The story of Club Portobello is about a girl who wouldn’t stop until she built her dream life.

Miya spent her childhood summers in my family's clothing factory, constantly surrounded by fashion and fabrics. following around her Mother and late Nani as they would attend design meetings or create samples on the ginormous cutting tables; Miya would often pin spare material onto mannequins, creating her own designs and nurturing her creative spirit.

The very foundations of the inspiration for Club Portobello was Miya’s fascination with fashion in London. Throughout her childhood, day trips to London were a regular and cherished part of her life. The city's unique charm and its myriad of mini worlds captivated her from an early age. And she would tell the children at nursery that we are all going on a day trip to London and my Aunty is going to show them everything.

Her entrepreneurial spirit only grew and after deciding that her dream was to open her own brand which was designed as a love letter to the fashion encompassing London, she set out on her plan to make it happen. 

Deciding to take a huge risk after finishing school to not go to university to study law and instead work on building her funds for her business, Miya at 18 went into the corporate world, which was an entirely new realm for her. Feeling out of place in the City of London, she would often find solace in London's vibrant fashion scene. After every meeting in London, Miya would inevitably head to Bond Street, Westbourne Grove, Liberty London, the V&A Museum, or any fashion exhibition that was on, soaking in all the fashion around her. This routine reinforced her desire to create her own brand, merging her passion for design and admiration for these forms of art. 

The city of London wasn’t all bad as the people she met on her way shaped the foundations of the brand. Throughout her time in the corporate world she met numerous inspirational women who had built up extraordinary companies or became senior professionals in these huge companies and they distinctively represented the modern feminine empowered women and they not knowingly had a profound impact on Miya’s journey. Hearing the stories about the greats and how they built their brands and businesses and self belief and putting your mind to something will inevitably create your reality pushed her even further to pursue her dream.

Notting Hill in particular became my good luck charm and at times when she felt out of place in the bustling city, coming to Notting Hill, full of its vibrancy and colour, felt like Miya was right at home and this was where she truly fell in love with London. If it wasn’t for all the people I came across in this trinket of London and the self belief they unknowingly taught me I don’t think I would be here today with my brand. The importance of self belief and having such a distinctive plan to build your best life and for no one to tell you otherwise is the one thing I want every woman to take from my brand.

My time in the corporate world made me realise that my true heart was in fashion. It was time to bring my creative vision to life.