Happy New Beginnings!

Newsletter 31^st March 2021

Happy Easter & Happy New Beginnings!

Spring has arrived and with it in the UK is a sense of optimism as the government slowly eases up on lockdown restrictions. Here at Fashion-Enter we have been welcoming back learners and visitors at the Factory and Academy. We, as a team, are fully committed to the health and safety of our learners, staff and visitors and in preparation Callum Holloway has undertaken a series of training courses with the NHS to ensure a level of understanding and competence is present. Next on the agenda is the reopening of our FC Designer Collective shop on Fonthill Road on the 12^th April when all non-essential shops can reopen, followed by the neighbouring Affordable Workspace project in June and the FC Fashion Technology Academy Leicester in the summer.

Just In New Apprenticeship Position 

Mountain Warehouse have an amazing opportunity for a Garment Technologist Apprentice to work at their London office four days a week and attend training with the Fashion Technology Academy one day a week for an 24-month period. The successful candidate will achieve a grade 3 apprentice qualification in Garment Technology. To find out more and apply tap here.

Training & Support for Serving & Former Female Prisoners

Behindbras.org.uk aims to empower and give hope to serving and former women prisoners to provide meaningful and aspirational careers for the fashion, retail and associated creative industries. Fashion-Enter has been working with CEO and founder Barbara Burton on the training side of this amazing initiative. CEO of Fashion-Enter Jenny Holloway comments: “We have been working with Barbara at BehindBras for over four years and we’re absolutely delighted that the first six learners from London and Thames Valley CRC are going to attend our stitching Level 1 course. 

“Anyone can have a curve ball that comes along and takes you off your feet – that’s what has happened with these women and now we can start them on a new path in life. Well done on your pure commitment Barbara. You did it!” 

www.behindbras.org.uk

Congratulations to Lucy and Lyana

Two Fashion Studio Assistant apprentices, Lucy and Lyana have passed their moderation and will receive their Level 3 Diploma certificate. Sarah Atkinson, the Chief Examiner Academic Advisor at the University of the Arts London Awarding Body, conducted the moderation and said that both portfolio’s showed a high level of competence and evidenced knowledge, accuracy and skills in each unit. Lucy and Lyana are the first to complete this course and their portfolio’s will serve as an example for others to benchmark against. Well done Lucy and Lyana.

Tap here to find out more about the Fashion Studio Assistant apprenticeship.

Westminster Uni Students Join Us for an Online Seminar

Yesterday, 30^th March, twenty-three Westminster University third year students, studying ‘Textile and Product Development’ joined Fashion-Enter’s Production Director, Caroline Ash for a Zoom seminar on ‘Bulk Production and Lean Manufacturing.’ Caroline comments: “We covered amongst other subjects – ‘How to achieve the same ‘look’ for less – construction techniques’, the real meaning of ‘Fast fashion’ and ‘Standard Minute Value in a factory environment’. This was a very interesting seminar to teach as so much has changed over last year, so I was able to draw comparisons with lessons learnt.”

To find out more about our online and on-site seminars and CPPD’s tap here.

Information Needed: Suppliers Survey

The UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee “Fixing Fashion” inquiry has recommended to the UK Department for Business (BEIS) that a Garment Trading Adjudicator should be established to oversee & regulate purchasing practices. 

To ensure that this adjudicator is regulating to stop the abusive purchasing practices that suppliers have experienced, a survey has been created for suppliers in Leicester and throughout the UK to complete by 20th April. This is a confidential survey to be used by Traidcraft Exchange Registered Charity – a company that helps bring together people to fight injustice in trade. This survey will help measure the scale of the impact of Covid-19 on suppliers to European retailers, the results will help implement change in the industry and introduce regulations so that suppliers are treated more fairly.

Tap the link to view and fill in the survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/covid19retailerspractices/

Future Fashion Factory Panel Discussion

Fashion-Enter’s Jenny Holloway will be joining an array of industry experts for a Future Fashion Factory panel discussion on Thursday 15th April. The panel will explore the issues impacting our changing sector and share in the conversation about what will shape the future of the fashion industry.

Speakers confirmed so far include:

• Fashion designer Joshua Kane
• Patrick Grant, founder of Community Clothing
• Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion-Enter
• Danielle Elsener, zero waste fashion designer
• Laura Culligan, Global Director of Strategy, Burberry
• Shailja Dubé, British Fashion Council Institute for Positive Fashion

To find out more about this event and the Future Fashion Factory innovation programme based at the University of Leeds tap here.

FashionCapital Member: Tummy Ache World Now Live!

Anna founder of sustainable clothing brand ‘Tummy Ache’ has just launched an accompanying online magazine ‘Tummy Ache World’. On the support she has gained from FashionCapital she said: “Starting a new brand can be daunting and there is so much to learn! Joining FashionCapital has been great; the whole team has supported me in my new venture and have been so generous with their time and expertise. My new range of T-shirts are being made in Wales, which was a special concession just for me! I’m so grateful for the support and excited for this new business venture.” 

Visit Anna’s online magazine here.

Masterclasses & Courses:

Online Telestia Pattern Cutting Course

N17 Creative Callings: Why Make in the UK with Kate Hills (online)

N17 Creative Callings: Sustainable Fabric Sourcing with Mark Dodds (online)

Optitex 2D & 3D 3-day course

N17 Creative Callings: Your Omnichannel Strategy – How to Launch on Ecommerce (online)

Gerber Accumark 3-day Course for Beginners – June

N17 Creative Callings: How to Do Your Own PR (online)

Fabric Swatch of the Week

Think pink, this week we have picked out this hot pink chiffon, its light and semi-transparent with an easy weave. This fabric is ideal for dressmaking, scarves and even interior design. Available now at the FCFabricStudio at just £3.50 a metre.

This Week on FashionCapital

Waking up to a growing eco-conscious home textiles market.

And Finally…

It is a privilege for our Welsh factory to be housed in the historical Pryce Jones building in Newtown. Pryce Jones was a pioneer in mail order shopping and in this letter he expresses appreciation for ‘valued customer favours’. On this note we thank all of our clients for buying from us; from B of London and Belles of London to face masks and fabrics. Thank-you.

Until next time, have a great week.