FLAXEN FASHION       originally on  http://northernireland.ideasfactory.com/art_design/features/maria_c.htm

What made you come to Northern Ireland?
When the chance came to move from London to the house where my husband's father was born in the Mourne Mountains, I took it as the opportunity to set up a fashion design business.

Did you study fashion design in South America?
I tried nursing and studied administration, neither was right for me. I'm a third generation tailor. As a teenager I helped my mother after school with her work for small tailoring companies. This evolved into my mother designing and making more clothes directly from our home. We also trained lots of local people. Later I worked as a sample maker with designers in London and realised that very few of them had the range of skills I had.

Why do you feel such an affiliation with linen?
I like the drape, the feel of it, and the subtle sheen. It's good to be able to use a local fabric, that's got so much living history involved with it. It's a natural and useful material and has the property of being easy on the skin, refreshing and relaxing. I make linen pyjamas for myself because it's very restful, and shirts for my husband.

Being able to source the finest of Irish Linen locally was also a factor. I'm based in the Linen Homelands of County Down. All around are old flax dams and mills. The townland is Ballymaghery which means 'flat land' - ideal for flax, the plant that linen's spun and woven from. My father-in-law used to pull flax here. It was the local cash crop before and during WWII.

Linen is generally associated with an older more traditional market - what attracted a global fashionista like yourself to the fabric?
It's not true any more - Irish linen has developed on an international stage. The colours, weaves and handle are very different from the traditional view. But linen's just one of my materials. All my Irish linen designs can be made in a woven silk. I use a knitted linen that I get dyed in various colours as well as sourcing Harris Tweed from the Scottish Islands.

You seem to have strong bonds with the idea of nature in fashion...
I'm now based in the countryside, and as a girl I lived in a little village surrounded by nature. I prefer natural materials; they're easy on the body, easy on the environment, and look better.

How did you go about setting up your business?
My husband and I were working and living in London and we had the chance to move here and decided that a business might be the best idea. We heard there was a fashion development unit in Belfast, and that there'd be start-up advice and practical help there.

We'd no idea what we needed to do, and thought there would be enough work locally for me, so that my husband could develop another business. Both of us studied small business courses, most of which were very poor. The general start up courses shouldn't pretend they're able to cover everyone from the car wash man to the fashion designer.

There aren't enough 'experts' giving advice who actually know first hand about fashion or business. Ignorance is rife - a business counsellor basing her advice on her own idea of style and local shopping experiences. An advisor who said to "get rid of the corsage" a few years ago - all great talkers but were they to be thoroughly evaluated, there'd be evidence to suggest they really know nothing about the businesses they've been advising on.

Our business strategy has also been inhibited by my husband's illness. He's had a few lung operations in the last couple of years, throwing many plans out the window.

Now we go to trends presentations in Dublin and last year we were in London. We've had dealings recently with Handel Export in Belfast, and NITC in Amsterdam. Both were extremely helpful, so things are changing. I've been selling abroad for years and hope to travel again as soon as my husband's stronger.

What are the challenges of trying to set up a business in the creative industries in NI?
I was really pleased to get support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and Louth Enterprise Board for the Philadelphia show. I've also joined a Belfast-based textiles networking group called Thimble Ireland, and through the group I've been able to deal with Invest NI and the Belfast City Council who've been supportive with excellent publicity material.

Yet in spite of this, craft or fashion design hasn't been a priority for agencies here. They're often seen as lifestyle businesses, and unless you've big plans, and plenty of capital, agencies aren't very interested. The Republic credits them more so quite a few Northern Irish designers are based in the South.

How have you managed to promote yourself so extensively?
We've been able to get good publicity by spending a lot of time writing to different publications, spending money on good publicity material, and having a product that's very interesting and visually attractive. My husband wrote to the main magazine that covered the Philadelphia show in the states. They devoted about eight pages to visuals and copy.

It was excellent to exhibit at the Love Life Love Linen show in the Belfast fashion week a couple of years back alongside designers like Dolce & Gabbana, John Rocha, Stella McCartney, Marni, and Paul Smith. I also get outfits shown on RTE programs - Off the Rails, Open House and Ireland AM. My designs have appeared in Image, Irish Tatler, Irish Wedding and New Home as well as all the Irish broadsheets. We even got a feature in the very exclusive Ornament and Crafts Report magazines in the States.

How did it feel to exhibit at the prestigious Philadelphia Show?
It was very pleasing to get past the jury process for such a major show, and to work alongside many exceptional craftspeople and artists. It was also good to network with artists from further a field who were operating in a very different market to Ireland. It was refreshing to speak to them, and to be appreciated for the skill of my work.

The application had to be in 15 months beforehand. Then I had to be juried by a very daunting combination of people, among them the curator of decorative arts at the Newark Museum in New Jersey, the owner of the Ferrin Gallery, New York, the president of the SOFA interiors show in Michigan and the professor in Craft Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Who was the collection aimed at?
I've ideas about my market, but it isn't really based on age or any definite type. It's women who can make up their own mind about what they like. Sofia Coppola would be an ideal muse, with that subtlety, intelligence, and a deep confidence in what works for her.

What inspired your collection?
I get inspiration from watching people in Paris, London, Milan, Dublin and New York. When I visit my South American home, I'm always refreshed and inspired by the way people dress. I did some short courses in college in London, and looked at the story side of collections. I'd like to develop that side more, but I'm also fascinated by simplicity and understatement.

What advice do you have for young people interested in pursuing a career in this field?
A qualification opens more doors, and some things are closed to you without one. Make sure that the college the course and the tutors are right for you. Then you should try your hardest to work with a company or designer that produces work that you aspire to be able to match. This means time in one of the fashion capitals.