25 years ago, I wanted to produce a ‘wholesome’ range of utility clothing that would become favourites. By this I meant clothing from UK produced fabrics that will fit, wash and wear well, transcending the seasons and lasting for many years.
I now have the terminology – sustainable, slow. The world now is a very different place and I am glad to have followed my dream, however microscopic.
I’ve not fulfilled the business plan I wrote back in 1999 which, in all honesty, was pretty far fetched – but the Bank and Lothian Enterprise Business start-up invested in me. I have found great happiness and made enough to get by in my world of Roobedo. It has taught me such a lot and I have stayed true to my ideology, ethos, aspirations and dreams – another reason why the business plan didn’t work 🙂
It all started with a BSc Clothing Studies course at the Scottish College of Textiles (which amalgamated with Heriot Watt in 1990). I was awarded an annual scholarship for my dedication to my studies and graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree, going to work as a Pattern Cutter and Garment Technologist for a childrenswear company in central Scotland. In 1996, I moved to Edinburgh and was a buyer for an independent fashion business called WACKY and it’s sister shop KOOL in the heart of Edinburgh. The Streetwear we sold was exciting and we travelled to London to Trade shows where I discovered labels such as Komodo, Pachamama, Religion and Partizan – which were a huge influence on me. I was able to sell my own clothing on the rails too and in 1997 I started manufacturing small runs of recycled velvet flares and striped knitwear that sold under the label ‘WKE’. The shop is still there, now called SWISH and painted a beautiful turquoise blue near the top of Victoria Street. I loved my time there.
To focus on my own label Roobedo in my free time I rented a small studio in Edinburgh and started making clothes for myself and friends, entering competitions, running market stalls and networking. I even did a party-plan night at a friend’s house, and after my initial nervous jittering I was amazed by the positive feedback for my clothing. But burning the candle at both ends, still working at WACKY and suffering a mis-diagnosed strep-throat and on-set of septicaemia hospitalised me in Spring 1999. I was incredibly fortunate to make a full recovery.
Recuperation was slow giving me time off to work out what I wanted to do and with Jack Black’s ‘Wheel of Life’ I made a plan. That summer, I left my job and focused full time on Roobedo and picked up a small summer term job at ECA in the Textiles department and some freelance workwear projects. Having my very own Mail-order business was my vision, so that I could theoretically keep costs low and work from anywhere in Scotland making and selling my own designs. I secured a business loan for £3K along with winning £2K in grants to make my first collection, buy camera film for a photoshoot, print my first catalogue and develop e-commerce with a website.
My collections were in denim (because I could afford it) and I then offered the garments in a mix of wools, linens and Harris tweed made-to-order, with a made-to-measure option using salvaged buttons. Keeping costs as low as possible I made my £5K go as far as it possibly could. Using Harris tweed for my clothing was my absolute priority – I grew up holidaying in the Outer Hebrides and was in love with the texture, colours and story of it.
I even saw the Harris tweed industry teeter on the verge of collapse with a takeover in 2006 – thankfully it’s resolved for now and stronger than ever.
My first photoshoot at Cramond Beach, Edinburgh was so exciting, early morning, low tide – I roped in friends to help (who I paid in clothes). I collected the processed film but due to a faulty exposure lever every shot was bleached white. I had to recreate the whole day again – that was a massive lesson!
I must credit my friend Juliana for the early years of Roobedo photos. More shoots have since taken place by myself helped with the advance of digital, with friends dressing on roadsides in return for flasks of coffee, cake and free clothes. I’ve popped up at Carlton Hill, Water of Leith (borrowing a friend’s campervan as a wardrobe), Edinburgh’s Cowgate and Ravelston, Glen Esk, St Andrews, Belhaven Bay. Later, outside the derelict Pitlochry public toilets – and more recently Moulin village and my favourite Moulin moor….some of the best days of my life often with my kids in tow either strapped to my chest as babies or sitting in the back of my estate car with plentiful snacks – or latterly with my daughters working with me behind the lens! I enjoy this creative process hugely.
Roobedo has taken me to multiple exhibitions and shows in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, London Spittalfield (I travelled solo on the train with a gigantic suitcase and sold out of all my cord trousers). And my lovely customers have come from as far afield as Japan, Australia, Canada and America, as well as Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland and all over the UK – often with an extended dialogue via email hearing stories of life in their part of the world. I’ve shared two studios and ran two tiny shops and worked in sheds, spare rooms and latterly in my very own roadside garage – which I had insulated with salvaged panels from the old fishmonger fridge in the town.
I’ve met many wonderful people through Roobedo, taken part in lots of fashion shows and have felt so grateful for all the orders that rolled in and went out (with crossed fingers every time that the garments would fit and be perfect).
I’ve run Roobedo part-time through raising a family with the unwavering and understanding support of my husband – I even kept sewing whilst simultaneously breast-feeding my youngest. It’s been a bumpy road in places – as is life – sometimes questioning my loyalty to Roobedo, but benefiting immensely from its existence as it supported my creativity and mental health. Mixing the business with teaching sewing part-time has kept me grounded – sometimes limiting my own creative flow, but also keeping me afloat.
For the last few years I have a voice growing louder in my head. I am currently unwilling to keep on making clothes in this world where too many clothes are produced each year and can’t bring myself to keep making them.
I have decided to take time out from Roobedo.
I will be focusing on teaching sewing for now and carrying on pursuing a new role as an SQA External Verifier in Clothing and Textiles. I’ll keep saving old fabrics and spending a bit of time experimenting on new projects. But that’s all I know for now.
There will be a gradual change to my website, and I am not taking on any new orders.
But one thing I do know is that I’m proud to be able to say that I ran a small sustainable clothing label for 25 years and it was a wholesome range of clothing that became favourites that lasted and wore well.
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