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FASHIONISTAS OF THE FUTURE TO CREATE THEIR OWN
CLOTHES
THE next generation of
young fashionistas will have the chance to set their own trends as a
top Wirral children's designer launches at a Birkenhead boutique.
Within Our Beautiful Life fashion boutique at Pyramids Shopping
Centre, children's fashion entrepreneur, Kathryn Saunders, will be
hosting Design Days for youngsters to come and sketch their own
items and they can use a tablet to select materials and styles to
create their perfect outfit.
Kathryn, aged 27, has launched a
concession of her kids clothing range, Poka.Dot.Nation, within the
Pyramids store and is hoping that getting the young customers more
involved will add to the fun and funky element of her style. She
said:- "If the kids can design something themselves, pick a
fabric and choose a colour then they feel so special when they're
wearing it. A lot of the stuff I make already is one off and made to
order allowing the children freedom to be creative and feel
comfortable in the clothes they wear."
Inspired by the hunt for her own little girl's clothes, the
development of Kathryn's business has been a whirlwind journey and
securing a presence within designer boutique Our Beautiful Life is
the next stage in the success story so far. She said:- "It all
started four years ago when my daughter was born. I went from being
an account manager in London to being a stay at home mum and to be
honest I was bored.
I didn't always have all the money I wanted either, and I wanted Esmae-Rose
to dress in designer, London styles, when I simply didn't have the
budget. So I started doodling and sketching designs of the type of
clothes I wanted her to wear and began making them myself."
After being stopped in the street
one day by someone who loved the originality of the little girl's
outfit, the seeds of a small business idea were sown, soon growing
to include pop up market stalls, internet orders and a thriving
Facebook presence for Poka.Dot.Nation.
On returning to work Kathryn was soon restricted to spending her
evenings on her dressmaking and designing once little Esmae-Rose was
in bed.
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...continued... Brought up on the Wirral, Kathryn
decided to return to this area from London and settled in Irby where
she continued to work full-time, creating her bespoke children's
wear whenever she had the chance. She said:- "After a while I
just realised that I was putting all this effort into someone else's
business and my own was sidelined until 8pm at night. I was getting
more and more enquiries and actually turning down orders as I
couldn't keep up."
Kathryn decided to take the plunge
and let Poka.dot.nation become her full time job; a decision she
hasn't regretted for a minute.
Meeting Louisa Houghton in July, who owns Our Beautiful Life, led to
the brand being launched in the Pyramids this month and both women
are looking forward to continued growth in the future. Louisa said:-
"I'm really excited at having Kathryn on board. When she came
down to the shop and showed me her clothes I just thought they were
amazing. She's got such great vision and I think it's going to go
really well."
Kathryn now has another lady working for her to keep up with demand
but is determined to hold on to the original ethos of her business.
She said:- "It has grown a lot in a short space of time, but
everything is still handmade locally and that is not going to
change. It's important to me that it is affordable too as that's how
it started - designer, bespoke clothes for children at affordable
prices."
Derek Millar, Commercial Director
for Pyramids Shopping Centre, said:- "The entrepreneurial
spirit and fashion eye of both Kathryn and Louisa is exactly the
sort of business we are keen to support and showcase at Pyramids
Shopping Centre. We have a great range of big high street
names including H&M, Next, Miss Selfridge and Marks & Spencer but it
is brilliant to couple this with unique fashion lines which local
business owners such as Louisa and Kathryn can offer."
Dates for the designer days at Our Beautiful Life will include:- 20
September, 24 September, and 27 September and 1 October, 4 October, 8
October, 10 October, 15 October, 18 October, 22 October, 24 October
and 29 October 2014. To find out more about Kathryn's designs
visit her Facebook
Page
or call in to Our Beautiful Life at The Pyramids Shopping Centre,
Birkenhead.
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