Ladies n' Genmin welcome to another very exciting episode of "The Good Listening To Podcast" with me Chris Grimes!
One of the special "Brand Strand" Episodes, whereby I wrap an Episode around a particular Company or individual to amplify their Company (or Personal) Brand:
Who are you? What's your story? And what do you do?
And to that end, please welcome to the "GLT Clearing": Emma Brown, Fashion Designer & Founder of Denim Star UK - Womens Ethical Socks!
How important is it to you to wear socks that compliment your jeans? Denim Star UK does exactly that! Emma has a basics range of Sustainable Denim Coloured Socks to - as she says - "romance your Jeans"! Get in!
Curious? Join Emma on Instagram & Facebook @denimstar_uk
In her own words:
"I'm a romantic at heart! A down to earth Fashion Designer and London girl, born and bred in Harrow. It's a joy to be a part of the fabulous Chris Grimes Community - thank you very much Chris - and I hope you enjoy our chat!"
"And Harrow to you too Emma!" (See what I did there?!)
"A GLT with me CG!": The Podcast series that features "The Clearing", where all good questions come to be asked and all good stories come to be told!
So thanks for listening to another Episode!
If you'd like to find out more about me and my work, then please do check out my websites www.secondcurve.uk + www.instantwit.co.uk - and there's also a dedicated "Good Listening To" Facebook Group c/o the link above.
Plus if you'd be interested in the experience of being given "a damn good listening to" yourself, or you'd like to explore the idea of some Personal Impact Coaching from me CG - to help level-up your confidence, communication, and personal impact c/o my online Coaching proposition: The Second Curve "Zoom Room" - then, by all means, do get in touch via any of the usual social media channels (see above) or you can email me at chris@secondcurve.uk
(The Second Curve "Zoom Room": Coaching for Business Professionals, Business Leaders and their Teams to help you "level up" your IMPACT to get you to the next level - or clarity on how to get to "where next?")
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
Ladies n' Genmin welcome to another very exciting episode of "The Good Listening To Podcast" with me Chris Grimes!
One of the special "Brand Strand" Episodes, whereby I wrap an Episode around a particular Company or individual to amplify their Company (or Personal) Brand:
Who are you? What's your story? And what do you do?
And to that end, please welcome to the "GLT Clearing": Emma Brown, Fashion Designer & Founder of Denim Star UK - Womens Ethical Socks!
How important is it to you to wear socks that compliment your jeans? Denim Star UK does exactly that! Emma has a basics range of Sustainable Denim Coloured Socks to - as she says - "romance your Jeans"! Get in!
Curious? Join Emma on Instagram & Facebook @denimstar_uk
In her own words:
"I'm a romantic at heart! A down to earth Fashion Designer and London girl, born and bred in Harrow. It's a joy to be a part of the fabulous Chris Grimes Community - thank you very much Chris - and I hope you enjoy our chat!"
"And Harrow to you too Emma!" (See what I did there?!)
"A GLT with me CG!": The Podcast series that features "The Clearing", where all good questions come to be asked and all good stories come to be told!
So thanks for listening to another Episode!
If you'd like to find out more about me and my work, then please do check out my websites www.secondcurve.uk + www.instantwit.co.uk - and there's also a dedicated "Good Listening To" Facebook Group c/o the link above.
Plus if you'd be interested in the experience of being given "a damn good listening to" yourself, or you'd like to explore the idea of some Personal Impact Coaching from me CG - to help level-up your confidence, communication, and personal impact c/o my online Coaching proposition: The Second Curve "Zoom Room" - then, by all means, do get in touch via any of the usual social media channels (see above) or you can email me at chris@secondcurve.uk
(The Second Curve "Zoom Room": Coaching for Business Professionals, Business Leaders and their Teams to help you "level up" your IMPACT to get you to the next level - or clarity on how to get to "where next?")
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!
and we're in and welcome. Welcome, welcome. Well, thrice welcome. Let's go for four. Welcome to a lovely person called Emma Brown, who is from Denim Star UK and this is a special new strand of the good listening to podcasts, which is called the Brand Strand. What what I'm doing is inviting my guests to the same place the clearing. But we're here to hear Storey and amplify your brand. So it's my great great pleasure to welcome a lovely person who I've been, I suppose, flirting with in the right way for several months of coming to the clearing. So this is Emma Brown Denim Star UK. So good morning, Emma. Good morning to you as well. Chris, how are you? I am outstanding in my field. Like a good farmer, you can always tell a good farmer he's outstanding. Yes the jokes will not get any better. So yes, by the way I googled you before we started because I can. In the modern world, it said by Emma Brown on Amazon. So I thought, how much for so that's the first so interesting, I don't know how I ended up on Amazon I'm sure your not selling yourself lock, stock and barrel. But I'm assuming it's about the fact that you run Denim Star UK. So So just tell me about Denims Star UK first of all. Right Yes. So Dennin Star UK It's a women's sustainable hosiery, brand, which is denim coloured socks to style your denims. So it's actually very simple. In a nutshell, eh? So it's not just the complete maelstrom of denim fashion accessories. It's specifically the socks. It's Eco socks, isn't it? It's Eco Socks. Yes, so I'm making sure that I'm using sustainable cotton, which means it's basically dyed with no carcinogenic dyes. Yeah, it's It's no obviously fed with any horrible chemicals or anything. Yep It also looks after the people who are farming it, as well as the ones who were working with it in the supply chain as well. Lovely. So you overseeing obviously your own supply chain in this and you spent that spent time sort of globally sourcing where to get your denim cotton from? Yes, So I'm working with two lovely developers and We've chosen a supplier in Italy, so we've tried to keep it as close to home as possible because also the thing about the brand is from another sustainable point of view. I've tried to be very clever with it from the design stage as well. In that, it only uses one colour yarn, so that completely cuts down on waste as well, yep, but of course, people like to have points of difference and interest. So with in that collection of socks, I have all these lovely, different knitted patterns within it, but for that capability to knit it at the moment, but never say never. We don't have suppliers in the UK that have the capability to knit the level of patterns I need. Hence, that's why we've gone to Italy. But it's still keeping it as close to British soil as possible. And you said never, say never a few moments ago. And that means you've gone all James Bond on your socks as well, which is lovely. And also I definitely heard that you accessorise. So if I'm gonna buy, is it mostly for women or men? Or is it unisex? Well, at the moment, it's only for women but as soon as I can really get my feet on the ground, get more lessons learned, see what you did there talks feet on the ground. Then I will definitely bring it in for men and kids as well, because I have I been so lucky that I've had so many gentlemen<br> say, you know what? I want to wear these as well. So don't forget us. And absolutely I'm not going to forget men as well. And your design really comes into its own then in how you accessorise in terms of the Emma Brown sort of signature patterns, I suppose. Yeah, definitely. And I mean, well, I look at, all sorts of areas for inspiration, but definitely, I guess going back from my central St Martins Days, I was always interested in the lights of the Bloomsbury set. Vanessa Bell, William Morris. So when I'm working on my own patterns, I guess it goes that sort of direction. So it has this quintessentially British twist to it. But also, I just I mean, deviating here a little bit, but I've just been so lucky in my career that I've travelled the world and I've worked in all sorts of places. I've worked with all sorts of cultures and, something that we all have in common is we all have our go to denims. We do! We all have. our go to jeans, you know, and that was when you know, when I was thinking about how can I start small? Because I've always wanted to have a brand. How can I control the sustainability side? How can I produce something that's going to give me, You know, a greater ability to try and sell across the globe and that's when I came up with denim coloured socks to style with your denim so keeping it actually really very simple. And I love the simplicity of that. And you had me at socks because, my favourite all time kids book is called Fox in socks and other stories locks, Fox box knocks anything that rhymes with socks. You had me and also the iconic nature of denim when I was thinking about interviewing you. I remember in my childhood I might be ageing myself slightly. But the idea of Marlboro Man being the all American denim on horseback, that's my favourite. You know, that's my iconic first reference of denim, and then I have memories of going into a shop not to buy denim socks specifically, which is a lovely, interesting thrust of your own sort of idiosyncratic quirk of it. I remember going into shops and this is in South End on Sea on sea in my teens and then them giving me the choice you want flares or straight. And I remember going flares, please. What was I thinking about? I love it. And that's the wonderful thing about my socks. And I actually have a podcast. as well, which is called Socks and Sandals and other Scandals. So it's creating the denim star community fox in socks and fox, in socks, in sandals and other scandals. I love all of that. That's great get you with your podcast. So so what I am going to start doing on there<br> more is Emma's hosiery highlights. And yep. Yeah, did you say tosiery, did you say tosiery? or hosiery? Hosiery becoming feet obsessed talking to you thats fine.<br> Actually actually on a funny note. You have to be careful when you're Googling inspiration for socks and things. Because there were some bizarre things out there. Well, that actually I also saw that one of your product was called Manchild, babywear, and when I thought, Oh, gosh, I wonder what that is because I was slightly nervous, just comically. I suppose that was slightly nervous of Googling that in the sense that there is a sort of fetish to do with men when we mustn't talk about that. And it's not one that I have, obviously, anyway. Moving on a short while ago, a few paragraphs ago, you said you talked about you used a wonderful keyword that I'd like to, which is inspiration. So what we want to find out now is the storey behind the storey of Emma Brown and where you go to get your inspiration. So enter the storytelling. Construct off the good listening to podcast special brand Strand episode. Let me bring you into the clearing, as I do for all my guests. So Emma Brown into a clearing. What is a clearing like for you? Where do you go metaphorically or literally, to get clutter free, inspirational and able to think? Such a good question? Because I actually have many places so quite often it depends on mood. But I will go with one of my favourite ones. I'm very lucky that my husband's Mexican and, he's taken me or many great trips to Mexico so one of my clearings that I like to go to that stayed in my mind is a place called Palenque! And, it's it's in the south of Mexico and It's actually this settlement off Mayan temples ohh and it is. It really gives you goose bumps. I'm getting goose bumps right now, actually, and. So it's in this jungle and As you drive into it, there is this clearing where they obviously removed the trees. But I think obviously later day, now that they've bean restoring it, they probably had to do a bit more. However, you get the picture that the Mayans removed this area of trees, and they built these beautiful temples that they've restored as much as they can now, today present day And I just remember that when we climbed to the top of one of these temples that you were allowed to go to the top of. I just remember looking out on this clearing and then you've got this huge jungle of trees surrounding you and listening to Howler monkey's gosh, Emma, that is one of the most profound, iconic, happy places that I've heard yet described in the history of this podcast. That is just all Oh, did you say Palenque? Palenque? That's what That's what the name is. So you come to Mexico will show you around. And there's a lovely adage in comedy improvisation that I work in the realm of which is, if you can't top it, stop it. So please don't tell us about any more of your wonderful iconic because that is unstoppably awesome. And you mentioned a clearing as well, where they've cleared away the trees. So if I now may bring a tree back into your beautiful Palenque clearing, you can decide whether you are at the top the temple or within the clearing on. We're gonna bring a tree into your clearing. Now we're going to shake the tree to see which storytelling apples fall out. And as you know, this is the commencement of the part where I'm going to ask you about four things that have shaped you and three things that inspire you two things that never failed to grab your attention and. Then one quirk. Your unusual fact about you, Emma, that we couldn't know about you until you tell us. So. This is your tree to shake. Go where you like within the construct of it. This is the exercise called 54321 off over to you within Palenque. A what? A beautiful clearing To commence your storey. Off you go. Oh, lovely. I love this tree concept that you create so I wanna hug the tree as well I am definitely a tree hugger So four things that have shaped me you do hear people quite often referring to people. And it is people and situations that definitely shaped me and. Help me to bring it into the brand as well. The first one I will begin with is my lovely nanny Violet Oh, what a beautiful nannies name. And what a lovely name. Who's obviously? Not with us anymore. She passed away when I was a teenager. Um but we we are a very modest family and. I remember in the holidays, umm, we would go on the bus would be living in Buckinghamshire at this point because my parents decided to do the thing of move us out of London into the country. So I remember going back into London on the bus, going to see nanny who lived in Cricklewood so very, very, very down to earth and used to go to Brent Cross. And that used to be the highlight. Go for tea and cake. But my most fondest memory would be sitting in her lounge and, as always, should have the knitting needles Knitting away and was just always so inspired by that. And then she taught me to hand knit. So that's where knitwear first came from. From your grandmother Violet I love that. Also, my heart is singing because I, too, used to live in Cricklewood. And when I was at the Central School of Speech and Drama, I lived in a road called Ash Grove in Cricklewood. Which is my student pad, which is just off the Kilburn High Road and Cricklewood High Street. And if I did. I used to be a barman at Hog's Grunt, which was a pub complex that was just around the corner. If you remember around the corner in Cricklewood, that's amazing. Production Village. Really. I can't remember the bars, but I do obviously remember sort of in between the bus getting to the flat where nanny was. And then when we go to Brent Cross and kind of the sort of high street because, yeah, I mean, yeah, I really think just beyond the railway bridges, you turn right off record High Street. Is there a place called Production Village which used to be the Samuelsson film lot anyway, largely Block. Sorry, Toby. Got you. Just made my heart sings, I think. Yeah. Oh, that's what that is funny. Who knows? I might have even walk past you as a little kid with my mum. You never know. Five degrees of separation. It's a small old world, but I definitely wouldn't. Wouldn't want to hoover it, as they say back to your sorry. Back to your knitwear. Getting going with Violet is the first. That absolutely so, yeah. Nanny started me off with that and. Then it would have to be studying at Central Saint Martins. So eventually I decided I wanted to specialise in knitwear and. I got into St Martin's with that in mind and to do that. And I have a little bit of a funny storey about that. Obviously, when you're younger, you're a bit more cocky and things aren't you don't really appreciate what you're saying in things and. I remember when I was trying to decide which university to get into the and I was discussing it with my brother and. We were actually listening, listening to Jarvis Cocker's I Want to Be Like Common People on the radio. And it came up about St Martin's College and. My brother then started saying to me, Oh, right, OK, yet you're trying to work out which university to go to. Do you know St Martin is I said nope, he said, OK, so you want to do a fashion degree and you don't know Central Saint Martins being my typical brother. And I was like, No, it's okay, I need to teach you about this. So then when he did, I just replied, OK, I'll go there, then that was my response. You want so lovely? There is a lovely added, which is what's meant for you won't pass you by on the Jarvis Cocker song. Chiming St Martin's in the conversation you had with your brother a bit like your grandmother violent teaching you knitwear. There's two wonderful sort of moments of what's meant for you won't pass you by there, that's oh. I just got goosebumps again. I love that. That's wonderful. So I worked very hard to get in there. I got my portfolio together. You had people saying, Oh no, you won't get in there It's so hard. Obviously because older people knowing what it's about and things. And I just kept staying really focused. No, this is what I want to do and going to the interview? Did my thing shared that story that I just shared with you when they said so how did you hear about us? You can imagine these two very strong willed ladies, you know, dressed all in black as usual with red lipstick and they just look at each other quietly and then they look back at me. Oh, I've gone and said something I shouldn't have said again, but it's like, OK, I've done it. Let's see, what was amazing. I ended up with an unconditional offer, what lovely, by the way, is the fact that you weren't going in there with any, you know, any airs and graces. You were just completely unauthentic, humble, human being which by the way has lovely resonances. I don't If you saw the programme, the film about Barbara Windsor's life, there's a really beautiful drama where she got into. She started working with very famous theatre director called Joan Littlewood, because when she turned up for her audition, Joan Littlewood was apparently just sweeping the yard outside. So Babs Windsor spoke to her. His issue is a cleaner at the venue, but they had the most authentic conversation where you went in or of the fact you're going who now meeting somebody who you then put on a pedestal who has attributed charisma. So the less you know about something sometimes more authentic, you convey. So that doesn't surprise me that you telling that lovely Storey if you did about Jarvis Cocker and your granny Violet you into some Martin's. How lovely, Definitely. And you know, I've always that's how I've always tried to be, is just being modest because that's who I am. I come from a really modest background and, like you say, sometimes naive. It is a bit of a blessing because I am a bit of a worry wart actually I over think things, and I worry terribly so I've kind of learned how do I do things? I will go in and do it. I will get to a certain level. Then when I get to a stage, I know I need to know more about it. Then I'll look into it more heavily. If that makes sense, yes, so you'll trust your instincts to get us far as you can. And I love that there's a bravery attached to that. And there's the other quote, which is be yourself because everyone else is taken. So, you know, we've only got our lens on this world, So why don't we say yes and then work it out later? Which is another quote you can think about? Definitely. And then, thirdly, what's definitely shaped? Me my lovely mum, who was an absolute sweet soul and, not a mean bone in her body, used to really heavily suffer with depression and. So I always with my dad, we always did what we could to care for her, and she she actually had a really. She had a really good self coping mechanism, so she would have times when she's completely fine, and then the times when she needed more support she always had Dad and I so that definitely really shaped me as well. Made me a major empath. It taught me, you know, to think for others not to dwell on yourself too much, but also what that really shaped me. To do as well, was that Mum was such an amazing character that sometimes, you know, no matter what you told her, it just didn't go in. And, you just had to appreciate that something she was going through. It's not that she didn't want to listen that it taught me to that you've really got to believe in yourself. You've got that has to come from you. So I learned that from a very early age. So I'm hearing that you learned to be autonomous, but also deeply empathic through the experience of your mom and her depression. I need to write that down. That's amazing! Luckily that we are recording. You put that so beautifully. Luckily we're recording, So you can. That's good. Absolutely. You used the storey. You've just been telling about your mom in the past tense. Can we assume that she's not here anymore? Yes, sadly, she passed away in 2008, right? Sure Yeah. So it's been a long time now, and actually that will come to one of my thoughts a bit later, actually, three things that inspire years. It will kind of overlap a little bit, but towards thie end of her life, she fell with an illness called Guillain Barre syndrome. If you've ever heard of that, I haven't Guillain Barre, Guillain Barre and and. What it is is your immune system attacks itself. Okay, and you almost become catatonic. But you are completely aware you can't blink, speak, can't move your body. It's the most cruelest thing that you were. There's many cruel things that happen in our world, but this is another one to watch a love one go through that where is, do we do we experience? It is what's called locked in Syndrome. Is that the same thing or different? Ah, it's different. It's different. I mean, I'm no doctor or anything, but my understanding is that it's definitely different that she that someone who's going through this there's still completely aware what's going on. It is just that because the immune system attacks itself, it attacks the muscles. So to be able to operate your voice box. It attacks those muscles. You can't operate your voice box so it literally paralyses your body effectively. And so she was in hospital for eight months with this and so overlapping a little bit with three things that inspire you. Totally everyone who works for the health service and also bringing it to the present day with COVID as well, totally take my hat off to anyone in the health service and how they're so those people who do those roles are so selfless and they just go into action. And they just do what needs to be done and. And I learned a lot of strength. So coming back to what shaped me in my third point, it gave me so much strength to be there for Mum because she was in such an unavoidable, you know, horrible debilitating situation. That and also with her depression as well. And you can imagine there was all sorts going on in her head and she couldn't talk to anybody. I mean, how awful is that as well, just not to be able to communicate that each time I went in, I made sure I was strong for her. Yes, I wouldn't cry or anything. I would talk about positive things and sometimes. Obviously, I'm only human. It would get too much. I would have to leave the room. And then soon as I'd leave the room, are going have a really good cry and just, you know, slump myself against the wall. Get it out of my system and I just remember this nurse following me. So coming back to three things that inspire you coming out and saying You're so proud of your mom, aren't you? It's just it's just in floods of tears. So it is is just so amazing for those who work in the health service, you know, to. See how they first of all, with the patients who need their help and then how they are with their loved ones. I mean, how they have their energy is just mind blowing. And you have a very altruistic intent yourself as well, and that you would keep the public face for your kind face of your mom and then going, you know, fall apart privately because that was that was in the moments with her. That was about her, not about you, which is a very commendable way of operating. And that took a lot to learn that though, you know that it was learning in that situation. I didn't naturally have it. So yeah, I had to learn it at that point of time. And then So we're on the list of four things that inspire you and? Definitely. I would have to say meeting new cultures, going back to my role in the fashion world. I would. I've worked in places like Bahrain, Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand and India. And You're speaking from Qatar today as well aren't you? Yes, I am. So I have my home in Surrey and then also we have home in Qatar as well. So I lived in India as well for six months. So I'm very much someone that's used to living out of a suitcase and, meeting new cultures and. You know, when it's just so wonderful to get used to how other people react to things and. It's okay that we don't all react to something in the same way, but it's just learning to step back, listen to a situation, try and put yourself in that person's shoes. So I guess that kind that comes from my empathetic side that I learned with Mum that, you know, I am a good listener as well to understand how people respond in certain situations. In a work scenario, Yeah, very. You become very good. Embracing a bigger picture is not just about you. There's there's other stories going on here that maybe colliding. But there's a bigger picture which global travel has has helped you with. It seems definitely for lens of perspective. I mean, definitely. And another angle that I look at that with because you end up travelling quite a bit with certain jobs, you do get to a stage where you don't want to have too much in your case. So you actually start to you start to dress in a way that less is more. And that's something I've been able to bring into Denim Star as well. That less is more and the whole concept of Denim Star. All you need in your suitcase really is a pair of denim star UK socks, just a decent pair of jeans, and I have to say I still to this day my favourite place to buy jeans is Amsterdam because they do street wear to a 'T' because obviously, with various jobs I've had I used to go to. Yeah, Amsterdam, London, New York, Paris, where I would go and check out all. The competitors do directional shops on denims. So I've always had denims in my life. In one way or another, I could go on and on about it. Um, so, yeah, I would have a pair of jeans from Amsterdam in that suitcase with a pair of Denim Star socks. Like you say, lovely jubbly. Very good. Okay, so thats the four things that have shaped me the three things that inspire me I've already touched on the health service and. Ah, again reverting back to people. But I am I'm often inspired by stylists on and a stylist in particular is Iris Apfel. Do you know her? Iris Apfel, Did you say? I always get her surname. Wrong. It's Apfel A T F E L A P F E L Apfel okay, Irish Apfel like the German Apfel. Yes. I always get her surname wrong every time. But I love her because she's 99 years old. And. She is still completely rocking it as a fashion icon. So have you told her that you like her? By the way, ahh do you know, I think I need to tell her. I don't think I've actually ever had the guts to approach her. I think you need to get in touch with Jarvis. You need to get in touch with Jarvis Cocker. You need to say thank you to your brother. And then you also need to say a prayer for Violet and then go and say hi to Iris Apfel. Absolutely absolutely, and it's just so she was originally interior design, but she also became this fashion icon and. She mixes everything from the kitchen sink, but she makes it work. She just She's definitely has this wonderful, you know, absolutely outlandish, colourful. Look on life and just mix it all together, and it just always looks wonderful. So she's definitely someone who's always inspired me and, something else that has always inspired may just looking at my list to remind me. Actually, you know what it's like. You go on and on and on, don't you um that I covered. Mmm. Wait. I think I kind of covered them, you know, actually, but yes, go on. I was gonna say, whilst there's a sort of enigmatic pause just to remind you listening to the brand Strand episode of the Good Listening to Podcast with me, Chris crimes on. We're speaking to Emma Brown from Denim Star UK. So now we're onto to things that never failed. Who? Squirrels to get your attention again because of travelling. I'm always looking out for beautiful craft from other cultures and one that I would really love to share with you, which is going back to the Mexican side in my life is Mexican Alebrijes and. It's these characters which are either based on, you know, nature as in animals. Or they are these mystical characters and they're carved from wood and. They take a really long time, something ridiculously eight months, because they have to wait for the wood to cure. Yeah, they then have to carve it. They then cook it in the sun so that it dries out. They keep sand papering it and they have to keep filling it with wood putty that they made from just the wood. You feel those cracks and then they paint it in the most beautiful colours and. So something else that really inspires me is colour. Of course. Can you say the name of the Mexican iconic piece again. Allah Hambre. Did you say? Alebrijes, Alebrijes. Come to put the subtitles on this, I'm gonna come to you to say, Do you mind actually spelling that for yourself. I will spell, that for you for sure. And so what's amazing about colour is how colour can change your mood. Yeah, And it can support your mood and also the meaning of colour as well. So reverting back to the brand Denim Star on based on the colour Indigo, Indigo is about wisdom. Oh, and by the way, is just one colour away from Violet. Who is your grandmother? Oh my gosh that is so true. That has blown my mind! That is, that is absolutely blown my mind. Suspect a spectrum of your life Well done. Yes, yes, that is amazing, actually, how it all linked together and and, the empath side with the colour as well. So it's completely relatable that people decide what socks to wear based on the mood of the day. I love the fact that you can use your peripherals to think. OK, what's my mood today? So choosing a new colour can add vibrancy. Colour psychology. Fascinating. Yeah, that's absolutely so true. That's so true. So and what's amazing? Going back to the craft of the alebrijes, is when they are making those colours to paint it. They actually make it from natural. Resources also modern ones. They're also done in acrylic paint. But going back to the original ones, which they still do today but are just so expensive, is the paint is made from natural resources. So, for example, I would need to really go back and double check it. But, for example, they'll use bugs are charcoal. Yeah, I mean, it's not very kind that the bugs get crushed, but the bugs get crushed and mixed with the charcoal that that will make one colour. And then I watched this done in front of me. Then they'll take a lime, squeeze some lime juice, mix it with the same thing. It then makes another colour. Yeah, Then take salt, mix the salt. It then makes another colour So it's just absolutely mind blowing for me. Yeah, How? How you know from nature we can create the complete colours of the rainbow on definitely another thing that massively attracts me is rainbows just the natural wonder of rainbows which was the icon, the icon Health workers as well over pandemic part one which rainbow so many connections we love this. So your passion for colour is really clear by the way, so good or yeah, And it is wonderful how it can completely change your mood. You know! Do you own any of these, do you own any of these lovely Mexican iconic bits of craft? I do, actually. And I wish I could show you that they're in my home in the UK in the fullness of time send a photograph. We can attach it to the episode of the podcast as well. Of one of I'll have to say the word again of what they are. They're called Mexican ale. Mexican Alebrijes. Good luck with that. Lovely. Ok, now I think that when you're at the point where in the 54321 exercise one quirky or unusual fact about you that we also couldn't possibly know about you, Emma Brown until you tell us, right? There's many things again. But I will just select one thing. And it's something that's quite funny, because I think we're in a time when we actually need a bit of a giggle. Really? Don't we and as you already heard from my St Martin's interview. Sometimes I might say something. that's a little bit inappropriate and, one of my dad's favourite stories. We used to love going around Henley Marlow in the summer holiday and. When I was very young, I was a toddler. We would go BlackBerry picking. So you know how you'd be driving along one of sort of narrow country lanes and oh look there's some blackberries let's go and. Let's go and pillage the bush basically and so. We're doing this and. Like I said, I'm just a toddler and. Dad said that coming down the road was this lovely, rather, you know, sort of twee lady on her horse and very proud of her horse roaming down this very narrow lane and stopped to chat to my parents, and apparently I was hanging off my dad's leg and I looked up to this lady and I said, Your horse smells! ha ha ha, and you were the right height to find out and I was the right height to find out, apparently she looked down to me and said, And so do you. I suppose. Technically, you're both correct. It's all good. It's so good, I guess. Yeah, I was this smelly toddler, you know, Probably eaten something I shouldn't have. Sensory awareness there of smell and colour, which is just a lovely palate of what Emma Browns here to bring. As well, so definitely. Okay, now we're gonna move away from the tree, So thank you for shaking your wonderful tree. And we're going to now be in the clearing. Still, we're going to talk about alchemy and gold. So when you are at purpose and in flow Emma Brown, what's the alchemy and the gold that you know that you are here to bring? Well, what's it for me with creating Denim Star? It has bean my complete opportunity to draw on all of my experiences to create this brand and. Something that I really want to show to younger fashion designers is that it's you can create something that's actually so simple. And, you know, you can take a really simple concept, but it's about totally putting your personality onto it and by doing that, you know, because it is on everybody's lips now that sustainability is so important. And how can we go about this? We have all been part of an age where we've created these huge blue chip companies and. We've all bean the small cogs to these companies and, you know. So I freelanced for the likes of M&S. Tesco used to work for Littlewoods. You know, these are huge companies, and of course, they create collections that covers every scenario in your life. So creating brands like Denim Star my alchemy. My gold is showing that may be the future should be more about smaller businesses and giving everybody the opportunity tohave a piece of the pie. You know, because there is actually this there is many opportunities out there and, you know, maybe we should learn to share more and that perhaps it is shouldn't be so much about these huge blue chip companies. I so related that about the autonomy of your own choices. And even this podcast has come about because I just thought I'd I have an idea that I'd like to broadcast for myself just for my own passion project. And so, you know, it's really important that we find our own expression, our own voice on so you know, planning your own farrow if you like. I mean, even even though, you know, I find that totally relatable because even my comedy realisation companies about a passion project going with what makes your heart sing, which I completely get with you. And I love the fact that you're talking about the legacy of how to encourage younger people to be able to have the courage to trust their own instincts. It's lovely. Yeah, absolutely. Trust your instinct. Definitely. Oh, yes. I'm not putting those big companies down because they play a role, You know, they serve a purpose, but I think this is something we can all think about moving forward. It does make everything a bit more sort of dilute if it's on a massive, monolithic scale. So So, in order to sort of stand out from the crowd and you need toe let your own Jules surface, if you like. Mmm. Definitely wonderful. So thank you for the alchemy and gold. Now, we've reached the point in the clearing where I'm going to award you with a bit of a cake. Emma Brown, which is another loveliest metaphor where we're going to invite you to put a cherry on the cake on. This is open to interpretation. It could be the best piece of advice you've ever been given. You talking to me, Violet does or doesn't have to be about her. But the best piece of advice you've ever been given, it could be advice to your younger self or just a bit a bit more existentially profound as well, you know. What would you like your legacy to be? How would you most like to be remembered? It's open to interpretation. So how would you like to give us your cherry on the cake, Emma Brown oh again? Many cherries. Actually, I would like to do advice that was given when I was younger and advice I would give to my younger self. Which so it was one of my many work experiences. I did back when I was in fashion University and. I was actually working in a wedding boutique, So that was very interesting. Watching brides go through the motion of off wedding jitters of getting married. That was always quite exciting to see, and I was helping to make wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses at that stage on the lovely lady I was working with. I just remember her saying simply to me, Emma, advice I really want to give you is always trust your instinct. So I did touch on that a little bit of a while ago, but you know, I took it on back then and. I can definitely say over the years I'm now in my forties. It's so true when you get that tingle or something in your shoulders or something in your upper arm or in your legs. Trust that instinct. Trust that tingle because it's usually right again that's so relatable because of the comedy improvisational passion I have where nine times out of 10 teach it nine times out of 10 are instinct is correct. In fact, it's more often 99.9% of the time. Your instinct is correct, and I love your attuning to your own physical isation of instinct. when you get the tingle. As you said so trust your instincts. What a brilliant piece of advice to give us all here on the podcast Love definitely. Thank you and. So advice I would give to little Emma if I could travel back in time. Smelly little Emma by the arse of the horse! Smelly!<br> completely If I could go back so Later in life, I've got more into meditation. You know how to control stress and when lots of things are going on and how to untangle all those thoughts in your head because it does happen quite often for most of us. Let's face it that in that journey of learning about meditation, this wonderful sentence came up, which is simply it will pass Simple. as that so? I would love to go back to Little Emma to say whatever stressful moment you're in. Or if you're frustrated about something scared about something, not sure it will pass that feeling, that kind of panic that you might initially feel on something it will simply pass beautiful simplicity. Should we wish to find out more about Emma Brown and Denim? Star UK on the interweb where should we look Definitely! And your moment in the sunshine to amplify your goal. Here I am in my sunshine being sun kissed by the sun you can find me on Instagram and Facebook @Denimstar_uk and then my website is www.denimstar-uk.com So that's where you can find me and. If you want to check out my podcast, which is 'Socks and Sandals and Other Scandals', you can get to know the Denim Star community. Say the lovely name of that podcast. Once again, I love it. So it's 'Socks and Sandals and Other Scandals'. So, ladies and gentlemen, you've been listening to a special brand strand episode of the Good Listening to Podcast with me, Chris Grimes and has been my absolute joy, delight and pleasure to have been speaking to Emma Brown from Denim Star UK. Anything else you'd like to say? Have a fabulous day and stay safe and good night