Today’s guest blog has been written by Genna Delaney of Genna Design, who took part in our second Dundee Accelerator programme. Genna is a jewellery artist who is quickly building recognition for her high-end hand-crafted innovative pieces.
In this blog, Genna discusses taking part in Dundee's first Fashion Week, and how Elevator's Accelerator has helped equip her with the entrepreneurial tools and knowledge to help drive her towards success.
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n this blog, I wanted to talk about my role in Dundee Fashion Week and how Elevator's Accelerator programme has given me a fantastic foothold into getting my business ‘out there’.
Dundee hosted its first fashion week from the 7th until the 13th May 2018. It’s fantastic that Dundee now has its very own fashion week, as there are lots of extremely talented designers in the area - and hopefully events such as this will continue to boost Dundee’s international creative profile.
I was super excited to be part of this. The fashion week offered a whole host of events to get involved in - from workshops and classes, through to the big show-stopping catwalk finale. However, I'd like to focus on the two events that I was involved in:
The first was Iconic Dundee – The Future of Fashion. Fashion is always moving with the times and designers are always looking to investigate new ways of producing catwalk pieces. Designers Stella McCartney and Iris Van Herpen are among the growing contingent who are using 3d printing to create highly innovative fashion pieces. Smaller independent designers like myself are also now beginning to incorporate technology in order to create stand-out wearable pieces.
During this event, I teamed up with Concept Group Ltd to host a special workshop and demonstration. Throughout the day, I took event guests on a creative journey showing them how to design their own 3d printed pieces, while Concept Group demystified and demonstrated the actual 3d printing process using their Makerbot printers.
The second was the Dundee Fashion Week Finale. This event ended the week with the ‘wow’ factor with a climatic catwalk finale, showcasing Tayside’s finest independent designers and boutiques.
The Dundee Fashion Week Finale celebrated independent and small businesses, as well as emerging designers from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, and Dundee and Angus College. I was very excited to showcase my 3d printed collection on the catwalk and was absolutely delighted with the reception they recieved and the energy of the whole event!
I also want to mention how the Accelerator Programme in Dundee has been great for helping me shape my business and give me a fantastic launchpad, helping me to get to where I am now, and of course giving me the ability to aim for where I want to go next! The programme has given me the confidence to take my business in a new direction, and it has challenged me to think differently and pushed me out of my comfort zone.
Along with expanding my business, I’ve also been able to expand my business contacts, and have ended up with a new network of what feels like supportive friends as well as great connections. Another particularly rewarding aspect of the programme was the guidance in helping me look back to the basics and work on my business, focusing on the future and growing to international markets.
If you are an ambitious entrepreneur with a scalable business or idea, see what Elevator's Accelerator Programme can do for you. Find out more by clicking here.
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