before joining sula in 2017, hannah studied fashion at college and then went on to study textile weaving at brighton university, she then worked as part of the design team at a silk mill in suffolk.
“my job title is production manager but we are a small team of three in the studio so we all do a bit of everything; i like that. as production manager i oversee the full life cycle of each garment from the initial sampling stages through to the delivery of production to our stores. it is important to have good attention to detail, and also to develop good relationships with our makers – mostly people with small craft workshops in vietnam, peru, india and nepal. i enjoy meeting our buyers at the fashion weeks in paris and new york to sell the collection i have lovingly helped develop.
there are many elements to creating each collection, we pattern cut new styles, test fabric shrinkages, work out pricing and finally have a photoshoot where we get to see the collection come to life. i like the variety, each day is different.
i particularly enjoy working with alison when we are choosing the new season’s fabrics and colours, and imagining what garments would look good in each. colour makes me happy and i like working with beautiful, good quality fabrics, it’s exciting when the new samples come in.
sometimes, i add embroidery to both my own garments and sula designs, we really like this DIY sort of look and so do many of our customers. after studying weaving at university i still like to weave as a hobby. i am really happy working in our studio which is a small house in the countryside. i love seeing birds of prey flying in the field at the end of the garden.”
