AN EXPERIENCED woman who has made a name for herself in the clothing industry is marking two successful years running her own retail business.

Heather Dixon, of Northallerton in North Yorkshire, has spent over 20-years of her professional career, working for high street names, in Britain and abroad.

But for Ms Dixon, who set up Sew New Ltd, her decision to come back to her roots and live closer to her two children, has been the right one.

She said: “I just thought I’m so tired of being in the rat race - I was doing the same thing day in day out and thought ‘there’s got to be more than this’.”

Ms Dixon’s career launched in 1994 with her first job in Goole, East Yorkshire. From there she became a technical manager in Casablanca, Morocco for two years, before moving onto Turkey, as a quality assurance manager.

After almost four years abroad, Ms Dixon joined another management role in London, where she liaised with factories in the Far East, Turkey and Eastern Europe.

She added: “I also worked for a lady designer company who made clothes for likes of Laura Ashley, that was quite upmarket but after that, and after a change in the family, I came back to live in North Yorkshire –it’s is such a friendly place.”

Initially, Ms Dixon kept up a commute from Northallerton to a job in Goole, however, the demands of the clothing industry, and curiosity to start her own businesses signalled an end to that.

She said: “I just thought I can’t carry on like this – I couldn’t see my kids all of the time, so I decided to take up my own work.”

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Ms Dixon with her dog 'Buttons' who keeps her company at work

Ms Dixon, with the help of her mother, Marlene Brown, developed the Sew New Ltd brand over three years.

Her business would later grow to offer customers ‘unique’ dresswear, household fabrics, bespoke curtains, and stock over 500 rolls of fabric.

She said: “It all started when my mum taught me how to sew and knit - she was taught by her mum and did and I loved it. We started off making things from when I was four years old."

And it seems that this inspiration has led her on to bigger and bolder plans for the Northallerton shop.

Ms Dixon already hosts workshops for the community, but said she wanted to do more.

She said: “At some point I am going to do long workshops, people will come for two or three days at a time, and the make their own garments – I want to get people using their hands again, to get people creative. It gives people time to think and have some quality time to themselves as well.”

Ms Dixon remained hopeful over Sew New Ltd’s future saying she hoped to expand and recruit staff, but said in the meantime, an apprentice role could be on the horizon.