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Founded on the premise that the key to a great outfit and a positive attitude is the very first thing you put on in the morning, one local lingerie designer's brand is all about pairing self-love and style.
Having taken the decision to become her own boss, Jersey entrepreneur Imogen Pickering has made quite an impact in her first year of business with 'Imogen Apparel.'
But when she looks around at the island in which she’s built her brand... What exactly would she change? She told Express...
Don’t get me wrong – I loved my JCG education and think it’s a wonderful school, but I wish I’d known more about alternative career paths outside of the academic ‘norm’. Entrepreneurship was never on my radar, it was never even presented as an option, so all that I know about what I do now I had to discover on my own.
Video: Imogen says that everything she's learned about running her own business she has had to learn herself.
I think it’s amazing that schools are now educating girls to shatter glass ceilings and become strong, independent, influential women, but if we are to truly encourage young girls to pursue these things, self-employment should be presented as a viable career option.
I originally went to university to study Art & Design, only to find that I was better suited to the less practical and more sociological practice of Marketing & Communications, which I subsequently gained my degree in.
Pictured: Imogen wants to see more diverse career options for young creatives in Jersey.
I returned to the island full of enthusiasm to apply my degree knowledge to a professional role, only to find my career options limited to the finance industry. I think for creative minds the lack of careers that allow you to practice creativity is really disheartening, forcing many to look off island or squash their creative spirit all together.
I’m sure this is the same the world over and not only limited to Jersey, but it’s a huge bugbear of mine. When we’re sat in classrooms through school learning about algebra (which, by the way, I still stand by my argument with my maths teacher over never having to use it in ‘real-life’), who is there to teach you about tax, pensions, mortgages, how to change a tyre?
Pictured: This young entrepreneur wants to see less school time dedicated to algebra to make way for more valuable 'life skills'.
A one-hour-a-week ‘Life Skills’ class would have saved me many eye rolls from my dad when I ask: “how do I check the oil level on my car?” at age 26.
I’m the first to admit that I know I let Emmeline Pankhurst down by having never voted in our island’s elections. We now live in a society where attention spans are shorter than that of a goldfish and we’re so used to having information put in front of us, that it’s now what we expect.
Pictured: The founder of Imogen Apparel says that more needs to be done to make Jersey politics accessible for young voters.
It’s sad but it’s true – us younger generation rarely take the time to look up from our phones, so give me the information I need there. If politics became part of the mainstream media I consume every day, rather than something I had to seek out, I’m sure I’d have the confidence to make informed decisions when it comes to our island’s future.
I recently spent six months living in Melbourne, Australia, where brunch was taken so seriously, it was part of the culture. On every corner of the city, there were unique, independent café’s serving everything from Instagram-worthy smoothie bowls, pancakes topped with candy floss, to artery-clogging freakshakes.
Pictured: Imogen wants to see brunch take centre stage in Jersey with an Australian-inspired approach to breakfasting.
Some of the meals I ate were works of art in their own right and I always said when I was there; if I wasn’t returning to the island to make lingerie, I’d be taking all of the inspiration I’d absorbed to bring something of that kind back to Jersey – there’s a huge gap in the market for it!
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Bailiwick Express.
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