TWO SWEF Enterprise Fund grants from Dorset Community Foundation are helping young clothes designer Max Onn find his way in the world of fashion.
The 23-year-old from Bournemouth, who used YouTube videos to teach himself how to design and make clothes, is fast establishing a reputation for the edgy, distressed look of his shirts, jackets and hoodies, thanks to two grants totalling £1,200 over the last two years.
The fund helps young people aged 18 to 30 to overcome financial challenges and other disadvantages to develop their business with grants of up to £2,000 to established businesses or £500 to start-ups to help with the cost of training, product development and equipment or stock that will help launch new products or services.
Max, who is based in a studio at the Garm Depot creative hub in The Arcade, said he has always been interested in fashion and began picking apart clothing and using his mum’s sewing machine to put them back together again to learn how they were made.
“One day I thought I’d get the sewing machine out and go for it,” he said. “That was about a year and eight months ago and I don’t think I’ve spent a day since then not using one.”
He found he was able to visualise a garment and then work out how to make it. A process of trial and error helped him gain in confidence to make more complicated jackets, shirts and hoodies using distressed fabric so that each item is unique. Max adds buckles, buttons, studs, rivets and zips to further personalise them.
He launched his Maco brand and shared a studio space with a friend and soon after his first sale came when he was taking a completed hoodie to show someone. “This guy stopped me in the street and said he liked it and wanted to know where he could buy one,” said Max. “I said he could have it for £100 and he bought it, I was so excited.”
He had used savings to get his business off the ground but needed money for stock and equipment to expand his range. He was told about the SWEF fund by another grant recipient and applied.
The grant has really helped my business and having the right equipment and being able to buy stock has helped make me much better at producing clothes
“The application process was really easy in the end,” he said. “At first I was a bit anxious about explaining what I wanted to do but when I spoke to everyone and had an online meeting it was very chilled out and everyone was very nice.”
He spent his first £500 grant on stock, a cutting table, storage and other equipment. “It was great because I could get the studio organised and buy some new fabrics,” he said. “It felt like a proper studio with room for me to work properly.”
The second grant of £700 will pay for more stock, a website where he can sell his creations and a camera to help him promote his brand on social media. “The website is being designed now and I’ll use the camera to get more content for Instagram, TikTok and Reddit,” he said.
He has also begun making hats and tote bags after deconstructing a bag he bought from a charity shop and reinventing it in his own style. “I made one the other day that looked exactly how I thought it would in my head, so I’m really happy with it,” he said. While his jackets can take up to two weeks to finish, hats and bags take less than a day.
His ambition is to continue growing his brand. “My goal is to be able to live off the online sales and just have a nice studio space,” he said. “The grant has really helped my business and having the right equipment and being able to buy stock has helped make me much better at producing clothes. I really love doing it and I get a buzz seeing someone wear something I’ve made.”
Follow Max on Instagram at @captain.maco and find out more about SWEF Enterprise grants and how to apply here.
ENDS
Pictured: Max Onn, above, wearing some of his unique creations. Two SWEF grants have helped the young designer establish his business
