The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Designing our own fabric was a steep and expensive learning curve. No textile business will make money buying someone else’s fabric. You have to design, manufacture and import it yourself. I knew absolutely nothing about this and made some very expensive mistakes. Adding this to Covid, and global shipping issues, we were months behind our schedule.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Our business is a home business so the worst part is that it’s taken over the whole house… every room is piled high with boxes; we haven’t been able to use the dining table for months as it’s covered in bags. We never get away from the business. It is 24/7 and all consuming. But, the plus side is that I can manage it all in bed in my pyjamas and never put on make-up.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
The purpose of registering a patent was to own the reusable cracker space. Globally, our planet produces, uses, and discards 400 million crackers each year, so it’s a huge market to take on. We need to work out how to scale as a social enterprise. Employing our refugee sewing team is hugely important to me and I don’t want to lose our heart.
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