Rosie is founder of Roake Studio, a womenswear brand with comfort, flexibility and sustainability at its core.
By Rosie Drake-Amery
i learnt to sew from the tender age of 5. My mum bought me a vintage hand turn singer from the local antiques shop and that was that, I was obsessed. In terms of dressmaking, everything I know has been self-taught. I went away to university to study textile design when I realised that the opportunities for learning, and subsequent employment, in the textile industry on the Isle of Wight were few and far between.
I knew pretty quickly that I didn’t want to follow the path commonly taken by textile graduates – I wanted to work for myself. I applied for, and won, an award when I graduated, which funded a small amount of equipment needed to continue my practice (at the time, mainly leatherwork). After a year or so of confusion, tests, sampling, failing and starting again, I finally felt confident enough to put my products out into the world and start selling them. Alongside various teaching and lecturing jobs, I slowly adapted and nurtured my business. From small leather accessories to larger forms, gradually introducing textile products, I was finding rhythm in my style and developing business prowess.
A CHANGE OF DIRECTION
When I became pregnant with my first child I took a short break from making. As demand grew I noticed a detachment from the products I was creating in larger quantities. It was then that a turning point happened for my business. I was feeling frustrated with maternity clothes. I live my life with sustainability in mind and the concept of buying something to wear for nine months then discarding it seemed unfathomable.
So I made my whole maternity wardrobe – a jumpsuit, a dress, tops – and shared it all on social media. I hadn’t done any proper dressmaking for myself for years, because I just hadn’t had time, but I loved it! Other people loved it too and started asking if they could buy the items. So every time I made something, I made two of them and sold one. I realised that the clothing I’d made was pretty successful on the other side of pregnancy too, and when my body changed throughout the years. Bodies change all the time, so why can’t our clothes move through the chapters with us?
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ETHOS
We're a small team here – my role is management of the studio, designing and developing our products and guiding our staff through the good times
