By James Bonthron
Welcome back to Creative Catalogue, my column where I speak to young creatives and those employing them in creative roles. This time, I speak to a young person in a green and creative job.
Based in The Centre, Margate, Waste Will Save Us sells bespoke artisanal and vintage clothing alongside upcycling workshops and sewing services – focusing on circular fashion and services.
Co-relate Communications CIC approached Waste Will Save Us to host a young person, as part of their Green Catalyst Thanet programme, which is based on their Creative Catalyst Thanet scheme.
So, what inspired Waste Will Save Us’ Amina Sefiani to take someone on?
She said: “I’m constantly looking for help. I’m trying to juggle running a business and raising a toddler! It’s great to have another pair of hands that can help with day-to-day running.”
Amina’s background is in the fashion industry, where she saw the quality of clothes sold on the high street decline as the amount of profit demanded on each item went up: “The only way to make a difference is repairing what we have. I see this as activism. If we buy, we buy something that will last a lifetime. I have a lot of customers who won’t buy new and if they do they need to know who made their clothes. I feel there’s been a paradigm shift, with more and more people doing that, which is a powerful thing.”
Amina is keen to train the next generation.
She said: “As someone that’s been in the industry a long time, for me it’s all about the youth. It’s about giving the tools to make a difference. With the workshops, including at Windmill Community Gardens Margate, I find a lot of young people who walk away feeling really inspired.”
The next step for the business is to set up the shop properly online.
She said: “We’ve been focused on trying to build a database for the archive, which we are planning to launch online very soon.”
For the future, Amina would love to get someone to help with social media and marketing and in growing the online business: “We are getting more and more inquiries and I’ll need additional support if it continues to grow. I host workshops and I find that I’m always in need of support.”
It was this expansion, in part, which led to Amina taking on Nina.
Nina Williams was drawn to the placement at Waste Will Save Us because of her passion for fashion.
She first found out about Co-relate and Creative Catalyst Thanet through the job centre: “They were trying to find everyone a placement and they wanted me to get a creative one. It was good to have something to do over the Christmas period!”
After joining Creative Catalyst Thanet, she created a banner for their end-of-year celebration event in 2025. It was at this event that she was approached by Co-relate and told about a possible placement.
Nina was keen to apply. She said: “One of the big things is that my eventual goal is to start my own shop where I can sell things that I make.”
The placement ended up being broken into two stretches, starting just before Christmas and ending in February.
Nina said: “I love working here and I’m sad to go! I love childcare and I love doing the sourcing. I just like feeling useful and Amina is a great boss. Getting to make the hair clips, having my own project and finding things for it was a highlight. Talking to the customers is great, so is feeling part of the community.”
Part of her work was creating upcycled hair clips, made from old toys.
She said: “I went round charity shops for old toys. I’m really into Japanese fashion and I love novelty hair accessories.”
She also assisted with social media and merchandised the windows for Valentine’s Day and helped digitise some of the stock.
As she would like to create and sell her own things in the future, the experience really helped her.
So, what’s next for Nina?
She said: “Making some samples to sell and stocking hairclips. I’m just going to keep making things and hopefully figure something out!”
Both Nina and Amina told me that the placement was a real success.
Amina said: “She’s been a real asset. It’s been really great to have Nina’s support, it’s been beneficial for both me and her.”
Nina said: “It has definitely given me more of the knowledge I’ll need for business.”
