Penny Cantle

Female

Lake Macquarie, NSW

Australia

Profile Information:

Profession / role:: Founder/designer/manager/younameit
Company / organisation:: Zenana Women
Website (if you have one):: www.zenanawomen.com.au
My primary role in relation to fashion is:: Designer, Supplier, Manufacturer
I am looking to discover or buy: Contacts, support and outlets for the label
About me / About business or organisation:: I'm new to fashion, having arrived here through the 'back door' and later in life. A life-long interest in fashion/design/sewing has been dragged to the fore as I needed to become a designer as well as manager of a label to be the end-point of setting up an ethical workshop I set up after living in India.
Career history / Company history:: After teaching for 20 years I went to India, tagging along with my husband on an Aid job. We both loved India and I studied for a Masters in Development so I too could work in Aid, as a Gender Specialist. I learned heaps but when the next job came, involving 2 years living in Lucknow, north India, I realised I couldn't wait and started a social enterprise to employ poor women in the often exploited work of hand embroidery. So now I design and manage the production of garments for Zenana Women, which feature this beautiful handicraft.