Meet the Peterlee designer behind the Northeast brand Hawkwood Mercantile
Richard Illington grew up in Peterlee in County Durham in the 70s & 80s. Like many people his age he was into clothes, especially anything military but focused upon the aesthetics of it. Originally, Richard’s career plan was wanting to
Meet Kate Smith, the Sunderland hairdresser defying the odds
Meet Kate Smith, owner of “Hair By Kate Smith” located within The Black Door Hairdressing Emporium in Sunderland, part of Mackies Corner. Katie is a vibrant, energetic 20-year-old, self-employed stylist, specialising in all aspects of colour & extensions. She qualified over
Meet the Former Student Behind Sunderland’s 2025 Fashion Show!
Ade at her HQ. Ade Adefolawe is a woman of many hats, but in terms of career, she studied at the University of Sunderland and went on to Teesside to earn a doctorate in special and inclusive education. Ade comes from
Sunderland stylist and Business owner incorporates style and sustainablity
JP at the oceanic awards JP, owner and proprietor of Johnathon Pickup Hair in Blandford Street Sunderland, has been cutting hair for decades and began as an apprentice for Tony & Guy. His reason for using these products are that he is
Day in the life of Designer Gemma Nicholson, owner of Soul Bride Sunderland
I get up at 5:00am feed my animals, a Russian cat, she is a Karelian Bobtail, we got her when we lived on a farm, they are great for keeping the mice at bay and 2 Labrador dogs, Opal and
Pride Challenge
Runway Ready: Thrifted Glam for Pride A celebration of creativity, self-expression, and sustainable fashion through charity shop styling. For the Pride challenge, my group collaborated to create three stunning looks at Pride fashion challenge with Blandford Street charity shops and Sunderland Bid.
Styling Challenge at Smart Works
As part of our recent challenge, we had the opportunity to visit Smart Works, a charity organisation dedicated to supporting unemployed women by providing them with coaching, professional clothing, and the confidence they need to succeed in job interviews and transform
Best places to get Matcha in Sunderland
Matcha is fast becoming a staple drink to a growing number of people and if you've tasted the drink it's easy to see why. Not only does it have a number of powerful health benefits like reducing depression symptoms, reducing
Pride Styling Challenge
For Fashion styling we completed a pride styling challenge. What this consisted of was creating a pride themed mood board and visiting charity shops based around Sunderland to style a pride outfit for our mannequin and for ourselves. Moodboard: Pride Outfit: This
Dress for Less
For week two of my course (Fashion Design and Promotion) for styling, I was presented by my lecturer with a challenge called dress for less. What this consisted of was styling two outfits that were £30 or under! We were
Holiday Must-Haves (Flat lays)
For week 6 of fashion styling, I had to produce two to three different flat lays and pick my own relevant theme. I decided my overall theme was going to be holiday must- haves because this is something that in
Personal Style (Day and Night Look)
In week 3 my styling challenge was to showcase my personal style which included a daytime look and a night time look. My go to day look consists of a decent pair of denim jeans which will match with anything.