Nine Things I Have Learnt Over The Years Running GS

September 23, 2024

Over the years these nine things grown deeper with importance and are proof in the pudding to how powerful it can be when you stay strong to your values. To celebrate nine years of GS, I would love to share them with you.

1. Follow your passion

Running a business is hard and always changing – but that makes it exhilarating and rewarding at the same time. If you don’t love it and if it doesn’t fuel you, it will make it so much harder to continue through both the highs and the lows. I love to knit; it has been my fuel since a young age, helping me through grief and loss – but then it became something else. For me, knitting is a magical power that brings together community and a career, which has developed into a brand that supports British manufacturing and heritage crafts.

Female founder and designer Genevieve Sweeney in her studio working on her inspiration board

2. Be curious

I feel like I am always learning, even ten years into the business: knitting techniques, natural materials, sustainable processes, website development and marketing. I love learning more and more about all these subjects, and considering how I can improve and tweak my processes as technology changes or knowledge is shared. Always be curious, always ask questions.

Genevieve working the button machine at Courtney & Co

Genevieve Sweeney british heritage knitting

3. The importance of industry experience

Before launching my brand, I worked for global fashion brands in New York, Switzerland and London. I learnt a lot about everything from sketching to production and how the fashion industry worked. I also learnt what I didn’t like about the fashion industry: the mass production and huge carbon footprint. I wanted to create a transparent business that did the right thing from the start. These learnings helped me to adhere to my core values that were non negotiable.

4. Stepping away from the fashion norm

I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing, just because that is what the fashion world dictates. Running a small, independent business means it is impossible to keep up with the fashion norms of trade shows, pr agencies and endless gifting. It also doesn’t feel authentic to me. I have at times fallen into doing the “right fashion thing” but each time it would confirm to me that this wasn’t my path. I want to remain sustainable and true to my beliefs, so I had to do it a different way, which is actually just doing and sharing what I love.

5. Sustainability first

Making the right, responsible choice comes first, every time. This may mean that things take longer, but that fits in with my ethos of slow fashion. It also means that things may cost more, but there is always a reason for this. Each GS design is carefully considered, timeless and crafted from the highest quality, responsibly sourced materials, made by artisans who are not only paid fairly but work in safe, clean conditions and love what they do

6. Preserving traditional craftsmanship

I started my brand when I realised that the UK knitwear industry was disappearing. It has always been the fuel behind my brand to help share the importance of preserving traditions and to share the stories of the knitters, spinners and button makers. This has been a challenge at times, with knitters retiring, factories closing down due to issues out of their control (such as heating costs or importing raw materials), and there not being the support across the UK in apprenticeship schemes. I have big plans to help reinvigorate these heritage skills – more to come soon.

Hand Intarsia Slow Fashion MAde in Britain — 40 sec Hand Intarsia knitting

7. The value of a strong support network

Surrounding myself with like-minded founders and business owners has been key! It’s so nice to have someone there to share successes (big or small), and to ask for help and knowledge with unexpected issues such as logistics or business rates. Over the years I have met founders, collaborated with pop ups and Christmas events, and laughed through the changes that friends and family don’t understand. Last year I was a part of the Goldman Sachs small business program where I met 70 founders from across the UK, in such a variety of business categories. Each time we meet, it fills my cup – I am so inspired and motivated to learn, adapt and collaborate.

8. Being hands-on with manufacturing

I love to design on knitting machines. I learn so much shadowing my knitters and watching them maintain and run the machines. This not only gives me huge confidence with the quality and sustainability of my products, but I have a deeper connection to how something is made and the people who make it, giving me the experience to problem solve when there are issues.

9. Blending business and a young family

Over the years I have felt extreme excitement that my kids see me running a business and that they experience how a product is made – other days I feel guilty that I’m not doing the sensory classes or that they spend their weekends in the studio. Ultimately, they don’t know any different, and after seeing my eldest give a tour to a visitor around the studio explaining what each machine did, I felt very proud. They are a part of the business, and the business is a part of their lives. Maybe they will love it as they get older, maybe not, but it’s definitely an education for them in community, sustainability, manufacturing and customer service.