Our Team
Having staff who are friendly, helpful and love to sew and make things is a really important part of g&g! Meet our lovely team who are always more than happy to help.
Jo – Sales Associate and Visual Merchandiser
Jo has been sewing for a long time and her first sewing memory is of her Mum making a funky purple party dress in the '70s! She has a degree in fashion and has worked in independent retail for a number of years. As well as being part of the g&g team she also runs her own online shop called Dolly Shoe where she shares her gorgeous collection of vintage finds!
The shop window is Jo's domain and she loves getting special items together, and pairing-up the fabrics to create gorgeous displays.
Hannah - Stock and Inventory Control Manager
Whilst at university studying Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design, Hannah found her love of sewing. Since then she has expanded her handmade wardrobe and particularly enjoys altering patterns to suit her own personal style.
Hannah has a varied taste in fabrics, ranging from the traditional prints of Liberty, to more contemporary designs. She is particularly drawn to a brighter colour palette.
In her spare time Hannah loves yoga, baking, visiting foreign cities and walking her beloved Miniature Schnauzer, Celia.
Alison - Sales Associate
Alison has always been crafty and over the years has tried her hand at all sorts, including jewellery making, felting and paper crafts, but over the last few years she has found her passion in sewing and crochet.
After finishing a Fine Art Printmaking degree and Masters in Gallery Studies Alison spent 18 years working as Museum Manager and Curator in a small Lichfield museum, and while this was an important part of her past, she is now enjoying the opportunity to talk dressmaking with our lovely customers.
When she's not at the shop Alison is a mum to two children who, along with her husband, benefit from her dressmaking. Her wardrobe is very eclectic and her favourite pattern is animal print, which she considers a neutral!
Rosie - Customer Service and Order Fulfilment Coordinator
Rosie learned how to sew from a young age with her Gran, a talented quilter. After finishing university with a Masters in Philosophy, Rosie spent lockdown making quilts and trying out simple garments.
With the help of g&g, her dressmaking knowledge has massively improved, but she still loves it when a customer visits the shop with a quilting project in mind.
She shares her sewing table with her cat, George, who likes nothing more than to sit right on top of the fabric.
Gemma - Sales Associate
Gemma was creative and crafty from a young age, leading her to join a sewing class at 14 where she honed her skills. She was then able to craft her prom dress.
During university, Gemma delved into the fascinating crossover of Archaeology and fashion, focusing her dissertation on classical themes in regency dress. After graduating Gemma found a home at G&G, sharing her love for sewing with our wonderful customers.
Beyond work, Gemma competes with her university's ballroom and Latin dancing team across the country!
Charlie - Sewing Society Kit Production Assistant
After graduating from Surface Pattern Design at University, Charlie revisited her routes of studying fashion and collage and refound her love of sewing her own clothing.
She is drawn to whimsical prints and florals, and bright colours. Bonus if the fabric has a painterly aesthetic.
In her spare time, Charlie enjoys nature walks and cafe pit stops, and Crafting - especially card making, embroidery and painting.
Lorna - Workshop and Events Co-ordinator
Lorna is forever grateful to her Mum for teaching her to sew as an adult. She fell in love with everything sewing! So much so that she couldn’t bear to keep these skills to herself. Being driven by her passion for inspiring other people to sew, Lorna spent 7 years sharing this love of sewing through teaching others in her own sewing workshop business.
Lorna joined the Guthrie & Ghani team in January 2024 as the Workshops and events coordinator. She is responsible for organising the programme of events and sewing workshops and will be joining the team of sewing tutors too.
Lorna loves all aspects of sewing but her particular passion is dressmaking.
When she’s not sewing she enjoys running, cycling, running around after 2 teenagers and drinking hot chocolate!
Kate - Operations Manager
Kate joined the Guthrie & Ghani family as Operations Manager overseeing the day-to-day running of the business and managing the growing G&G team.
Kate has been on her me-made wardrobe journey for a few years now but has always been crafty trying her hand at quite a few creative pursuits; macrame, punch needle, chunky knitting, you name it Kate has probably had a go!
After sewing Kate's passions circle around Poppy & Teddy and eating her husband's Masterchef quality food.
Becca - Sewing Society Coordinator
Becca has been creating with a needle and thread for as long as she can remember and discovered the world of dressmaking in her teens. She quickly became hooked, spending all her free time glued to her machine and developing her skills. Since then she's taught many others to sew too and is now a workshop tutor here at g&g along with her role as Content Creator.
Becca enjoys spending time on the details; getting patterns to match, nailing the position of a pocket or producing perfect topstitching. She loves sharing her passion with others, helping them create clothing that they love and feel proud of.
Belle - Marketing Executive
Belle comes from a creative background where crafts and sewing was an everyday part of her household growing up. Her mother was an interior designer so naturally this fed into her hobbies, education and career.
She studied visual communication at Birmingham Institute of art and design, then on to the world of marketing, content creation and social media.
Where her mothers influence was in the crafts, her fathers was in music, so naturally outside of work Belle loves nothing more than watching live music and going to festivals.
Dee - Workshop Tutor
When Dee's parents realised that she adored all things sewing related, they gave her an electric sewing machine for her 9th birthday and her first sewing teacher was her dear mum who just happened to be a seamstress.
Dee has had a lengthy career in the clothing industry working as a sample machinist, sample cutter, pattern drafter and bridal alteration specialist before she decided to become a mature student and study for a BSc in Clothing Management and Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Valuable teaching experience was gained as a visiting tutor for BA fashion students at Birmingham City University. In 2017 she also taught in Haiti as the lead tutor for an oversees aid work charity (LVE Haiti) where she successfully set up a sewing school.
Hobbies include sewing her own tailored clothes, knitting baby cardigans, travelling to tropical destinations, shopping and going to the gym.
Lauren Tedstone - Workshop Tutor
Lauren Tedstone is known for being a quarter finalist of series 9 of BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee.
Her machine, given to her many years before by her grandmother, was finally put to use in late 2019 when Lauren taught herself to sew. Starting with small projects for her children, Lauren then went on to garment sewing and is on a journey to curate and create a complete handmade wardrobe including accessories. A big lover of fashion trends, she loves creating key timeless classics that have professional finishes and longevity.
With that in mind, Lauren tends to create projects using a combination of new and well established sewing techniques and has a love of machine and hand sewing.
Lauren’s aim is to share her knowledge and passion with all creatives and those wanting to learn a new skill and is very excited to be part of the G&G team.
