Hello, I'm Jessica!
I founded my own ethical fashion company three years ago, which I run from a barn (on a farm!) CARBS is loud, bright and built to last, offering an alternative to fast fashion. Initially I was learning to code to build my own website for my business, but now I'm looking to build a career in web development.
I really hate fast fashion! One thing that I have started to do with my brand is show people via social media how to up-cycle their own clothes using embellishment techniques, rather than buying new garments.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, I have focused more on this by uploading video tutorials and creating pattern templates that people could download from my website, print out and use themselves on their own clothes. I have really enjoyed sharing skills and helping people learn, and I hope to continue this as a coder.
My interests include:
Knitting! And lots of arts & crafts…
The 80's & 90's!
Travelling (mostly Asia, although I still need to visit Sri Lanka and Japan!)
Rock climbing & cooking.
Most of my business is done online via my website, which I created using a website builder. I started to self-learn how to code last year, because I wanted more control over my website. I had pushed the website builder to its limits and I wanted to create new functionalities and ideas to improve my website.
I then managed to secure some mentoring from two junior developers, who work at Citizen Ticket, which is how I first became aware of your programme. Before that I studied and then worked in fashion, where I developed strong skills in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign and have enjoyed incorporating those skills into this website.
Although I love fashion designing, the more that I learnt from coding the more I realised I wanted to become a coder. I don’t feel that the fashion industry is the right place for me right now and I’d like to use my design skills in a different way. My ambition is to continue my fashion business as a hobby (I just can’t stop knitting!), while pursuing a career as a full time developer.
Founding and growing a business can be a lonely and tough road, and I have really missed working as part of a team to solve problems. I’ve really enjoyed taking part in online meetups where I have been able to work with others on solving problems in codewars and learning from free code camp together. Self-learning has been challenging but also extremely helpful to begin building my skills, however I know that I benefit even more when I'm learning from people and with others.
