redefining Success
When Tee first launched Yolky Club, success was simply the thought of someone wanting to buy something she’d designed.
Today, her definition looks a little different.
Of course, she has big dreams for the brand and hopes to see it continue to grow. But success is no longer just about sales, revenue or sold-out collections.
It’s about creating a business that allows her the freedom to be the mother she wants to be, while continuing to do something she genuinely loves.
More importantly, it’s about the impact Yolky Club can have on the people who wear it.
For Tee, a successful brand is one that makes people feel good, gives back and creates something meaningful beyond the product itself.
And while there are plenty of ideas, collaborations and creative possibilities still ahead, she’s in no hurry to lose the spontaneity that made Yolky Club special in the first place.
“I just want to keep creating, collaborating with amazing people and just see where it takes us,” she says.
“I never want to lose what makes it feel special.”
For a brand built on colour, creativity and the simple desire to make people feel good, perhaps that is the greatest success of all.
And when asked what she hopes someone takes home when they purchase a Yolky Club piece, Tee’s answer is beautifully simple.
“A little bit of joy.”
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