A FA N TA S T I C J O U R N E Y OF LEARNING, PERSONAL D E V E L O P M E N T A N D D I S C O V E RY BY SARAH BRUMBY (01-03) After leaving RGS Sixth Form I went on to study Fashion Design and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University. The Art department still holds a special place in my heart, where I spent Saturday mornings developing life drawing skills, developing photos in the dark room, spending many hours painting and sculpting alongside my peers.
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have always been at my happiest when I am being creative and making things, I spend more time restoring a period house than painting still life these days, but I always have a craft project on the go. The skills that I developed in my teenage years enabled me to produce a diverse portfolio which enabled me to get on to a university course with a year in industry, which set me up for a career in the clothing industry after graduating. For 15 years I have worked as a clothing designer in busy design studios for high street retailers, small startup brands and manufacturers worldwide. Travelling and working with colleagues all over the world has been a fantastic journey of learning, personal development and discovery. During my time in Sixth Form, I volunteered with a team of peers at a primary school, which I found very rewarding. Aged 21, after finishing university, I travelled to India where I spent time volunteering teaching arts and crafts at various children’s NGOs in India. These experiences volunteering led on to being a Girl Guiding leader and mentor for over ten years. Being part of and running volunteer leadership teams in the East End of
ONA | OLD NOVOCASTRIANS’ ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE | ISSUE 110 | AUTUMN 2021
London has challenged me in new ways, taught me invaluable life skills and been thoroughly rewarding. I feel fortunate to have made what I didn’t know at the time would end up being some of my lifelong friends while at RGS. I moved to East London in 2010 where my school friends found me somewhere to live and welcomed me into their social lives. Many of these friends attended my wedding; of whom Helen and Harriet were my bridesmaids in 2019. They have all been a fantastic support to me, my husband and our two children for many years. 2021 has been the start of a new project as Director of my own retail business. I hope to take the skills that I have developed so far in my life and career, applying them in a different direction. Skills in product design, retailing, CAD, sourcing & self-employment have given me the confidence to embark on this new chapter of my creativity. Since having children, I have become increasingly aware of the impact we all have on the world around us. By launching a brand supplying sustainably packaged groceries, I hope to make a positive difference by helping people to create less waste. I hope to inspire the next generation to follow their own exciting new paths ahead of them, however unconventional they might be.
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