For Francesca Aiken, creativity has always been an essential
part of her day to day life. She enjoys anything from sewing and dressmaking to
knitting and crochet. She had, however, never felt confident enough to make
clothes. This all changed with the birth of her first child.
 |
| Photo by Sane Seven |
After Scarlett was born, the first time mum found herself
increasingly conscious of the divide between the clothes and toys of young boys
and girls.
She explained: ‘Why do boys get Space, Dinosaurs, Aeroplanes
and Bugs?! All the fun things, all those great starting points for enjoying
Science and History. Why for girls do we fill every birthday and Christmas with
pink, princesses and smug unicorns? Ultimately I didn't want Scarlett to think
being passive and looking good was important.’
Francesca quickly began addressing the issue by making her
own baby clothes. These included
‘dinosaur skirts, space bunting for her room, patchwork quilts covered in
woodland animals rather than
fluffy kittens and vacant princesses.’ This consequently led to the idea behind
Sewing Circus, making comfortable unisex play-wear, and specialising in clothes
for girls in themes and prints that the high street only sells to boys.
However, the road to self-employment was not an easy one.
She had worked
in Museums for almost 10 years and was responsible for curating the exhibition
on Liverpool's Chinese community in the Global City Gallery – part of the new
Museum of Liverpool. Only 2 weeks after the museum opened in 2011, Francesca was
made redundant.
‘Despite a
steady stream of applications and interviews I eventually ended up on JSA. For
the first time in my life I had no direction.’
The Liverpool woman used her redundancy money to fund her
passion for sewing. She bought a new sewing machine and various materials to
experiment with, along with instructional books. Her intention was to make
gifts for her friends and family, not feeling she had the confidence to take it
any further.
The mother of 2 told us: ‘By January 2013 I was starting to
feel like I'd lost control of my future - my career had totally disappeared and
I wanted to move forward my way, my ideas, my work. I worried about how Gareth
and my girls would come to view me - I felt like a shell of my former self. ‘
That was when Francesca decided it was time to progress with her idea and beliefs, so joined Liverpool based social enterprise The Women’s Organisation's Accelerating Women's Enterprise programme which is part funded by European Regional Development Fund.
‘I knew what I wanted Sewing Circus to be about, what I
wanted to make – the look and feel, but for the business side I was clueless.
Bookkeeping, pricing, tax, marketing – where to start? The Women's Organisation
changed all of this and gave me the confidence to take my ideas forward.'
She continued: ‘The Women's Organisation has been integral
to the building of Sewing Circus as a viable business. Two years ago I had no
direction, just an idea and this insurmountable feeling that I would never be
able to start my own business. With the Women's Organisation there was no
waiting around, it was clear attainable steps towards building my plan, and
making Sewing Circus a reality.’
A few months on, Francesca is now working to a waiting list
and is receiving interest from as far as Australia. Furthermore, she has
achieved all of this whilst juggling her business with her family.
‘I am Mum to two girls – Scarlett 5, and Evie 6 months. It
is HARD. I work all the time and have very little “me” time – but I love it! I
cut fabric during naps, sew only in the evening when I know I won't be
interrupted and I’ve found breast feeding my youngest has been fantastic. It
has allowed me a lot more freedom and time to grow my business.’
‘My oldest Scarlett is really supportive… I regularly tell
her to go and see what is hanging up in the lounge and hear her scream “THANK
YOU!” at the new skirt or dress I've made her. I love telling her – look what
you can make if you put your mind to it.’
With the success of her business, the mother of two is now
enjoying the financial stability and is keen to continue expanding her
business.
‘I love my business. Sewing Circus is something I am incredibly proud of and has given me back my place in the world.’
Due to the amount of requests Sewing Circus has had, it is
now providing adults clothing and is offering to work with community groups,
museums and campaign groups that share her passion for giving all children the same
opportunities and choices.
To treat your little ones and make their wardrobe more
adventurous, contact Sewing Circus on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sewing-Circus/220599394642853
or Twitter: @SewingCircus
You can also follow the wider campaign here: www.mysewingcircus.blogspot.co.uk
If like Francesca you have a strong belief that you feel you
could turn into a business, contact The Women’s Organisation on 0151 706 8111 /
info@thewo.org.uk or visit www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk
By Beckie Kinsella
No comments:
Post a Comment