Georgia Leslie

I remember watching my mum make dresses at the sewing machine as a child. I was always curious about it and one day, she showed me how, just like her mum did for her, and her mum before that.

In December 2019, I went to a Christmas market in my local area where I met a woman selling earrings that she’d made. She told me about The King’s Trust and how they helped her with her business, which I found really interesting. The Trust was in the back of my mind, but my mum became really sick and during lockdown in 2020, she passed away. Losing a parent is a lot to deal with and I was trying to get myself back to reality, which was made harder as I didn’t know where I was going to live after losing our family home.

I wanted to do something with my time, so I called up the young woman I’d met at the market previously. I asked her loads of questions about business, and she pointed me in the direction of The King’s Trust. As hard as it was for me to get back into the swing of things, I just wanted to do something good. I still have my notebook from the Enterprise course, it’s jam-packed with information I didn’t even know I needed.

Before I went to The Trust, I felt my mum was the only one who believed in me. When she passed, I didn’t know where I would find that feeling from again, but my youth worker at The Trust really did believe in me. It was nice to know I had someone to help me get to where I wanted to go. If someone believes in you, it can just help you to flourish.

“Now I run my own business Coconut Palm and all of my products are made on the machine that my mum and I shared. Everything I design and create are made from either offcuts from African prints or garment donations. I love the fact that every piece of clothing has a story, a history woven into its fabric, but I do feel sad that so many once-loved garments are just cast aside. So for me, the joy is giving them a second chance, not just to exist, but to shine.