How I swapped the corporate grind in London and built my dream business in Spain with zero experience!

I replaced my London corporate grind for the sun, sewing and self-employed. Stock Image: Woman sewing on a sewing machine and making yellow and white flamenco dresses at home. Credits: Adriaticfoto, Shutterstock.

She had no fashion degree, no business plan, no way to make flamenco dresses, no clue, but that didn’t stop her.

Meet women who swapped London’s corporate grind for Granada’s sun-stained streets, sewed their dream business from scratch, sewn together zero experiences and serious gonads.

From coding to costume: German engineers quit London rat lace to sew Spanish flamenco frocks.

How software developers swapped cities for Andalusia’s swirling skirts – and sewed themselves into a brand new life.

A quiet night when Anke Herman asked himself a simple question

– “What if there is no restrictions?” – she I never imagined this answer would lead to a frilled, sleep-deprived, joyful life as a flamenco dressmaker in southern Spain.

But that’s true that’s right what happened.

The former German-born programmer once cut codes for major London banks. Now she cuts fabrics in the cobblestone lanes of the Albaisin Quarter in Granada and sews lively, maid flamenco dresses for dancers all over the world. And she never looked back.

Software, Spain, Sewing Dreams

In 2004, Hermann dumped his comfortable IT job, packed his bags and set off on Andalusian sun-drenched streets with one clear goal. “Combine the two passions of sewing and flamenco” For business.

It’s not that she was your average tailor. by her My own Entrance to her Medium Article, she has never officially studied fashion design, has no experience running a business, has no knowledge of flamenco dresses – “I loved the perfect fit for the figure and the frills.” She confessed.

So what owned her?

Flamenco CD. Summer dress. And a flash of inspiration.

“I was cutting the fabric when Camaron de la Isla hit me. I want to open a sewing studio.” She said.

There is no factory. There is no mass production. A unique piece for real women who want to feel “like a million dollars.”

“Plan A”: Loot and sew work dream

The idea was not entirely spontaneous. A few years ago, while planning a holiday to Peru, she signed up and signed up to learn Spanish through the company she called. Bilingual America. The course caused a lifelong obsession with language. – And with Spain.

One trip to Granada and her I was hooked.

“I fell in love with that place.” She said. “Albaicin felt like he had time I got it It was lost on the cobblestones. ”

But Love wasn’t going to pay the rent. So she made up what she called “Plan A”: Leave work, move to Granada and become a self-employed flamenco dress maker.

Madness? perhaps. but method It followed immediately.

She tracked London’s top tailor Imtaz Khaliq for her private lesson. She made her first flamenco dress for dancer Anita La Martesa in exchange for Gaidane. And she was on the plunge.

Thanks to her bank’s advanced boss, she has won a remote work contract to fund the transition.

Skirt, stress, sleepless night

Her first appropriate committee? Dozen skirts for the end of the year performance at the flamenco school.

Does it sound gorgeous? There is not at all.

“I haven’t slept for the past 48 hours.” She remembered. ‘I finished my final dress 90 minutes before the show. When the lights went out I fell asleep in my seat and missed the whole performance.

The footage of those dresses later became the cornerstone of her business and evidence she could deliver under pressure.

Since then, she has designed and sewn hundreds of costumes for dancers in Spain and beyond. Surrounded by the shadows of the Alhambra, her Granada studio is now a coloured hub, fabric and Creativity.

I have no regrets – just frills

Will she do that again?

“Definitely.” Herman says. “Building my own business pushed me in every possible way. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

She’s running now Flamen CrecionHe is a made-to-order flamenco fashion brand and a mentor who aspires to become a sewing entrepreneur around the world. Her message? If you have passion stitching, you can make it work in Spain.

“If I had known how difficult it was, would I have done it?” She admits. “Maybe it isn’t. But do I regret it? Not for a moment.”

I’ll take the plunge and move to Spain

Hermann’s journey from keyboard to corset is raw courage and grit, showing that leaving the beaten track is rewarding. Her story proves that she doesn’t need a design or business plan degree approved by the Dragons’ den. It’s just a vision, common sense, a bit of nervousness, and an appetite for a sleepless night.

Next time I see flamenco dancers spinning around in a cascade of colours, just Remember: Somewhere in the back streets of Granada, a German foreigner is on her sewing machine. Plan a That’s all you need on the plunge.

Follow the Rooke Journey:

www.flamencodesmaking.com