TASHA
SPOKES
Tasha Spokes, who is a good friend of Ally
magazine, has decided to take a chance
and start her own business! After seeing her
amazing final collection we are not surprised.
So were you scared to start up your own
business whilst everyone else decided to
work for other people in secure jobs?
Yes, it was really daunting deciding to go
it alone! I knew that it would take a lot of
investment, both time and money and it was
a big risk, however it’s definitely worth it to
see how it is all coming together!
So what were the first steps you had to take
to create your own business?
My first priority was to set up a studio to
work in. I moved out of my big bedroom
into the smallest box room in the house!
Then I transformed my old bedroom into a
really workable space and began to test out
a very select number of styles to see how
they would be received.
Do you think social media played a large
part of it?
Social media was crucial to gain customers,
without a shop front I needed all the publicity
I could get, and social media can help you
reach so many people that would never
have seen my garments otherwise.
Where do you want to be in 10 years with
your business?
I would love to keep growing and end up
with a little team to work alongside me.
Idealy I would like to have my own shop,
or for my collection to be stocked in some
big stores, I don’t like to have too much of
a detailed plan, I’m excited to see where I
and the Tasha Jane brand can go.
How did you gain customers attention?
Can you imagine working for someone
else?
Word of mouth proved very useful at the
beginning, as did Facebook and Instagram.
Also I began to sell on Etsy which introduced
my clothing to a wide range of people.
Not really. There are certain aspects that
I would enjoy about working for someone
else, I would enjoy the company (as long
as they were nice!) and I would enjoy