Profession / role:

Owner/Founder

Company / organisation:

www.belleetik.com

Website (if you have one):

www.belleetik.com

My primary role in relation to fashion is:

Consumer, Buyer, Retailer

I am looking to discover or buy

Information sharing, meeting new people, inspiration, chats .....

About me / About business or organisation:

I run Belleetik (www.belleetik.com) - an online shop dedicated to great clothes with great stories. I am based in Cork, South Ireland. I set up Belleetik in late 2007 to showcase thedesigners and labels I was coming across, in my own search for decent looking clothes produced under decent conditions - It should not be such a big ask.

Career history / Company history:

In my final year of college in 1997, I came across Café Direct Coffee on the supermarket shelf, which proved an inspiration for my job choices – Fairtrade as a means to combine development with business.
1998 - 2003 - After college I worked with the Fairtrade Labelling Office in Bonn, as the office administrator & PA and assistant to the Banana Product Manager – all at the same time, which was an inspiring and valuable experience. I spent a number of months with the Faritrade organisation TransFair in Luxembourg working on a chocolate project and 1 year in the Caribbean working with WINFA – an NGO responsible for exporting Fairtrade bananas from the Windward Islands – involved in marketing & training support, research & managing a revolving fund loan.
2004 - 2010 - Since returning to Ireland I have been involved with the Fairtrade Towns movement voluntarily, while and have working in a sales and marketing job. I stumbled into Fashion through my own search for clothes that not only looked good, but that I knew what it came from and who made it. I have completed 1,2 years of a fashion design diploma, with a focus on tailoring and am learning the Fashion industry form all sides thanks to setting up Belleetik.com, with my web developer partner.