13/02/2026
Find your tribe 🤍
Growing up, I started to notice something about myself early on. I didn’t always move with the crowd. My thinking naturally took a different path — not to be awkward, just because that’s where my curiosity led me.
In my 20s, while other graduates were heading into the City or the media, I found myself managing central London Oxfam shops. It wasn’t glamorous or well paid. But I loved it.
I’d always loved charity shops — long before sustainable fashion became the conversation it is now. Back in the 80s and early 90s, charity shops had zero cachet. They were seen as gloomy places, symbols of not being able to afford new clothes. But to me? They were treasure troves.
Working at Oxfam felt different. I wasn’t micro-managed. I got to build brilliant teams of interesting, diverse volunteers. The work had real purpose. And somehow, they took a chance on me — the youngest manager they’d ever hired — and trusted me to reimagine what Oxfam shopping could be.
Retail at the time was at its peak; innovations in ‘the shopping experience’ saw stores experiment with merchandising, music, customer service. And so my shops did too!
Anything felt possible; Vogue magazine visited the shop to pull pieces for a Grunge themed shoot…I wrote the business plan for the first central London Oxfam shop (and the wonderful Will Self travelled from Devon to cut the ribbon on opening day). And we launched Oxfam’s first charity gig, “Don’t Give Up Rwanda,” featuring Jamiroquai and Gil Scott-Heron.
Looking back, that chapter taught me so much. The power of a great colleagues. The magic that happens when you’re trusted to run with bold ideas. The freedom that comes from not being squeezed into corporate thinking.
Sometimes the path that doesn’t look obvious is the one that fits you best.
Is there someone who took a chance on you early on?
