“My first sale”: Charlie Ann Buxton’s Showcase story

For her Showcase project, Central Saint Martins 2022 BA Textiles Design graduate Charlie Ann Buxton explored her Merseyside roots in a collection of silk scarves inspired by 1960s aesthetics. A first sale via the platform gave her the confidence to launch her own brand, kickstarting her career. She tells us what happened next...

Charlie Ann Buxton is obsessed with the 1960s. “The art that came out of that time has always fascinated me,” the BA Textile Design graduate explains. “Peter Max and Heinz Edelmann and Eduardo Paolozzi are the artists whose I look to for inspiration.” Naturally, the colourful pop-psychedelic aesthetic associated with that era informed her Showcase project – a collection of silk scarves exploring her Merseyside upbringing.

In one, a woman is at the centre, her hair in rollers. “I was highlighting the importance of hair rollers to Liverpool’s fashion identity.” says Charlie. When she uploaded the scarves to Showcase, they caught the attention of a woman who was browsing the site and was smitten. “She messaged me on Instagram and asked if she could buy one.” That moment proved a turning point, giving Charlie the confidence boost she needed to found her own brand.

“That was a big encouragement,” she recalls. After getting her tutors’ advice on pricing and selling, she did a launch event at a Liverpool bar called Ettie’s – the perfect venue, with its midcentury décor – where she shifted even more scarves. Since then, Charlie has been a regular at markets, pop ups and art fairs. “When you're starting out, it's a good time to have in person conversations. You can find out what customers think.”

Alongside running her business, Charlie works for The Hippie Shake as a design assistant and does freelance art commissions. Currently, she’s working on a project for Convenience Gallery in Birkenhead as part of a wider programme looking at working class history, gathering stories from individuals in the region to build an archive. Curators approached Charlie to create a printed visual timeline. This varied work life suits her perfectly. “I'm so excited to have a have a career in design,” she says. “You worry when you graduate about whether you’ll be able to continue being creative.”

Charlie’s achievements are down not just to the quality of her work but the thought she’s given to its presentation on Showcase. She enlisted the help of Paulina Mytych then a final year photography student, to produce her styled imagery inspired by iconic Liverpool documentarian Tom Wood, with a vintage, analogue feel. The product shots were done in a street studio by a professional photographer hired by her college. “I came with Google slides I’d made with pictures I liked of how other people had photographed scarves – holding them up or holding them in front of them. I liked how the material hangs,” Charlie explains.