Natalie Steiner, Tashi Lingerie

It’s not the easiest time for entrepreneurs to start a new venture – but we love it when new online lingerie boutiques open their virtual doors; and we love it even more when they have some of our favorite labels available. OnGossamer, CLO Intimates, Eberjey & Huit all have a new home at Tashi Lingerie & Loungewear – launched just a couple of weeks ago by Natalie Steiner. We decided to have a little sit-down with the boutique owner and talk about her new venture.

Why did you decide to open a lingerie boutique on the web?

Globally, women are passionate about lingerie. My desire was to reach as many lingerie lovers like myself as I possibly could! It’s amazing how a beautifully designed website can captivate the essence of a live boutique. It also allows me to work on a possible Tashi Lingerie line of my own.

What makes Tashi special?

Tashi is about exuding your inner essence. Its about dressing up your assets for YOU and giving yourself a gift. All the pieces that have been handpicked are meant to be used as a tool to tailor to your mood. How do you feel? Who do you want to be?

How did you go about selecting brands for your boutique?

I went with the brands that I was drawn to. I like unique pieces that have texture and detail and that make women feel comfortable. The brands I carry I feel have a natural organic blend to a woman’s femininity.

What are your own favorite pieces from the store?

There are so many! Women have so many layers it depends upon the mood we are in! I’m in love with Huit’s Mesh Amoureuse bra set with either the matching thong or the brief. It’s such an elegant, yet sexy set; not to mention extremely comfortable. Clo’s Fortuna camisole set in Violette is also one of my favorites and fits like a glove. Clo’s color palette is luscious!

We’re very much looking forward to seeing Tashi add more pieces and labels in the future – and will obviously keep you posted of great new stuff regarding the boutique. Obviously TLP wouldn’t be TLP if we didn’t secure an extra discount for our members. Use coupon code “LGZ96090″ at checkout for 10% off your order (coupon valid until Christmas).

What’s the name of this collection?
The collection’s name is Winter HOT HOT!!! It’s a colorful winter line, not giving in to the depression!

What were your main inspirations?
The Winter 2009 collection can be summarized in a few words: the discovery of woman, independence and affirmation, and sexuality! We want the Vanilla-woman to be the center of her own intimate universe: she has control of all her wished and desires, and can discover and rediscover intimacy whenever and however she wants at all times.

What will the price range for these sets be?
Each store obviously sets its own price .. but an average price for a set of Vanilla lingerie leaves a boutique for anything in the $55 to $130 price range.

Where can people shop for Vanilla Lingerie in Europe and the USA?
In Europe we are currently negotiating with a very interesting store, but I can’t currently give out too much information… In the USA you can find Vanilla Lingerie at Bella Bella Boutique!

More Vanilla Lingerie on the official Vanilla Lingerie website!

TLP: How did you get started with Hopeless?
Ever since I can remember I have wanted to do something creative with my life. Whether it was painting, drawing, sewing or something else. My mum taught me knitting and embroidery when I was very very young, and I started sewing my own clothes when I was about 14 or 15. I studied art history at uni for a few years, and then in the middle of my degree I quit and went and studied fashion, and immediately knew it was what I wanted to do. I had the idea for lingerie randomly one night just over a year ago. It was just a really really clear picture in my head of what I wanted the brand to be. Kind of a lightning bolt moment I guess. I have stuck to it and am just going to continue working as hard as I can to achieve that picture!

TLP: Sounds like the timing was spot on.
I think it was just the right time. I had matured enough and experienced enough life to be motivated and dedicated enough to really commit to it. I am still very young, 26, (even if that sometimes does feel really old!) and I know there is still so much for me to learn about the business. I think it was just the readiness. I started everything completely from scratch. I knew nothing about the industry, I only had some dress making and pattern making experience from TAFE (ed. Technical and Further Education — see wiki for more details). I spent many many hours researching other brands, writing my business plan, collecting pages from magazines. I really just immersed myself in the lingerie world because I knew that if I was going to do it, I had to do it properly.

TLP: Within your business plan, have you decided on a demographic that Hopeless is trying to reach?

I design for women who like to invest in quality and appreciate vintage styling. The most important thing for me is to create pieces that people will treasure – I love putting effort into details and paying attention to the small things, and my brand is aimed at women who appreciate that kind of work.

TLP: Sounds like you have a guiding vision for hopeless. Do you have any help with the effort so far?
Hopeless is pretty much just me, but I do have a lot of help of family and friends. My sister helps out with running errands and and a heap of other bits and pieces, she plays a great devils advocate when I get over excited about things. My partner is much more financially minded so I rely on him a lot when it comes to all the banking and the less fun stuff.

TLP: How has being based in Australia affected your business plan?
The lingerie industry in Australia is very different to the rest of the world. Australians are much more inclined to wear very comfortable practical underwear – whereas European women are a little more adventurous, so the lingerie business is much bigger over there. That is why I am developing two separate ranges within Hopeless – the silk fancy things, and the much more practical bamboo jersey pieces. I think it is important to have something for everyone and something for your different moods as well. I definitely would like a global brand, but also want to focus on keeping all my production within Australia, as well as all my fabric and supplies.

TLP: How does the Internet factor in? How about Etsy?
The internet is obviously great for reaching far away places. I owe a lot to Etsy, most of my successes so far have been a result of someone seeing my work there. I started it initially as a make-do place to show everything while my website was being set up, but since I started there I have had tens of thousands of people through the shop and have had wholesale business come of it as well. It is such a fantastic platform for people to get their name out and reach to people they would never have found otherwise. I receive comments and messages from people all over the world, and the community is so supportive and encouraging.

TLP: Do you have plans beyond Etsy?
I have a website almost ready for launch, that I think will do well alongside Etsy. I will not be leaving Etsy anytime soon though as the amount of people that come through the shop is huge! I am in the process of finding someone to help me with sewing, so I can spend a lot more time on the promotion and administration side of things. Ultimately I want my own little shop somewhere in Melbourne to start with, and then a few more around the world. I know that is a long way off yet though!

TLP: Do you plan on doing off the peg?
Everything on Etsy is made to order – according to the customers measurements and any special requests like a different trim or colour-way. I also have a couple of stores that I wholesale to – which I guess you could call off the peg. I would like to do more one-off pieces – as I get the most enjoyment from making that first sample. Its when I have to make ten or twenty of the same style that I start getting bored!

TLP: Where do you see Hopeless in five years?
I want Hopeless Lingerie to be the mother brand of a Sleep-wear line, Swim-wear and Bedding and Linen, with a small store in the city. My dreams are kind of endless, I want to do it all.

Catch Hopeless:

• Etsy
• Hopeless Hotel
• MySpace
• Blog

The winning photo is a self-portrait that depicts Degollado dancing on a couch in a tank top and boyshorts. Her caption was, “This feels right because the photo is the perfect example of being free, young, and being yourself. FREEDOM feels right, and is something we all want. And being yourself is something we should all be, rather than doing what everyone else is doing.”

TLP sat down for a quick chat with Jessica which resulted in a quick mini-interview!

Q: How did you end up sending in your winning photo?
A: I was on MySpace one day, and saw the advertisement for the contest on the main page. I decided to give it a shot, since photography is my life. So I entered the contest and hoped that I would win.

Q: Do you often walk around the house in your underwear?
A: I do, actually, but only when I’m alone in the house. When I lived in Chicago, I’d do it a lot in my apartment. That always reminded me of Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson’s character) in Lost in Translation, and how she would always be in her underwear in her apartment in Japan.

Q: Would you call yourself a real lingerista?
A: I’d say so. I’ve always loved buying lingerie…but especially underwear. I absolutely love underwear.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Q: Can you introduce yourself to TLP?
A: My name is Emma Swanepoel, I’m 21 and have just graduated with a First Class Honours in Contour Fashion at De Montfort University. the only specialist lingerie, body and swimwear degree course in the world.

Q: How did you end up doing lingerie? Why did you pick this niche?
A: I have loved fashion from a young age and always knew this was were my passion lay, I chose Contour Fashion in particular as I wanted to find a degree that would be challenging to me as a designer and where I would learn a number of invaluable and unique skills and this course not only offered me that, but the opportunity to specialize is an area that was exclusive to this university.

Q: What are your own favourite lingerie brands?
A: I’m not sure I can pick a favourite! But I think the first ones to spring to mind are Damaris, Fleur T, I.D Sarrieri, Strumpet and Pink and Guia La Bruna. I think they each have different unique qualities that draws me to them every time, whether it’s the fabrics used, interesting style lines, prints, or simply the quality of fit.

Q: What are your lingerie-related dreams and aspirations?
A: I think ultimately I want to create lingerie that makes women feel empowered, sexy and feminine. Nothing feels better then wearing beautiful lingerie and I want to create the same feeling with my own designs, I want women to feel irresistible.

Q: Where will we find Emma Swanepoel in 2015?
A: Hopefully working for a company where I am able to use the specialist technical skills developed from my degree, whether it is in lingerie, swimwear or corsetry and combine it with the freedom to use my creativity designing and exploring new ideas.

If anyone wants to contact Emma — feel free to send TLP an e-mail and we’ll forward it with pleasure!

Q: Why did you decide to start your own lingerie boutique on the net?
A: I have been passionate about lingerie since I can remember, but probably at the tender age of 15 I seriously started to care! I was never a big fan of lingerie shops although the shops as such can be gorgeous but for me, no cold boutique changing cabins… pitiless mirrors, shop assistants that tend to open the curtain while you are still standing there half naked trying to pull things over your hips…(I am sure there are some lovely sales ladies out there I just have never met one yet…) really traumatised me, trying on the delicious new garments with a glass of Champagne (or tea) & Candle light at home just made me become a passionate internet shopper!

My best friend being from London – and a big lingerie fan herself – helped me discover some very beautiful frilly lingerie delights from Uk designers and I just wanted to put together a selection of Must-Have items that I would love for myself and for my friends! So I thought why not taking it to the next level and open my own site with my favourite “lingerie artists”. I am a fulltime-working Mum (in the music business) and have been doing this on the side, but hopefully soon I can concentrate fully on all those glamorous Lingerie delights!

Q: What brands do you carry and which are your favorites?
A: I have selected my brands over a period of time and “hand picked” the items I sell! I discovered some amazing designers at the Paris Lingerie salon 2008 (at the Spicy Garden) and through blogs like The Lingerie Post.

I wanted suppliers that were not easy or obvious to find in France and it was a question of falling in love with the lingerie pieces.

The brands I carry are: Ophelia Fancy (my little favourite, designed by the lovely Stevi Jelbart and Emma Sandham-King), Miss La La, Ell & Cee, Carmen Gonzales (coming soon), some fun pieces from Carol Malony, I could not find Mimi Holliday on French sites and though it was so very gorgeous, I also supply Playful Promises and Odille which I thought have very beautiful pieces for a reasonable price, coming soon is Maya Hansen (amazing corsetry) and I just discovered the fabulous Vintage Opulence that I will show on my site very soon.

Q: Where do you hope to be a year from now, business-wise?
A: I hope in a years time things will have taken off and I can still be there and do what I love: run my fabulicious, delicious, utterly sexy online lingerie boutique!!

We wish her the best of luck, and will keep all of you updated with Fabulicious news!

Q. We focus a lot on English and US brands; can you describe the Norwegian market? Would you say it is competitive like the UK markets? Are Norwegian woman looking for value or fashion?
A: Norway is a rather small country and there is not that many fashion designers doing underwear as their main product. This makes it easier to get exposure and positive feedback from customers and press. However there is not enough customers or shops to make a living out of design-lingerie and I would have to go abroad very soon. The average Norwegian female buys about 1-8 bras a year so it is quite obvious that the Scandinavian truth is to look for functionality before design.

Q. When you finished school, were you making bespoke clothes and lingerie or just bespoke lingerie?
A: I have always wanted to work with lingerie and clothes together since they both are dependent on each other. After finishing my master in 2003 I have designed collections, showing them at Oslo Fashion Week and made both clothes and lingerie for private customers.

Q. How many pieces were in your first collection?
A: My first collection for 2005 was for both men and women and existed of about 15 styles (bra, brief, skirt, top and men`s briefs and tops).

Q. For your mini-collection, it looks like you have several retail outlets. Do you plan on offering commerce options from your web site?
A: Yes I hope this will be available from this autumn. Before that customers are more than welcome to send me an email if they live abroad and want to purchase my ever first produced collection.

Q. How have your collections changed over the last four years?
A: First of all I feel that these years have been important in order to develop my own style. For each collection I get inspirations for new ones and learn about new areas that I want to indulge myself into even more. This means that each collection is an answer to the previous. Since I aim to make garments that are both fantastic to look at and fantastic to wear it has also been important to develop a good blend between fashion, design and commerciality.

Q. What’s been your greatest challenge to date?
A: I am still working on my greatest challenge: How to make a living out of being a Scandinavian designer working with lingerie and clothes.

Q. How do you go from sketch to sale?
A: My ideas are always based in a shape. Color is second stage. After sketching still a lot of the creativity happens when I develop patterns and prototypes and in my fabric research. Most of the fabrics come from my visits to fabric and lingerie fairs in Paris and from the contacts of agents and factories I have developed during the last years.

The prototypes get photographed in campaign photos that I print in catalogues and publish on my website. The “Couples In Love Briefs” was my ever first production and since it was launched between two seasons I had to do sales without a fashion show. However this worked out very well and I managed to get shops in Norway, Sweden and Belgium.

Q. We don’t see many designers doing collections for both women and men. Have you always thought your designs should be for both genders?
A: I have always liked the idea of doing matching garments for men and women. This is such a romantic thing and it is important to keep some romance in our busy everyday life. The great thing is if you buy underwear to your lover it is also a present for yourself because you can enjoy seeing and feeling him and her in the present!

Q: What is next for you?
A: One of my greatest dreams have always been to find someone to run a clothing/underwear company with – because two persons can do the job of at least three when working together. This dream is now coming true, as I am working on a new exciting concept! We are not ready to launch anything yet, but are looking forward to finally sending out our first press release when everything is ready.

Photos courtesy of Ida Gullhav. Visit her site at www.idagullhav.no.

Q: How did you girls end up starting a lingerie label?
A: We started the lingerie brand this year after bouncing the idea around for a long time! We were lingerie shopping, and began to reminisce about the ‘value packs’ of pretty floral underwear that our mothers used to buy us when we were little. We decided that we wanted to reinvent that floral vintage look into more sexy, modern designs.

Q: Where do you get most of your inspiration?
A: We draw a lot of inspiration from patterned fabrics, antiques fairs, 50’s fashion and burlesque. We are also inspired by brands like Pleasure State, Elegantly Scant, Damaris and Strumpet and Pink.

Q: You just started, but what are your hopes and goals for the (near) future?
A: Our goals for the near future are to begin selling in boutiques and for BambiLion to become a brand recognized (and adored) by lingerie lovers everywhere.

Well, we hope this post helps accomplishing that last bit.

The first photos of their first collection:

We’re officially fans. More info about the label can be found on their MySpace page or their lovely webshop!

Q. I understand you are a current burlesque performer and that probably gives you keen insight into the needs of the performer. Can you use that knowledge to extrapolate to other markets (day wear, etc)?
A: Yes, by day I am Madeline Warren, fashion designer and business woman but by night I am transformed into Bunny Warren — naughty Burlesque performer. I like to have costumes which are unique on the burlesque circuit in terms of ideas and design. I spend a lot of time and money on them and it has been worth it as audiences appreciate it and I am kept very busy with engagements. Much of a burlesque performer’s appeal is her costumes and the other part is good ideas and personality. Apart from serving a practical function, clothes are also an expression of yourself and when on stage you are trying to express femininity and an extravagant and artistic personality, then clothes can express a lot about yourself.

I have always loved sexy clothes whether they be high glamour or risque. I am equally drawn to curvaceous evening gowns or military uniforms. I design my stage clothes and Anatomic Bomb! clothes to these tastes. I feel my clothes fuse the worlds of fetish, fashion and burlesque perfectly. I design latex clothes for the burlesque stage too and many performers have treaded the boards in an Anatomic Bomb creation.

I would love to create a daytime range in cloth but I am kept so busy with Anatomic Bomb! latex that I don’t know if I would have the time to do it.

Picture by Tony Rusecki

Q: Latex is clearly your preferred fabric. Did you work in other fabrics before? Any new techniques you had to learn for latex?
A: I had never made any clothes professionally until I came in to the world of latex. I trained and worked at another latex fashion company for 3 years and then was made redundant. Instead of becoming morose over my jobless state I decided that it was actually a great opportunity to take all my design ideas and turn them into reality and I’m very happy I did.

Making latex clothes is very different to making fabric clothing. The pattern cutting is different in terms of seam allowances and allowing for stretch. We also glue our garments- no machine sewing here. Learning to do the perfect glued seam takes a lot of practice and I’m very appreciative of my last employer to allow me to learn that on his time. Since then I’ve refined some techniques and learned to make use of a few tricks.

Q. The burlesque+design community seems to be pretty small in the UK. Are you friends with Miss Katie and Atsuko Kudo?
A: It depends what you call burlesque design. There are many corset designers and lingerie designers in the UK and many of these garments make their way into burlesque clubs worn by audiences and even on to the stage. I think burlesque stage costumes should be as unique as possible to each performer so I would term a burlesque designer as someone who may have a range but who can also make bespoke, extravagant items when requested. Miss Katie is a very good friend of mine. I love her dearly. She does fabulous corsets which are comfortable, shapely and truly individual. She made a corset for my Bunny Rabbit act. I made the poor girl come up with a tricky design that would allow my rabbit tail to pop through the middle of the corset. She managed to make it and it is very cute. I know Atsuko Kudo though not very well. She is lovely and I really admire her latex work. I think we both have our own distinctive style but if I never made my own designs I would probably buy from her.

Picture by Tony Rusecki
Q. How do you go from sketch to sale?
A: I get my inspiration from many things- old fetish drawings and magazines, films, the sight of a woman’s nice wiggle as she walks down the street! These and lots of other things give me my ideas. I keep lots of note pads with rough sketches in them, I never throw these away as they always come in useful at some time. It can be quite funny but very satisfying to find a six month old, very ropey drawing which I have turned in to a real dress which is considered a work of art by many. When you see the finished product being worn by some sexy creature who’s looking and feeling beautiful in one of your outfits that may have started out from an idea recorded with a sketch on the back of a napkin, it’s a very rewarding process! That’s a motivating experience and it’s actually very easy to come up with ideas, the problem is that there are just not enough hours in the day.

Q. Where do you see Anatomic Bomb in five years?
A: I’m not one of these people who’s interested in “world domination” with my product. We are a ’boutique’ company with distinctive styles that appeal to both fetishists and also to people who may be trying latex wear for the first time. We also make costumes for burlesque cabaret shows. Our aim is to maintain a high quality, distinctive style and a steady output of new ideas. Some of our outfits are quite ’sweet’ — a demure look in lighter colours with pretty hearts but juxtaposing a sense of naughty because it’s rubber! Latex rubber wear is expected in the fetish clubs and magazines but it’s great when you see some hot young thing wearing rubber out of the expected context, in a non-fetish club or magazine. I was thrilled to have the world’s top super-model, Kate Moss, in the world’s most glamourous magazine, Vogue, wearing Anatomic Bomb!

In the future we might also like to have our own shop although things are ticking along quite nicely as they are, we want to build on our success steadily and organically in order to maintain a distinctive style & high quality.

Photo by Viva Van Story

Q. Have you done any design collaborations?
A: I am very happy to collaborate with individual customers if they want something special and one-off. They tell me their ideas and I tell them what is possible or what might be nicer or suit them more and they are always very happy with the result.

I was very proud to be asked by Paradiso Boudoir in London to collaborate on an entire exclusive collection for them. Paradiso Boudoir is a beautiful shop in the heart of Soho which has exquisite lingerie and accessories. Angela, the owner and designer of the shop, wanted to go down a very high fashion route and boldly chose colours which had hardly been used in rubber before. The results have been very beautiful and exciting, and have grabbed lots of attention. Chopard’s Jewellers bought lots of the dresses for their Spring and Summer Fashion Shows this year and we are very pleased about that.

Q. How can customers buy your designs? Any stockists?
A: Potential Anatomic Bombshells can buy through our own website www.anatomicbomb.com where you can buy our usual range and also gain access to our bespoke service. We also stock our clothes in Showgirls on Holloway Road in London, and Paradiso Boudoir in Soho.

Q. How do you get the pieces manufactured?
A: We manufacture them in our own workshop in London. I have a small team of lovely, dedicated people who create each piece individually. It is a fun and friendly place to work.

Picture by Tony Rusecki

Q. How can latex grow in customer appeal?
A: Times have changed in recent years and women are able to more freely express their sexuality and ‘wild side’ without recrimination so the market for latex rubber wear has grown steadily. Rubber has been popular with gay men for several years now and it seems to be growing in popularity, although much more slowly, with straight men too. Latex pops in and out of the fashion world every season or so. I doubt that rubber will ever be a Marks & Spencer’s staple item though.

I am quite happy for rubber never to become too popular otherwise we would see the cheap high street end of the market which in rubber would probably end up being very tacky. I think most people appreciate the novelty factor of rubber clothes.

I think everyone should try rubber for at least one night out in their lives. It is very flattering and not only for the stick thin as many people seem to think. I actually think it looks better on women with curves and even very heavy women can look great in it when they choose the right piece. Rubber is, of course, an inherently flexible material and can, with the correct degree of skill and imagination, be tailored to flatter any body shape. It certainly is a conversation point, it’s fun and it’s sexy.

Head to the Anatomic Bomb and check out Madeline’s offerings.

Or check out Bunny Warren’s MySpace page.

Two larger files to enjoy:

Q: You have some high profile clients (Immodesty Blaize, others). How do they factor into your business? Do you only focus on the high profile client or do you have a broader customer base?
A: Of course Miss Blaize is one of my best clients. It’s a pleasure to make such intricate and sumptuous show pieces and see them worn to their best effect! She is obviously at the top of the scale but I do everything from an undergarment for a wedding dress to the occasional corset for a man.

Q: How did you step into this line of exquisite costumery 10 years ago?
A: If always loved historical clothing so I scooted of to London College of Fashion to study theatrical clothing and then found a job at Skin 2 and then House of Harlot making rubber clothing. As I started making fabric corsets for myself, others expressed interests in buying them…an age old business start-up.

Q: Do you think there is a lingerie renaissance? Why or why not?
A: I certainly think that all types of underwear have got more exciting and colourful over the last 10 years. Mainly I think to do with the cheap and disposable age that we live in. People can afford to buy a crazy coloured bra for £3 and wear it twice a year. A few years ago, it was a different story where you would buy just the sensible option. Things tend to go in cycles and I’m sure we will see that again.

Q: Certainly there seems to be resurgence in burlesque. Why do you think that is?
A: A small section of this society will always be looking for new music, entertainment and of course style. Again I come back to the cycle issue. The 70’s were influenced by the 30’s, the 80’s by the 50’s and now burlesque is back. We a very lucky to live in a time and place to enjoy it.

Q: How large (geographically) is your market?
A: My customers are mainly from Britain but I do have a reasonable amount from Germany, Finland and the Americas, etc.. They will often tie in a trip to London with coming to see me for measurements and fittings. I do have an American customer that flies over specially and has had film shoots in the U.S.

Q: Can you describe the process from sketch to sale?
A: Quite simply I will talk to the customer and agree with a sketch and details, take a full set of measurements and then make a tuille. With one fitting I then make the corset.

Q: How different is the pricing for the off-the-peg pieces (Toulouse Corset at £300.00) and your bespoke pieces?
A: My custom corsets are really a tailoring service. They are made for the individual, unlike my off the peg range which I sell wholesale to shops. Both sides of my business are equally important and gives a nice variety in my work life. Obviously a made to measure is going to be more expensive due to the fittings, samples and construction time. I seem to have more and more bespoke work to do every year.

Q: Can a large lingerie company move into the custom corsetry space?
A: I think people like to have a specially made piece which can sort out personal tastes and issues. I do it with shoes, I will have a beautiful pair hand made by Natacha Marro but then kick around in boots for work. Its nice to have a cherished piece in your wardrobe. If Marks and Spencer start doing made to measure corsets I’ll eat my socks!

Q: Do corsets have a season? I’m in love with the Burgundy and Cream waistcoat. Can I buy this any time or will you retire this design?
A: Hmmm…Don’t worry, at this point I have no plans to throw out that pattern! The main problem is finding a reliable source of fabric which doesn’t get discontinued, this would be the main reason that a style would be dropped. Of course I may get run over by a bus tomorrow, at which point my death might seriously jeopardize a style…..or two.

Q: In your gallery pages, I see some pieces are shown with Buttress and Snatch bras. You’ve told me that Atsuko is a friend. Are you friends with many designers? Do you consider any business partnerships with them?
A: I’ve been hanging around clubs in London for an awful long time now. Along the way friends have started businesses and I’ve met established designers. I also worked at the Dior studios on behalf of House of Harlot, you just have to make the most of opportunities when they arise. At the end of the day we all just trying to earn a crust doing something we enjoy. Its good to see small businesses surviving, its not easy.

Q: Have you thought about a diffusion line?
A: I’ve toyed with the idea of sourcing production from the Far East, but I’m still struggling with my conscience with that. I would like my corsets to remain as a special purchase that will be treasured instead of ending up in the pile on the floor.

Q: Do you think that Miss Katie is as successful as brands like Lascivious or Playful Promises?
A: How do you measure success? I hardly advertise as I’m terrible at promotion so all the work I have finds me. I’ve got as much on as I can manage and the next step is to expand.

Q: What has been your greatest success so far? How about your greatest hurdle?
A: Still doing what I do. Its very difficult for small businesses to start up with very little help. Hopefully in a couple of years Miss Katie will be a few more leaps on.

Q: Where do you find inspiration?
A: Well, I hardly look at magazines, fashion or the internet so I’m not sure really. Maybe I have a monkey on my shoulder whispering ideas to my subconscious….

Find out more about Miss Katie on her website