Welder hangs up hard hat to start his own fashion brand
A former welder quit his job as a tradesman to pursue his dream of working in fashion.
Sam Ingram hung up his hard hat and headed to fashion weeks in London and Paris after taking on a pop-up shop in Stockbridge in April, 2023.
Now a few months after launching his own permanent store on Thistle Street, he says it's a dream come true.
The 30-year-old started his career as a welder and fabricator before going back to college to study civil engineering and construction management but he always wanted to get into fashion.
It was only after working part-time in the Cruise store on George Street and later in the now closed Xile shop during his studies that he was sure he wanted to go all in.
He said: When I started thinking about leaving construction I decided to just go for it. Fashion was the thing I had always had a passion for. After working in shops parttime when studying I got to be hands on with it for the first time and I enjoyed that way more than what I was doing.
“I always had an idea that I'd do something in fashion. But I never thought I'd have my own shop. It's pretty mad.”
Starting from scratch Sam had his work cut out getting brands to work with him. He added: “It was hard at first to get the big brands. I had to start off small as only certain brands will work with you in the beginning.
“Two years ago a lot of the bigger brands in Paris wouldn’t engage with us because they want to see that you have a portfolio and a brand list that their product would sit well with. I built it up from scratch and worked my way up which was a big challenge.
“I was so chuffed when I finally got an invitation to a show room at the fashion week in London. I ended up getting more than 12 brands. Having the physical pop-up shop meant that brands were willing to speak to me, I think it helped that I wasn't just selling online. From there I knew I wanted to keep going and was lucky to get a long term lease on a shop on Thistle Street.”
Sam worked hard and extended the pop up at Space 17 in Stockbridge by two months through to December, before getting keys to the shop on Thistle Street. He was able to put a deposit down on the 22 Thistle Street unit that is now home to the SMI store. Now he aims to build the brand.
We struggled to find decent stuff in Edinburgh so would end up going to Glasgow