

About me...
& Top NotchSewing Centre
I love change and I love learning new things, so fashion was such a natural path for me. Hearing about what inspires other people and what they are passionate about excites me too. I have worked in the fashion industry since completing my Fashion degree in 1999 and have experience as a designer, garment tech and pattern cutter for big brands and independents, but I would say patterns are my forte.
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It’s a privilege to share my skills and watch people grow in confidence and creativity, creating furnishings that are meaningful and clothes that they want to wear. Since starting Top Notch Sewing Centre in early 2020, my aim is to take sewing power to the people!
Top Notch is a home-based business where people can learn new skills, meet fellow sewing enthusiasts and buy their bits and bobs. Although family is my priority, my aim is to have a brick-&-mortar “sewing centre” one day.
I also love supporting local businesses and do so where I can. My aim is not to compete but to support.
My backstory...
Born in Zimbabwe during a time of civil war, then raised in South Africa during a time of apartheid, I am privileged to have fought for cultural freedom and to have experienced the best years of the “Rainbow Nation”.
Growing up in Africa teaches one to be hands-on and resourceful!
I have always been a creative, deconstructing things and building them up again, but I was frustrated by the limited clothing available in my small East Coast town in South Africa.
I always asked my mum, ‘can you make me x, y and z??” And somehow she pulled it off! This was all the encouragement I needed and learnt to sew around the age of 8. I sewed and sold things at school and made
my own clothes. I was super proud to wear my me-made creations
(…as questionable as some of them were!)
Now I get the same. “Mum can you fix this? Mum can you change this? Mum can you make me this?” And I am happy to say that
yes, I can, because I can sew.
My sights were always set on London. I won a fashion show in Durban South Africa , earning me two tickets to London and since 2000, England has been my home. I now live in Orpington, not far from where my grandfather was born!
I started off in high fashion in South Africa and since living in England I have worked in a suiting company, for high street brands and have had a stall at Camden Market. I have made wedding dresses and suits, and fancy dress costumes and clothes for my family. Sewing is very much a part of me, and I am so happy to share my skills.
