Where I'd be if I wasn't here at Secret Linen Store.
I have always loved fabrics and threads. When I was at school, I so wanted to be a fashion designer. I loved clothes and dressing up. I raided my (very cool) Mum’s wardrobe, collected piles of Vogue magazines, and always thought that fashion would be my thing.
Fashion, to me, was not just about clothing; it was art, everyday creativity, a way to communicate and express myself. You can imagine how an 80’s teenager embraced pattern and colour in clothes.
So, off I went, got myself on an Art foundation course and hunted out the fashionistas to forge my career in clothing.
Quite quickly, I realized that I was not one of the fashion gang, far too scruffy and instantly more interested in the creation of the actual fabrics than the garments themselves. Fashion is hard, grading and pattern cutting, fitting onto actual people.
When I discovered that home textiles was an alternative route, I was off to university to study that, and have never looked back. Making bedding and cushions, the fabric comes first, the thought and innovation goes into the design and construction of the fabric. Hemming is in straight lines too, another very important reason to choose home textiles.
Today I am so glad that I chose textiles over fashion and ended up creating our Secret Linen Store. I can still play with colours, textures, and patterns, but colouring in beds instead of people. I will never tire of fabrics and threads and the endless possibility that they give us.
It's good to have an idea of what you want to do when you are young, but if I could talk to my teenage self, I would say don’t be afraid to change path, at any point in your career. It's never too late to find the thing that fits you and if you find a job you love…
#entrepreneurship #makingthingsbetter #femalefounder #creativebusinessfounder