Have you ever looked at an old tea towel and imagined what it would look like as a dress? What about a pair of curtains from the 70s?
Well there’s one Manchester woman who can turn those fashion dreams into a reality - by transforming pre-loved charity shop items into bespoke garments and accessories.
Nicole Broad, of Ancoats, can turn any unwanted piece of fabric into a stunning dress, blouse or hat – and it all started with a sewing machine.
The 30-year-old had always been interested in sewing but was unable to find time for the hobby as she grew older. But when a worldwide pandemic threw the country into lockdown in 2020, she saw an opportunity to rekindle her interest.
“It was a classic lockdown story,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “I needed a bit of a creative outlet and bought a sewing machine. I started drafting my own patterns instead of using other people’s because I knew that would put me off.
“I was draping [the designs] over mannequins and making my own accessories. I’ve always been obsessed with pussy bows so I made detachable ones so you can wear them over any t shirt as an alternative to scarfs.
“Once I felt confident enough, I started making my own clothes. I put them on Instagram and people were asking me when I could start making dresses to sell.”
Alongside her marketing job, Nicole named her side hustle The Fruit Moth, selling clothes made from a charity shop fabric stash she already had in her home.
But as the orders kept flooding in, she was eventually able to quit her job in December 2021 and create clothes full time – even going on to open her own shop in the Manchester Craft and Design Centre in the Northern Quarter the following June.
“I already had a fabric stash I’d bought from charity shops but never done anything with it,” Nicole added. “So it was nice seeing it all come to life.”
Nicole’s business really took off when she sent a matching bow set to an influencer and her dog, with the influencer posting about the set on her Instagram page.
The publicity led to The Fruit Moth “blowing up” - and Nicole has been busy ever since. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said.
“Loads of people started buying on the website and I thought, ‘Wow, this could be a real-life thing I do now, not just something I do in the evening to keep me occupied’.
“Now I’m selling blouses and tops made from vintage tea towels, smock dresses from 1970s curtains – I did it all from the spare bedroom at first and now I do it all from the shop. I’m there Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and I’m just sewing all the time.”
Nicole also offers custom designs by allowing customers to pick out a fabric for her to make an item from. On her shop’s success, she said: “It’s amazing, it's absolutely incredible. Whenever I go into my shop – and I’m there six days a week – I'm still like, ‘This is mine, my own tiny empire’.
“It’s just my little happy place. Every time I go in, I’m filled with inspiration. It’s just the loveliest feeling.
“Coming from an e-commerce manage role, all your hard work is lying in someone else's pocket. Now, whenever I get a sale, I think, ‘I did that and now someone has bought it’.”
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