A Day In The Life Of A Founder & CEO
5am
I wake up naturally and early every morning. The first thing I do is switch on my Lumie light and reach for my laptop, pull it onto the bed, and start working. It's the time of the day where I’m the most alive, the sharpest, and I get so much done. I spend three hours going through all my emails and setting scheduled responses for 8am. My dog, Koda, will often jump on my bed and sit with me – he has separation anxiety. This year, I'm trying to engage more with the news, so I’ll have the Today in Focus podcast on or The Daily playing in the background.
8am
My morning playlist gives me energy. I take my Wonderboom speaker into the shower with me and listen to everything from 60s upbeat to Afrobeats. I always use my Estrid razor with the L’Occitane Almond shower oil and my skincare routine is very simple. I only use the 47 Skin Everyday cleanser and its Anti-Blemish & Scar Repair serum.
My style revolves around a capsule wardrobe. At its core are tailored trousers – many of which have been tailored for me, either by one of the tailors at SOJO or a brand partner. Ganni also does great tailoring. I usually wear them with cashmere or knitted jumpers – I’m a big fan of John Smedley. The rest of my wardrobe is made up of second-hand and vintage pieces. I love browsing the charity shops on Camden High Street. After getting dressed, I take Koda for a five-minute walk around London Fields and then have breakfast – usually jam on toast with an obscene amount of smooth Sun-Pat peanut butter.
8.30am
My bike ride to work is only ten minutes. It’s my exercise for the day. I also can’t leave the house without my laptop. I take it on dog walks, dates to therapy – my phone I can live without, but my laptop has to be with me. Other than that, my rucksack also carries my Glossier Balm Dotcom lip balm, my charger and a book to read on the tube. I’m currently reading Butter by Asako Yuzuki.
8.40am
Before anything else, I catch up with the studio manager. The office is a converted Leyland factory in Dalston. It has big industrial windows and steps leading up to a large mezzanine, which is where we have our repair studio. Downstairs we have all our desks, along with the rails of clothes that have come in for repair. I have a team of 12 who split their time between the studio and working from home. We also have riders that come in and out of the studio all day. At 9am we have a team meeting that’s capped at ten minutes – it’s just to see what everyone's doing for the day, how yesterday was, and whether anyone needs any support.
11am
I leave the office for a brand meeting. I am working on a partnership with ARKET that’s launching this month. I will either go to its offices or to the stores to on-board its tailors. I am going into Paul Smith next week to tell them about how the service is going to work.
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Padella
3pm
I'm a late luncher. The second I eat, my productivity starts to drop, whereas I'm still hyperaware beforehand. I usually have a jerk wrap from Sweet Dee’s in Selfridges, and I love Padella in Borough Market for a lunch meeting too. Then, I find somewhere to work for the afternoon. Depending on where my morning meetings have been, it will often be a library. I particularly like the British Library or the V&A. For an afternoon snack, you can’t beat a Granny Smith apple.
6pm
It’s a hard finish at 6pm because I will have done a 13-hour day by then. On the way home, I’ll stop off at Ridley Road market to get some ingredients for dinner. My sister is the cook in our house and I’m the sous chef. On Thursdays, I have therapy at 6pm in Tottenham Court Road. I intentionally chose central London so I can do a fun activity afterwards. Sometimes I go to the comedy club or the theatre – I particularly love musicals – or go and play pool.
8pm
I unwind by playing games like poker, Dutch or Dobble with my sister, her boyfriend and our flatmate. We have a big sofa in the living room that fits ten people – it’s perfect for snuggling up and watching TV. I am watching the new Disney+ show Paradise right now. My sister loves scented candles, so we have an array from The White Company and Diptyque dotted around the living room.
10pm
I’m never in bed later than 10pm. I love my sleep. I actually get into bed around 9pm and read. I am dipping in and out of New Methods for Women by Sharmadean Reid and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. On my bedside table, I also have some rose hip oil and pillow spray by Neom and my journal. I have to fall asleep to noise, so I put on the Sentimental in the City podcast series – I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to it.
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The British Library & Ridley Road Market / Hackey.Gov
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