Drawing sketches of shoes whenever she visited her Grandma’s home as a child, Charlotte Mills always knew she wanted to become a designer. That dream became a reality when she took a huge risk in 2014 – remortgaging her home while working full time to set up a business in her spare room.
Her aim was to create a wedding shoe brand with a difference after previously working for brands such as River Island. After failing to get a government loan or any money from the bank, she kept her new business a secret from her employer in case it folded, spending every waking moment outside work trying to get it off the ground.
Orders trickled in at first. But after seven years of hard work and a 'disaster' that saw her plunged into debt, her company turned over £1million in 2021 - making more than £400k in profit - with this year's sales so far up by 30 per cent.
