Tell us a bit about your current job.

I am the company director for Sew Me Sunshine LTD which is an online fabric and haberdashery business. I run my business from a unit in a shared workspace building in West London. I launched my company in 2016 and initially ran it from my spare bedroom. 

What and where did you study after school? 

When I was finishing my A-Levels I felt pressured to pick my future career path there and then. Both my parents worked in the public sector environment, and I knew I enjoyed science, so it was suggested that I looked into starting a career in nursing. I attended Nottingham University and completed a MSc in Nursing Science, and after that I worked as a nurse in various Intensive Care Units. I then completed some further education at Kings College London to become a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, which I did over 2 years. 

How did you get from answer 2 to answer 1?

Due to health reasons I had to take some time out of my nursing career and during these months away I learnt to sew. During my time out of nursing I realised that although there were elements that I loved about my nursing career it wasn’t what I wanted to do forever. I had no idea what else I could do as all I knew since leaving school was nursing. My husband helped me to realise that I had lots of transferable skills, and that it was important that I did something that I was passionate about. I was incredibly enthusiastic about fabric, and I was keen to share my love for fabric with the wider sewing community. This led to me deciding to launch an online fabric and haberdashery store. Initially I was hoping to be able to do it part-time alongside my nursing career, but it quickly grew and became my brand new career!

How does your formal education feed into your present career (if at all)?

Most people I tell about my former nursing career cannot see how my current job is linked to it, and they are partly right, I am no longer providing life saving treatment or counselling families in need, but I am using a lot of the skills I have learnt along the way on a daily basis. My communication skills developed through my nursing career, and these skills are something I use everyday. I remain incredibly passionate about research, and although it is no longer nursing based, I still spend a lot of my time researching about fashion, fabrics and business development. 

What things have you learnt outside of formal education that have been helpful to your career?

There are so many things I’ve had to pick up since starting my business. I used social media (Instagram) a lot to get the business off the ground and the sewing community there are really supportive, I’ve spent a lot of time getting my head around Search Engine Optimization to get the website higher up on Google results. Finding high quality, beautiful fabrics is of course really important for Sew Me Sunshine and I’ve learnt how to better negotiate prices and hunt down wholesalers. And of course none of this would be possible without learning to sew in the first place!

I am a member of an online small business networking group, this group hosts lots of video seminars with other small businesses and they are often focused on a specific topic that is relevant to running a small business. I have learnt a lot from these sessions, and it also provides me with a platform where I can ask questions. I have also learnt a lot and been able to grow my business further by attending lots of networking events that are relevant to the dressmaking community. 

What are the really useful skills for someone in your job to possess?

I deal with customers a lot at Sew Me Sunshine, so having lots of patience and always being willing to help people out really makes a difference, I try to make my shop a really great customer experience. It’s also useful if you can run most of the business without having to pay too much for support and services, so being able to set up a website, file accounts or take good photographs can save a lot of time and money.

What does an average day at work look like for you?

My 9-month-old son comes to work with me, so I get him ready and we head over to my studio space, which is about 10 minutes away from my house. There I balance looking after him, packing orders and doing admin work. At least two days a week I have a contractor come in and help with the packing, and I spend most evenings and weekends working on social media and admin work from home.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Helping people out, I love finding new fabric for people and it makes me really happy when I see their beautiful makes online!

What’s your least favourite aspect of your job?

I love owning my own business but I don’t ever get any real time off, there’s always something to do and the shop never closes. I’m hoping that in the future I’ll be able to take some real holidays but that seems a long way off right now.

What advice would you give to someone seeking a job like yours? 

Just start! It is important for you to do something in your daily life that you enjoy and you are passionate about. Be confident in your own abilities and take that leap to try out a job that you think you will really enjoy. Also, don’t be afraid to make mistakes along the way, making mistakes is part of the learning process.

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