I was born and raised in a small village called Palafrugell in the Costa Brava, Spain. I grew up in a very quiet environment up until I was 12 when I then moved to London. I went from a small Mediterranean village of about 20 thousand people, to the biggest city in Europe.
Unlike the majority, I did not go to University and get a degree. Nowadays there are many other ways to achieve your goals. I went to a Business academy up until I was 17 years old and then decided to get hands on by going straight to work. I took on an apprenticeship in business administration, management and operations whilst working as an office manager at a structural engineering consultancy practice. Once qualified, I started pursuing other career interests like law enforcement and policing and this is the field I currently work in.
I also love fashion and I'm a strong believer that dressing well is a form of good manners. From the start I have always wanted to have my own brand and to be able to design clothes I like. In May 2018, I finally convinced myself that it was time to make it happen – this is when @offduty.cut was born.
It was unplanned to say the least. I was at home and I had sketched up some designs I wanted to make for myself before going on holiday to Dubai. I posted some of the sketches on Instagram story. The response I received from my followers was overwhelming and it made me really think about starting my own brand. I told myself 'I’m going to test this, I have nothing to lose'. I made the designs that I had sketched up using material I already had, then took them with me to Dubai. Every time I wore a piece, I would get so many compliments, both in person and on social media when I shared pictures. It took some time to finally start making it happen as I had other commitments back then. I started an Instagram page and continued to share pictures of pieces I designed and made. People then began asking for prices but at the time I wasn’t selling anything - just sharing my outfits.
I then started doing the same with shoes - I wanted specific designs that are affordable. Once I realized there was a demand I asked my manufacturer to make me a batch and started selling. I’m proud to say that the clothing is all handmade! The hardest part in the business is managing it all, especially with a full time job, but I’m getting there, a step at a time.”
Omaima El-Haouass, Founder of offduty.cut
Çoğunluğun aksine üniversiteye gitmedim. Bunun zaman ve para israfı olduğunu düşünüyorum. Şimdilerde hedefinizi gerçekleştirebilmeniz için daha iyi yollar var. 17 yaşına kadar İşletme Akademisine gittim ve sonrasında iş yaşantısına girmeye karar verdim. İnşaat firmasında çalışırken İşletme, Yönetim ve Operasyon stajı yaptım. Yetkinlik kazanınca farklı alanlara yöneldim.
Modayı her zaman sevdim ve hep bir markam olmasını istedim. Mayıs 2018'de kendime artık bunun zamanının geldiğine ikna ettim.
Dubai'ye tatile gitmeden önce kendim için birkaç kıyafet tasarlamıştım. Çizimleri Instagram hikayelerde paylaştığımda insanlar bayılmıştı. Kıyafetleri diktikten sonra Dubai'ye götürdüm. Her birini giyip fotoğraflar çektirdim. Hem dışarıda hem de sosyal medyada çok güzel yorumlar aldım. Bu da beni markamı kurmam için cesaretlendirdi. Böylece @offduty.cut doğdu.
Markamın amacı tesettürlü modern kadının seveceği ve maddi olarak karşılayabileceği kıyafetler ve ayakkabılar üretmek. Her tasarımımı ona sadece birkaç kadın sahip olabilsin diye sınırlı sayıda ürettiriyorum.
İş kurmak değil ama her şeyi aynı anda yönetmek zor. Şu anki işimde haftanın 6 günü çalışıyorum ve kalan zamanımı aileme ve sevdiklerime ayırmaya çalışıyorum. Offduty.cut için zaman bulmak zor olsa da tek seferde ufak ufak işler bitirerek hallettiğime inanıyorum.”
Omaima El-Haouass, offduty.cut'ın kurucusu.
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