Mandy & Shania

Shania: Mum and I always had the thought in the back of our minds that we would do something together one day. I have three sisters and out of all of us I am probably the most similar to Mum. We are the quieter ones, the negotiators. Sometimes people think Mum is my sister!

Mum has a background in fashion design and sewing, so that has always been in my life. Growing up, she always made my clothes and, as I got older, I remember thinking how lucky I was - my clothes were special. She is definitely a cool mum and I have always liked that she can make things with her own hands. I think I'll be the only one out of us four girls who will carry on Mum's trade. I did fabric tech all through school and entered the prestigious Hokonui Fashion Design Awards a few times when I was younger.

When lockdown came in 2020, it gave us the time to properly think about starting a business. I was supposed to go to Europe but when Covid-19 happened we started making face masks instead. Once we had worked together as a team, we knew we could collaborate. I was able to get the website up and running and we began with just a few designs.

Our studio is just by Mum's house in Riversdale and we have been operating for a little over two years now. I live in Gore and I come in five days a week and work with Mum. We sell online and do markets and shows. The studio can be a bit of a mess, but we believe that mess is a sign of things happening!

Our style is elegant, simple and feminine. We discuss every design as we are creating it, and we use natural fibres. We try to make things that will suit all ages. I do all the marketing and messaging, as that's not Mum's strong point. We have different skills, and we are honest with each other. Mum is very calm and if I make a mistake she keeps me going. I had to unpick heaps the other day but knowing that she made the same mistakes when she was starting out makes it a lot easier. Mum has always been my idol and I've always looked up to her.

Mandy: When I realised during lockdown that Shania and I could work together, it was a real driving factor to starting our business. All the years that I did this on my own I just had myself, so it's really nice for me to have Shania in the studio, someone to bounce ideas off and talk to. To be passing on a trade to my daughter is something that means a lot to me.

I studied fashion and design thirty-odd years ago at Aoraki Polytechnic in Timaru. My tutor got me my first job in Christchurch, doing machining for a company making Fairydown jackets. It was a bit of a shock going from polytech and thinking I was going to be a big designer to doing pockets, but I gained a good work ethic. After having children, I worked from home making children's wear and I used my four girls as models, which was very handy.

I bring sewing skills and experience to our business, and Shania has graphic design, photography and social-networking skills. We complement each other and Shania is doing sewing now, which is really exciting. She is a perfectionist, and because I have been there and done that I know how awful it is when you make a mistake, so I understand.

Fashion is a cycle and I have learnt to stick to the simple designs while putting in little tweaks. We use my old designs as a base because we know they work, and then we refer to trends to add something new.

Because I have been making clothes for years I probably restrict myself a little, but because Shania is younger she says, "Let's do this," and I am open to compromise. We know how far we can push each other and when to back off. As Shania's mum, I know instinctively when to pull back. I often know just from her body language and the way she looks at me whether an idea is cool or not.

This story appeared in the Ngahuru Autumn 2022 Edition of Shepherdess.