I still can't believe it, but it happened and I have a few people to thank for getting me here. Firstly to Pinky Lilani CBE DL & The Women of the Future Programme for building such a wonderful network and inspiring setting to celebrate successful young women in Britain. To the whole Judging Panel - headed by Sir John Peace and to Nik Jhangiani & Bridget Long who led the judging for my category.
To the others shortlisted in the Entrepreneur category: Kirsten Hazell - London Grace, Kirsty Henshaw - Kirsty's, Amy McManus - AM Marketing, Carrie Osman - Cruxy&Co, Annabel Thomas - Mcn'ean Distillery - you're all amazing.
To Surfers against Sewage for the inspiration, Aquafil for the innovation, Escape the City and GAIN for the encouragement and The RSA for the catalyst.
Continued support and collaboration comes from our amazing British manufacturers AJM Sewing, our supply chain partners Aquafil and Carvico, and to Positive Luxury, Made in Britain, Matt Austin Photography, eXXpedition and numerous others for their continued support.
These are really exciting times for Davy J. With campaigns like #heforshe #thisgirlcan #likeagirl #IwillwhatIwant the active womenswear market is flourishing and a growth in swimwear that caters to the style conscious but adventurous and active among us has long been overdue.
Made in Britain still remains a label of quality and yet we continue to underinvest in our manufacturing industries and skills. At Davy J we want to encourage and support the passing on of Britain's valuable textile skills and to bring on the next generation of young seamstresses, designers, creators and innovators.
Moving from 'sustainability jargon' to a realistic and commercially interesting reality for many businesses and brands, the Circular Economy movement is gaining momentum. Organisations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation are educating & changing perspectives with their work with big business, and sustainable & responsible fashion movements led by companies like Eco-Age & Stella McCartney and role models such as Emma Watson & Livia Firth are really changing the way consumers value their purchases.
Selling direct up to now, the next step for Davy J is to partner with one or two innovative and exciting retailers who also value this new retail approach and want to build a long term partnership with the brand.
From our perspective what we do is not 'sustainable' business - it's just good business, the way it should be.