With a little welcome assistance from sustainable waste management company, Biffa and Cultivator Cornwall

Eureka 

I suffered a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage 4 years ago and eventually I went back to school teaching, but it wasn't the same. Covid had not long hit and the rules in schools and teaching were changing. I was not able to focus or remember things as much because of my injury

At the end of 2021, I quit teaching which I was then doing part time, carried on my part time job at the bike shop and wondered what to do next...time to follow my dreams!

Finance 

I had some savings which I used to buy a heavy duty sewing machine and worked from the kitchen table. I found a small studio space for £200 a month, wasn't making much from Flotsam Flo but I still had my part time job.

I now have an amazing workspace and thanks to grants from Cultivator Cornwall, I also have 4 industrial sewing machines. If I wasn't gifted this space at Biffa, there's no way I would be able to do what I am doing now

Regrets

The only regret I have since starting is that my Gran Florence is not here to see what I have achieved and what I am making and of course that I didn't have the confidence or belief in myself to start something like this sooner.

What would you have changed?  

Finance and business skills are not really a strength of mine, but over the last few months, with the support of Biffa, this has really been growing.

So I guess one of the main things I would do is ask for help and support sooner. We have been brought up to do things for yourself and to be independent, but I am learning there is a great support network out there and it's so important to use it.

For more information visit Flotsam Flo [1]