Róisín Meets: From legal briefs to luxury knickers

When Vicki Ashman and her husband Ian sold their stake in an international law firm in 2013, they were looking at retirement in their 40s with their six children.

It didn't take long for the couple to get itchy feet however, and now their lingerie brand Scrumpies of Mayfair is on track for a turnover of more than €3 million in three years.

On the latest episode of the Róisín Meets podcast, Vicki speaks to Róisín Ingle about swapping legal briefs for luxury knickers.

She talks about the pros and cons of running a business with a spouse – “establish boundaries,” she says - how a chance encounter with a taxi driver saw her leave her boyfriend for a job in the Cayman islands and why misspelling the word ‘environment’ on an application form saw her land her first legal job.

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Ashman and her husband are also the proud owners of one of Ireland's most valuable homes, after buying and renovating the Killiney mansion once owned by one of Ireland's most powerful Catholic leaders, Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid.

Of the fact that the former dwelling of the man who sought to control Irish people's lives for so long in a closed and puritanical society is now home to a knickers empire, she says, “there’s a nice irony to it.”

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