From freelance frustration to your own design label, with Shona Easton

by Joanna Pieters | Follow her on Facebook here

If you were in the UK in 1990s and early 2000s, you undoubtedly saw Shona Easton’s handbags around. As head of handbag design for Next, she created bags which sold by the thousand, before setting up her own label creating beautiful, must-have and ethical designs.

Shona shares her experience of frustrating freelance jobs, being asked to create designs that didn’t resonate with her at all, but feeling obliged to take the work. We talk about her breakthrough that led to her to setting up her successful own label, and how that has fundamentally changed how she works.

At the heart of her success is how Shona combines her free-spirited approach with strong relationships. She shares how relationships have led to suppliers, customers, and how she works with her team members to make her business successful while allowing her to travel almost full-time.

We talk about how many of the issues that creatives have in combining their creativity with running a business, including why basing your business model on a large corporate is a struggle and how she balances creative work with day-to-day commercial demands.

If you’re employed or freelance, Shona has essential advice for you on how to work with buyers and managers, and how to stop frustration getting in the way of your own creative voice by speaking up.

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