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This life: Material girl
Former science student Lizzie Harrison says she only discovered her creative side aged 17 when she landed a part-time job sticking flowers on flip-flops.
Now the 26-year-old is treading new ground with her very fashionable, award-winning bespoke recycled clothing company, Remade in Leeds.
Interview by Neil Hudson.
The one thing I could not live without is sunshine. It inspires me but when the shorter, darker days come in winter, it means you can really enjoy things like stew and roast beef.
My first job was in a shop for a fashion label on Portobello Road, London. I stuck flowers on flip-flops, which I think is what first sparked my interest in creating something, I liked the idea of making something people would enjoy. I was 16 when I got that job and I went back every summer until I was 18. I worked my way up from tea girl to making some of the bags they sold.
I moved to Leeds about eight years ago and I love it. I like the fact it's a city and there's a lot going on but at the same time you can just drive to the countryside whenever you want. Being from London, it's great Leeds has the city life and all the culture that goes with it but I would not want to move back to London now.
I am most proud of coming runner up in this year's Observer Ethical Awards, which, to say we have only been going six months, is an amazing achievement. It makes me think the business is not just some mad idea after all. It can be very daunting starting your own business, especially when you first go for advice and what you're doing has never been done before. You are treading new ground. The temptation is to do what's gone before but I am not into creating clothes for the sake of it.
To relax I love going camping. I have an old camper van and on weekends I like to turn off my mobile phone and computer and just head out to somewhere like Otley Chevin or Malham.
If I could give one piece of advice it would be to get experience in things you want to do. Until my degree, I was a science student. When you are younger, you cannot imagine what jobs will be like, so it's vital young people try them or do voluntary work. I did all sorts, I worked in a vets, in a make-up laboratory. Now I try to offer as many people as I can work placements.
I grew up in London, the eldest of five children, so there always seemed to be babies and young children around. I was really into punk music when I was a teenager and I think that's when I first began customising clothing. I really embraced the punk aesthetic.
The last time I cried was about a month ago, over the business. Every now and again the job gets on top of me and I just think, 'why am I doing this?' but then someone will come into the shop and say how much they love it and it lifts my spirits. I know I'm doing the right thing.
The make-do and mend and waste not, want not mantras from the war years are how I like to live my life. I think we are so used to having everything we want these days we have just become so disconnected from everything, from where our food comes from to where our clothing is made. I buy up bits of old cloth, off-cuts and testers, or clothes from the back of people's wardrobes and turn them into new clothes, all of our pieces are unique. It's everything from skirts and evening dresses to bomber jackets and big coats.
All our materials are sourced from the Leeds area, it's an idea that is sustainable. The current 'wear-it-once' fashion model is not sustainable and I think will have to change. It takes three bath tubs of water to make the average T-shirt.
Something that might surprise people is until I went to university, I was a science student. I studied chemistry, biology and maths and it was a real struggle to convince my university tutors to let me do a degree in fashion and design at Leeds.
Remade clothes are sold at Found in St John's Centre, Leeds.
FAVOURITE THINGS
Favourite food: I love seasonal food or when one of my friends gives me something from their allotment. I have just bought a pasta maker and I am loving making my own pasta, it's so tasty. Even though we live in a back-to-back with no garden, we grew tomatoes and chillis on the pavement outside.
Favourite programme: I don't own a TV, I don't have time for it.
Favourite author: Rob Hopkins, The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience (Transition Guides).
Favourite actor: I like independent films, including those made by students at Leeds University, so a lot of them are unknown actors.
Starsign: Aries
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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