I came to Mayamiko about a year after I'd left Uni, I'd written to the founder, Paola, as I believed that what they were doing at the time was quite unique -to have a fashion brand that had originated from a charity, so from the start they had strong social values.

At this time there were a few brands being produced across the African continent, especially Malawi,but we now have brands from all over such as Sri Lanka, Peru, from Laos but they all come from organisations within the same place at heart - a focus on improving the lives of the producers, as much as creating products.

I did about a month as an intern originally, I really enjoyed working closely with Paola and having the opportunity to dablle in lots of things such as formatting look books, learning spotify, working on the PR letter etc.

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I'm currently focusing on Madeby_ which will be a new platform that aims to increase transparency and communicate sustainable and ethical standards in the fashion industry.

As a small organisation it's a great place to develop a variety of skills and explore what interests you. Also having a say in the organisation is great, I really feel like my opinion is valued, Paula and I are both very open-minded!

It helps to be creative and pro-active, there might be more responsibility than other entry level roles but that's also quite fun!