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Life’s sweet for shoe lover Azra ENTREPRENEUR Azra Sadiq is achieving success with her artisan chocolate making business, drawing inspiration from her love of designer handbags and shoes. Harrogate-based Azra launched Azra Chocolates last October, combining her passions for footwear and chocolate. The business has already caught the eye of Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis, who chose it as one of the six companies he selects each week as part of his Small Business Sunday initiative, where businesses Tweet him to describe themselves in 140 characters or less and he picks six to re-tweet to his hundreds of thousands of followers on social networking site Twitter. Azra explained: “Whilst I loved my career teaching English, I’ve always loved something else that
little bit more, chocolate. “So much so that I decided to start teaching myself more about how to make and create my own artisan chocolates in my kitchen in the Middle East. “Soon my passion for chocolate combined with my creative flair took over and my business was born. “After studying with master chocolatiers in Belgium and the UK, I moved back to England with my family where I continue to follow my dream – creating and eating the best chocolates.” Each shoe made by Azra is a one-off, handcrafted to order using the finest Belgian chocolate before being hand finished and wrapped. She added: “I have travelled the world in search of delicious, unique chocolates.
“My chocolate shoes make the perfect, very special gift for any occasion. “And, of course, they are a distinctive and memorable gift for brides and bridesmaids on the big day.” Azra is now preparing to launch her new range later this month, drawing inspiration from designer Christian Louboutin’s latest collection. The shoes are so detailed that a pair can take at least four to five working days to make. She added: “The edible crystal heel on the Marilyn Monroe dedicated shoe has taken me over one-and-a-half hours to complete. “Every single item is handmade by me and each can take several days to be finished to perfection.”
Designers gain boost to show collections SHOE designers Sophia Webster and Liam Fahy have been chosen to receive sponsorship to showcase their SS14 collections at London Fashion Week in September. The pair are among nine of London’s brightest emerging fashion labels who will benefit from the British Fashion Council’s designer support initiative NEWGEN, sponsored by Topshop. CEO of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush said: “It’s with pleasure that we are able to offer this incredibly talented and diverse group of designers NEWGEN support to help guide their journey towards commercial success both at home and overseas. “All nine recipients sit at the helm of Britain’s creative success and we look forward to seeing their upcoming collections this September.”
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August/September 2013
News