The biggest struggle is not having any money and trying to make little bits of money to put back into the business. Also, running a business on your own can get quite lonely. I’m really glad I’ve moved into this studio now but for four months it was just me in my living room all day. Then I had no money to go out and socialise so I was starting to go out my mind. The best thing through is that having your own business rocks! I used to spend my whole life hungry, I’d get into work and I’d be waiting for my tea break and then I’d get hungry after an hour and be waiting for my lunch, then waiting for the end of the day. I was always hungry! Since starting my business, I haven’t been hungry in months because when I want to eat, I can go and eat and when I come back I do better work because I’m not focusing on how hungry I am. I can get up when I want, I work when I want, and I’m so passionate about what I’m doing, it’s my hobby and now I do it every single day. When you have the drive to do it, having your own business is the best thing in the world and I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it. What are you working on next? What I’m going to try and do is find the right avenue of sale for my t-shirts. I’ve been taking them to vintage markets, which is really strenuous because it’s almost every weekend. I have to take all the t-shirts, the rails
and everything else I need, then set it all up then take it down again which is really laborious. I don’t actually make mch money there because we’re in a recession and people don’t have much money and there will be £4 pieces of jewellery in a stall next to my £20 t-shirts so it’s quite difficult to compete. So, I’m looking to really push my online business. I’ve also been looking into dance companies who will often have stalls at their dance competitions. I think it would be really cool to sell my t-shirts as sportswear or dancewear. After that, I’m looking to expand, I have a few ideas for products but they’re all still in the prototype stage. It wouldn’t necessarily just be clothes, I could up-cycle furniture too. I’m thinking about also making a few up-cycled couture pieces when I have the time. Not to make money from them but to try and build more of a name for myself by entering them into fashion shows. I think that could push my online presence as well, if people go online and see amazing couture pieces, they might want to be a part of the brand so would then buy one of the t-shirts. Where do you see Thrifty Little in five years? I would like to be an up-cycling brand. What I would really love is to have a shop somewhere that sells only up-cycled products – The Thrifty Little Shop. The