Learners Enrichment Masterclass with Tricia Blake from Diva Choice

Tricia Blake is the owner and founder of Diva Choice, a women’s brand specialising in statement jewellery, swimwear, lingerie and accessories. The ethos of Diva Choice is to empower and bring out every woman’s inner diva. Diva Choice is a part of the FC Designer Collective and has a studio at the FC Designer Workspace in Islington.

Inspired by Black History Month, this enrichment seminar, led by Tricia, focused on her story; from her experiences in life and her identity as a woman of colour working in the fashion industry. She discussed the influences that inspired and drove her to set up Diva Choice, the challenges she has faced and successes she has achieved in life and in the development of her business.

This presentation to the FTA’s / Fashion-Enter’s current cohort of learners was a wonderful opportunity to hear from Tricia, an incredibly warm and inspiring woman who truly is a fabulous force of nature, about how she has grown and evolved throughout her career. Tricia demonstrated how with each experience, each struggle, she has become a greater friend to herself and has grown an ever stronger conviction and belief in her abilities.

The energy in the room throughout Tricia’s presentation was a powerful example of how one person can inspire so many others to achieve their goals if they learn to love themselves and realise that the most important person rooting for us is ourselves; if we don’t believe in ourselves then how can anybody else!?

“Tricia started her presentation by asking everyone to introduce themselves and tell the group of one proud or particularly lovely moment in the past year that has stayed with them and this not only ‘broke the ice’, but more importantly it built a positive energy in the room and provided a level of understanding amongst the students before Tricia told us her story. 

“Tricia’s talk demonstrated how important group enrichment sessions are as they provide an incredibly vital opportunity for human stories to build human connection and are perfect for a learning environment, as each individual within the room left feeling more motivated, more driven and inspired. This is especially important after the gap left in our collective memories from the global pandemic, a shared experience the world over of missed experiences.’’ – Louis-Christian Pendegrass, Apprenticeship Tutor.

CEO of Fashion-Enter Ltd Jenny Holloway added: “We had an Ofsted inspection recently and I was surprised how well our enrichment seminars were received. We don’t call them ‘enrichment’ we call them masterclasses and we invite every single learner to come and experience the words and wisdom of designers in the fashion industry today. There is nothing like hearing first hand the lessons learnt, how the hours of working alone can be exhilarating while they can also be demotivating and also incredibly lonely. When you are a honest, genuine company you want the best for your learners so this is just a natural area of development that we do. Being informed is being ready for the next chapter of our learners lives. The feedback from yesterday was fab! Thank-you so much for your honesty and integrity Tricia. You are an example to us all.”