Meet the Founder: Emma Macdonald

From wool blankets to a globally stocked lifestyle brand, Emma Macdonald has quietly built TBCo into one of Scotland’s most distinctive design-led businesses.

Rooted in natural fibres and bold, expressive design, the brand has grown from a small self-funded start-up into a business with international stockists including Selfridges, Anthropologie and Nordstrom. Perhaps most notably, TBCo was among the first to champion the triangle scarf – a style that has since become one of fashion’s most recognisable accessories.

We sat down with Emma to talk career pivots, building a business from Edinburgh, and why kindness can still be a commercial strategy.

You originally studied economics and business. Fashion wasn’t the obvious route.

No – I studied economics and business mainly because my dad told me that’s what I should be doing. I was good with numbers and I nearly went into investment banking. I went to a few interviews for it and I remember thinking, what am I doing?

Around that time I’d met my now husband and his parents had started businesses themselves. He was like, “Why are you doing this if you don’t want to go down that road?” That was probably the first moment I really questioned it.

So I ended up doing a Masters in Fashion Business at Heriot-Watt instead.

Your first role was at TK Maxx. What did you take from that experience?

Honestly, it was amazing. I started in merchandising and then moved into buying quite quickly. Within a few years I was buying for all of Europe across different departments; shoes, underwear, womenswear, kidswear – so I got exposure to everything.

The biggest thing they instilled in us was that you have to be the nicest person in the room. In buying there can be this culture of fighting for discounts and pushing manufacturers as hard as possible, and I knew that wasn’t something I’d enjoy. Their view was that if you build a genuine relationship, you get the best result anyway. That really stuck with me.

When you moved back to Edinburgh, you didn’t immediately plan to start a business.

No – I actually wanted to stay in buying, but there weren’t any buying jobs here. My husband had previously run a company and said, “Let’s start something together.” My first reaction was honestly, I really don’t want to do this.

But we started exploring products and came across wool blankets through a supplier he was working with. They were beautiful, natural fibre products and hardly anyone was selling them. I also knew from working in fashion that I wanted whatever we created to be made from natural fibres.

So we launched with blankets. At the time it was really just testing an idea.

Did you have a long-term vision for what TBCo would eventually become?

Not really. I think people often talk about five-year or ten-year visions, but when we started I didn’t know what we were going to be able to create.

What I did know was that I wanted to go to bed at night feeling happy about how we’d grown the business. I didn’t want to feel that we’d built something successful but had caused negative impact along the way. That was always really important to me.

When did it feel like the business had really taken off?

You might think it’s when you’re featured in magazines or stocked by big retailers – and those moments are amazing – but actually the most meaningful moments are much smaller.

Seeing someone wearing one of our scarves in the wild. Watching queues outside our sample sale. Seeing the community around the brand grow year by year.

That’s when you realise something you’ve built is really resonating with people.

There must have been moments where things felt difficult.

Definitely. A couple of years ago we had a period where it felt like knock after knock after knock. We had huge growth during the pandemic and then coming out of that, the whole market shifted. We had stock stolen in transit, warehouse deals falling through…it was incredibly stressful.

Because we’re self-funded, it’s all your own risk. That reality weighs quite heavily.

But I actually learnt so much during that time. Now when we take risks – which we do all the time – they never feel quite as scary because we know we’ve come through much worse.

The triangle scarf – a trend that’s everywhere. Let’s talk about it.

Yes – and when we launched it we had no idea it would become such a big thing.

We designed the triangle scarf because we wanted something that felt different from the traditional long scarf. It was easy to style, it sat nicely around the neck and it added colour and pattern in quite a simple way.

Then it ended up being featured in Vogue quite early on, which was amazing. Now the triangle scarf is everywhere, but it’s lovely knowing we were one of the first brands really championing that shape.

Sustainability is central to TBCo. How do you define it?

For me it’s about impact, both on the planet and on people.

Natural fibres are key because they’re biodegradable, but it’s also about how products are manufactured and the relationships you build with suppliers. Our main manufacturers are people we’ve worked with for over a decade. We’ve grown together and built trust over time.

It’s about creating products that last, that people will use for years, and that don’t cause unnecessary harm in the process.

You’re also raising three daughters while running the business. How do you balance that?

I’ve got a nine-year-old and twins who are seven, so there have definitely been different seasons. When they were babies it looked one way, and now it looks another.

My husband has stepped back from the business and does the school pickups and drop-offs, which helps a lot. I’m there for breakfast and bedtime most days, and that’s what matters to me.

I’ve also let go of a lot of the “mum guilt”. What’s important is being there when the kids actually need you.

What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business?

I always say 10% is the idea and 90% is the execution.

You don’t need the perfect business plan or the perfect moment. It’s about showing up every day and taking the next step.

Don’t focus too much on the final destination, just focus on what the next step is and keep going.

Visit TBCo’s shop and studio at 170B Great Junction Street – just 12 minutes by tram from St Andrew Square.