Kerrie Curzon Creations produce a range of ethical clothing, the current range focuses mainly on underwear but Kerrie is happy to make to order.  She uses organic, recycled and fair-trade materials to produce unique comfortable clothing.   Unlike other ethical clothing ranges Kerrie's pieces are very affordable.   We chat with Kerrie about what inspired her to making underwear from other items of clothing:

How did you initially get into sewing? 

My mum has always been very into sewing because her mum was.  My gran used to make clothes for herself, as did my mum and then my mum passed that onto me.    Throughout school I was always altering clothing etc.  I remember as a teenager putting flairs into my jeans and that kind of thing.

Did you always know you wanted to work within the sewing industry?

I always enjoyed sewing but when I went to university I did a degree in creative writing however there's not really a career path that follows on from that degree.  After university I decided to move to Brighton and took a fulltime job to cover the bills and the cost of moving.   I stopped the writing and picked up sewing again instead.  Brighton is a very creative place so it was an inspiring environment, I saw a lot of people around who were making their own clothes.

So is that when you decided you wanted to make clothes for a living?

Well I realised having a full time job was really not for me so I quit my job and found part time work so I could concentrate on my sewing.   On my days off from work I was always making my own clothes.   Then people started commenting on how much they liked my clothes and wanted to know where I got them.  That's what made me decide to start making clothes to sell.

What made you decide to make ethical clothing?

Knowing I could make my own clothes meant I didn't really want to buy them in shops, also I'm very against the idea of sweatshops and in fact I don't really like fashion or the whole idea behind it.  I was trying my hardest not to buy any new clothes and either making them myself or buying them from charity shops. 

What made you decide to concentrate on underwear?

I realised there was a lot of nice underwear in the high street stores and it's not really the type of thing you can buy second hand!  So I started looking for ethical alternatives and all I could find were plain boring cotton pants.  That made me decide to make my own ethical but attractive underwear.  I also did a pattern cutting course here in Brighton which was really useful.  It gave me the skills to make my own pattern for pants.

Would you recommend that anyone looking to make their own clothes do a similar course?

Absolutely, it gave me skills which I use on a day to day basis.  The course was for all types of pattern making and was just an evening course but I learnt so much from it.  I would highly recommend it.  There are some very expensive courses out there but there are several independent people out there who do it for a lot cheaper.    It's also something you can pass onto other people.  I am currently teaching a complete novice how to sew at the moment and eventually she wants to learn pattern cutting too so she can make her own clothes.

How do you manage to charge so much less than most ethical fashion producers?

I am really keen to give value for money.  There are now some similar products on the market but they are so expensive.  I want to be honest and not charge someone £20-£50 for a pair of pants that only cost £10-£12 to make.   I just charge for the cost of the materials and the time it takes me to make them.   I want to charge fairly to make the underwear affordable for everyone.

What do you find the hardest about setting up your own business and working for yourself?

Getting the word out there so that people know what I do.  People love my products once they see them but it's getting them to see them in the first place that is hard.  It can be hard to find the right place to promote your business.  Even with fairs and the like you have to find exactly the right one in order to make any sales.   I also find that although I'm on the internet it's still hard to drive people to my site.  I find myself going back to the same customers repeatedly, which is great but I would love to expand my customer base.  

It's also quite difficult to balance between keeping  the price fair for customers and actually making some money myself for the work I put in.   I sometimes find I'm not counting the cost of the material in my price so could be working at a loss.  When doing items other than underwear I also find it difficult to price.  Now i've done underwear so many times I've worked out how much it costs to produce it but other items are more difficult.

What are the best aspects of your job?

It's enjoyable, I love what I do and in an ideal world I would quit work and do it full time.  Also it allows me to be creative and I feel useful.  Everyone needs underwear and i'm helping by producing it.

What advice could you pass on to someone wanting to make clothes themselves?

As I said earlier a pattern making course is a really good place to start, also books can be very helpful.  Just be experimental.  I didn't know I could make pants until I tried it, I looked at how my pants were constructed then tried coming up with my own pattern. 

 I'd also advise that you do your research when it comes to promotion and your target market.  I've done some local village fairs where no one was interested at all and I was left thinking why am I here.   Then I recently did a fair here in Brighton where I had the perfect audience and I thought why didn't  I do this before.   A lot of it you learn along the way but you need to listen to people and use their feedback.

How do you see your business growing in the future?

Well as much as I love making clothes myself i'm also really keen to pass on my knowledge.  I offer sewing lessons and have provided patterns for Sew Hip magazine so people can have a go at making some of my products themselves.   Ultimately I would love to have my own shop.  My mum does a lot of sewing, she also makes handbags and does knitting and we often fantasise about opening a shop together. 

To find out more about Kerrie Curzon Creations please visit her website http://paperfairies.moonfruit.com/

Photos by Jim Stephenson - http://www.clickclickjim.com/