Let me introduce Tina, a lovely lady behind the Georgie Girl brand. Tina loves Earl Grey tea with a slice of cake and macaroons! Her favourite colour is red:)
Star sign: Scorpio
Favorite craft book: “The Gift of Giving” by Rachel Ashwell
What inspired you to start your business? How did you come up with the name?
I decided to start selling ruffled nappy covers that I had been making for my three month old daughter after friends and family encouraged me to do so. My daughter’s name is Georgiana and we call her ‘Georgie’ most of the time so the business name ‘Georgie Girl’ just sort of happened.
Did someone influence you? Blogger/Designer/ Seller?
When I first started selling my work I was hugely inspired by AnK Bowtique. The owners Angie and Kristy seemed to have the total package – exquisite designs, very high quality creations, professional branding, amazing customer service and immaculate presentation. My other major influence in regards to style is the creator of ‘Shabby Chic’ – Rachel Ashwell.
Where have you started selling your creations?
I sell my work via my madeit.com.au store which I absolutely love using. It is both a customer and seller friendly site and so easy to use. It promotes Australian Handmade in the best possible way and – what more could you want?
How would you describe your style? Have it changed over the years?
I like to believe my general style is classic, pretty, girly and timeless. I feel that my designs and fabric choices have changed in that I think more outside the square than I used to and I am more confident in my combinations. I think that confidence shows through my use of bolder, brighter and more distinctive patterns and colours.
What materials do you use? Any new ones you would like to try?
I use 100% quilt weight cottons and the amazing quality of these fabrics is just getting better and better. I have a huge desire to work with linen in some form. I have no idea what I’d like to make from it but I know that I appreciate it’s beauty more and more and one day I will find the perfect project and indulge that whim!
What is the process of picking the fabric for your creations?
I spend a lot of time sourcing fabrics via the internet and generally I just go with my gut feeling. If I like something, I seem to jump right in and naively assume that customers will like it and respond to it too. I have been extremely lucky thus far that customers have liked my taste. And as I always say – when I see a fabric I automatically ask myself “will it make a gorgeous ruffle?”.
Can you tell us about your inspirations?
My daughter constantly inspires me. With each stage she goes through I adjust designs to fit in with her developmental stage. When she started walking for example, dresses and skirts became an obsession! I am also inspired by images of people, places and historical eras.
How would you describe your creative process in 5 words?
Intuition meets imagination and memory.
Is there one of your creations that you are most proud of?
I couldn’t really choose a single creation however the collection I worked on over Summer called “April in Paris” has been the most memorable and successful and I think that’s because I loved the fabrics I was using so much and never for one moment did I grow tired of looking at them. They were an absolute delight and any item I made from them was fresh, happy and distinctive.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
I struggle all the time with a lack of motivation and it requires a HUGE amount of effort and talking to myself to get the motivation back. Positive responses from customers or colleagues combined with sales keeps me motivated and focused.
What Tina does when she has a moment for herself?
I enjoy sitting down with something naughty to eat (chocolate, cake… etc.) and just scouring the internet for amazing fabrics or just to admire amazing blogs and sites. I am addicted to searching Etsy.com – I swear the listings on there are endless and there is so much on there to be inspired and excited by.
What are you currently working on? Do you have any new and exciting projects coming up?
I’m currently working on my Winter Collection and getting my stock levels up in preparation for stock releases in the next few weeks. Exciting projects? None planned as yet but I always like the sound of doing something exciting!
Any dreams for the future?
I have this huge desire to make Georgie Girl a hugely respected brand and widely known. I would hope that a large corporation might pop in and offer to take the brand off my hands at that stage and keep me on as the ‘designer’ or even just the anonymous girl how picks the fabrics! Anything that means I can just work on designs and fabrics rather than actually having to do the ‘making’ sounds like a dream come true to me.
Word of wisdom from Georgie Girl?
Gosh… that is a tough question because everyone is different but I have said it before and I will say it again – if you don’t believe in hard work and sacrifice, don’t expect to reap the rewards of those two things. Nothing was ever served up on a silver platter to the most successful people in the world. Do whatever you have to do to gather respect and recognition for your work so that at the end of each day you can rest your head knowing you’ve done your very best.
Thank you Tina for coming over of a chat and a cup of tea;)
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