What was your first job?
My first job was aged 12. My dad worked for a local supermarket and used to sub me in to write up the posters for the displays. He paid me in new pens and markers!
What qualifications do you have?
I qualified from the University of Ulster Belfast with a fine art degree in embroidered textiles. I made these huge 35ft installations for commercial buildings, which were displayed in the Waterfront in Belfast for a few months… And this led me down a rabbit hole on interior installations, leading to interior design. Et voila!
What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, a strong work ethic. I have worked from age 12, always wanting to make my own money, support myself. Also, taking a chance. I quit my job one Saturday aged 30 and hadn’t a penny in the bank. Just a sheer grit and determination to make it work.
How would you describe yourself to someone who’d never met you?
I’m mostly a very positive person. Colourful. Creative. Motivated. I don’t judge anyone. Music makes me happy. Just the right amount of crazy.
Who do you look up to in business?
I recently listened to a podcast by a girl called Laura Bonner, of Muff Liquor Co. Caroline O’Neill interviewed her on the Digg Podcast. She has managed to get Russell Crowe & Ed Sheeran to invest in her company. I love stories like that.
How do you get the best out of people who work for you?
I have a PA called Brenda, and she is just brilliant. Same mindset, positive attitude and gets on with it.
If you could change one thing about doing business in Northern Ireland, what would it be?
The load of paperwork we have to complete to get a shipment into the country and the larger carriage charges we incur! It really annoys me.
What website or app could you not do without?
Oh... probably Instagram.
What was the last book you read?
I read Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Green Lights’ recently and it’s so good.
What car do you drive?
A reliable white one lol.
Tell us something interesting about yourself?
I was in a choir in my late teens and we recorded a song for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. We ended up having to perform it on the Royal Variety Show. We met Westlife, Kylie Minogue, Lionel Richie and Dame Shirley Bassey.
What’s your greatest passion outside work and family?
I love music. I used to sing semi-professionally but gave it up when my daughter was born. I now sing with a Commitments Tribute act called ‘The Committed’. We have recently performed in the Empire & Limelight in Belfast.
