Two Galway based mothers and designers, Gayle Poppers of Kizmet Clothing and Ann Petrov of Cozy Handmade Designs, have created an initiative in Galway to promote independent designers.
On Saturday, March 25, the pair will launch their new enterprise called Galway Designers Network. The launch will take place at Galway Designers Fashion Showcase which is starting at 2pm and is being held in the Bank of Ireland Workbench on Mainguard Street, Galway. The venue itself is fantastic for being available to help boost start-up businesses and provide networking opportunities.
Ms Poppers and Ms Petrov’s new organisation is called Galway Designers Network and is all about promoting and supporting the creative works of fashion designers, covering all genres from millinery to knitwear, and jewellery design to clothes design.
The idea for this initiative began only a short time ago, from both of the need pf designers to create more awareness about their brand and designs, and they felt that Galway was a perfect place to bring something new and different to the public. Both of them are busy mothers of two, working from home and trying to build a business around the needs and wants of their children. Realising that there are other designers in similar situations, they have created this network to be able to boost each other, share ideas, give advice to one another, and build a community of like-minded women in the creative business.
The Galway Designers Fashion Showcase is the first of its kind, and the launch of this new project is being met with huge support and positivity from many people of the industry. It will begin at 2pm with two shows over the course of the day. There are so far nine designers taking part in the showcase, and each one is very different from the others - all are working for themselves, trying to break into the industry, and most are also mothers, trying hard to build business up around their families’ needs.
The event will consist of pop-up stalls of each designer along with a catwalk fashion show, VIP tickets which will have goodie bags filled with local crafts goods, nibbles and wine, and a great opportunity to network and mingle also. It is a non-profit event, with only a small charge of €5 for the VIP seats, and regular entrance is free. Happening the week before Galway’s Fashion Week, the hope is that this event will build into a regular event, incorporating into it the fact that Galway already has a prominent fashion scene.
Gayle Poppers of Kizmet Clothing said: “Galway has a huge fashion following already. However, the general feeling is that a lot of the fashion events can be very boutique based, which leaves behind the likes of myself and the other designers taking part. We all feel that there is a huge niche in the market here for an event and organisation of this calibre, and we are very excited by where this initiative is going right now.”
If you would like more information about this topic, contact Gayle Poppers at 086 348 0797 or email [email protected].
