{"id":886,"date":"2014-11-28T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-28T09:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/?p=886"},"modified":"2014-11-28T10:05:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-28T10:05:54","slug":"style-has-no-size-alumna-launches-fashion-boutique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/2014\/11\/28\/style-has-no-size-alumna-launches-fashion-boutique\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Style has no size!\u2019 – Alumna launches fashion boutique"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alumna Kerry Smith, who graduated from Kent in 2010 with a BA (Hons) in Classical & Archaeological Studies, has recently launched a plus-sized fashion boutique<\/a> in the Kent seaside town of Broadstairs.<\/p>\n

Kerry studied Classical Civilisation for a number of years, but was unsure of what career path she wanted to pursue. After graduating from Kent, she obtained a PGCE in 2012 from Canterbury Christ Church University, but soon realised that teaching was not for her, and decided to set up her own clothing business, Kerry\u2019s Boutique<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018While I was a student, I worked part-time in plus-size retail\u2019 says Kerry. \u2018As a young plus-sized girl, I realised that most of the clothes my size were frumpy, old fashioned and shapeless. I decided to open a boutique store which welcomed the curvier figure and gave women a choice of style, which the big name brands seemed to have neglected. I had always loved working in retail, but I never had the chance to make any creative decisions or have any input in merchandising and buying.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kerry\u2019s parents have always been self-employed, and have owned a variety of different businesses over the years. \u2018They have always encouraged me to do something I am passionate about, so I have always known that starting my own business was a viable option and something to consider\u2019.<\/p>\n

It took just under a year to locate and renovate her new business premises in Broadstairs. During this time, Kerry researched the latest fashion trends, and made contact with overseas suppliers. \u2018I had always been a keen \u201cfashionista\u201d, and grew up with my own sense of style while still adopting an appreciation for the major fashion trends, so I had a clear vision in mind\u2019 says Kerry.<\/p>\n

Her ultimate goal is for the business to eventually expand, and to open up additional stores. Her advice to anyone who would like to start their own business is to make sure that you do something that you are passionate about. \u2018If you really love what you\u2019re doing, and have a clear idea of how your business will work, then the sky is the limit. If you put everything you have into your business, it doesn\u2019t feel like work because you\u2019re doing what you love.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The best piece of advice I\u2019ve been given is to just go for it\u2019 says Kerry. \u2018Starting your own business can be extremely daunting, because you don\u2019t have the security that comes with employment, but if you have a solid business plan and a clear vision of what you want your business to be, then it\u2019s worth the risk. Otherwise, you\u2019ll never know what could have been.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumna Kerry Smith, who graduated from Kent in 2010 with a BA (Hons) in Classical & Archaeological Studies, has recently launched a plus-sized fashion boutique … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34788,"featured_media":888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[118124],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":891,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions\/891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}