Entrepreneur and Old Girl Rebecca Turner (née Maudsley, Class of 2006) returned to Bolton School to talk to students in Years 10-13 about her career journey.
She spoke about always loving Design and Technology subjects while attending Bolton School: she said she has always loved making things, and that was all she ever wanted to do. She went on to graduate from the University of Leeds with a degree in Product Design, then trained for her PGCE in Secondary Education at the University of Manchester and spent 13 years as a teacher of Design Technology.
However, after a string of life-changing events, she decided to leave the classroom to pursue her passion: she started her own creative business making decorative rainbows. Today, Fred & Pearl Gifts, named after her son and niece, is a well-loved local business specialising in feel-good gifts, craft parties and workshops.
As well as sharing the moving story of what inspired her to start Fred & Pearl, Rebecca also gave her audience of students an insight into what it’s like to run a business. She also shared how her business initially was discovered through word of mouth and her rainbows being displayed in windows during Covid, but now she is finding other ways to gain exposure, such as hiding rainbows in parks and using social media: one of her goals for this year is to reach 10,000 Instagram followers. She shared some of her worries about self-employment, how she has learned from failures and mistakes, and finally ended with the positive message that the most important thing is your happiness.
The girls had the opportunity to ask questions and look at examples of the gifts Rebecca makes for her online shop, Fred & Pearl Gifts.
