One of our favourite things at Front Lounge is celebrating joy and accomplishment. Every day, the young people we support do something that makes them and us proud. Over the last week, we’ve seen so many smiles, so much pride and achievement.
Why? Because a local business put their trust in our learners and placed their first-ever manufacturing order which three of our Kindred Clothing graduates helped fulfil. How much more of an endorsement could they get, that their skills match real-life industry requirements?
Samantha Paton, who launched Isolated Heroes in 2012, has been involved with Kindred Clothing since its inception as a tutor and mentor.
She said, “There’s a significant manufacturing shortage in Scotland, so having a small-batch manufacturing team who can fulfil an order for us right here in Dundee is just fantastic. Shorter lead-in times allow us to provide more efficient service within the timescales our customers expect.
“Small businesses like ours spend a lot of time and money checking in with manufacturers, dropping off, collecting and shipping samples, so keeping the manufacturing local and using small-batch teams who can offer a quick turnaround without losing the quality we’re known for makes a lot of business and environmental sense.
“But it’s about much more than that. Through our involvement with Kindred Clothing, including taking two graduates on as staff, we know what they’re capable of. Everyone I’ve encountered through Kindred Clothing who has continued to work in the fashion and textile industry has given it their all, really upped their game through the training, and come on in leaps and bounds. We’re more than confident in their skills and determined to support the initiative. Building on the rich heritage we’ve got on our doorstep, Kindred Clothing has the power to teach skills and reinvigorate Dundee’s once-buoyant textile industry. Longer-term, we’d love this to be the first of many orders we place with Kindred Clothing.”
One of the makers is Kindred Clothing graduate Rhianne Grieve, who first became involved with Front Lounge six years ago as a young mum through the Bringing up Baby group. Rhianne completed the course this summer and will graduate alongside 19 other learners on Saturday 7 September 2024.
Rhianne said, “It’s absolutely brilliant to be working on our first commercial order just weeks after I completed the course. It was a real challenge.
“It’s also quite a responsibility because, when you’re working through the course, you’re working on your own clothes and can make mistakes. This time, it’s the real deal. We’re making them for paying customers who need the garments to be perfect.
“If you told me I’d be doing this six years ago, with a young baby in tow, I would never have believed you in a million years. Now, I make clothes for myself and my daughter all the time. What’s more, in a few weeks, I might see someone out and about who has bought something I’ve made. It’s just amazing!”
The makers were supervised by Christie Wanless, a qualified fashion technologist and Development Worker at Front Lounge, who added, “To be approached by a local business who sell clothes all over the world, is just staggering and a massive credit to the skills and abilities of our graduates.
“Completing commercial orders is very much the next natural step for Kindred Clothing and the first stage in launching what will ultimately become a micro-manufacturing hub, so we’re very grateful to Isolated Heroes for giving us this opportunity. We’ve worked hard to ensure that the garments are of the highest quality possible, instilling a real sense of pride and achievement in our learners while meeting the required timescales. We’re exceptionally proud of everyone involved and can’t wait to get stuck into the next order!”
