By Sarah Dale
19 June 2026
The creative female founder closed her business last year.
Kate Fearnley’s raw account of the harsh reality of being a female founder took centre stage at trademarked brand Female Founder UK’s inaugural FFUK Founder Live event at Teesside University.
In the audience were female founders from across Teesside, captains of industry, education leaders, finance experts and wellbeing specialists and during Kate’s emotive interview with journalist and co-founder of SASS media Sarah Dale you could have heard a pin drop. She talked openly at times with tears in her eyes, of the highs of fashion shows and award wins and the lows of being a struggling female founder without financial backing and strategic support.
Kate is well-known in Teesside for her boutique on Linthorpe Road, which opened in 2005 in the same building as her dad’s record shop and her grandad’s photography business. When she diversified into bridalwear, she ran her business from her Stokesley studio.
Last October, Kate was forced to close her business after an “incredible” 24 years. And one of the first places Kate turned to once she realised the inevitability of the closure was Female Founder UK, founded by brand strategist Max Freer, who had supported her professionally and personally for several years. Max brought in SASS media to support the communications to customers, stakeholders and the media and to organise the closing down sale held at Rudby Hall.
Kate’s story is a real-life case study of the issues highlighted at the landmark event – the barriers facing female entrepreneurs and how greater support of the UK’s female founders could unlock a potential £310bn boost to the UK economy.
Female Founder UK has grown into a powerful regional ecosystem supporting women at every stage of business – not just strategically, but emotionally and psychologically too. And it has set its sights on expansion, with new events coming to Newcastle, Manchester and London.
“This was a landmark event, drawing a line in the sand,” said Max. “We wanted to highlight the lack of consistent support female entrepreneurs experience and bring people together to ask: what do we do now to change that?”
The event opened with a talk by Teesside journalists and female founders Sarah Dale and Sarah Walker, who explored how women in business have been portrayed in the media over the past almost 30 years, alongside the entrenched cultural norms that continue to shape their experiences. Then followed a hard-hitting presentation, delivered by Max Freer, full of startling statistics, the barriers women face, and the support and infrastructure required for female founders to succeed.
But while the data and discussion points were compelling, it was a deeply personal story that left the biggest impression.
Kate Fearnley is a figure synonymous with creativity, resilience and independent British design. Her appearance came just months after she made the heartbreaking decision to close her business after well over two decades.
What followed was an honest and unfiltered account of what it really takes to sustain a creative business – and the reality of when it’s no longer possible.
“This brand has been my absolute world since my early twenties – my career, my passion, my identity,” Kate said. “Apart from my wonderful son Bob, it is my greatest achievement.”
Her business, which was built from a childhood dream into a nationally recognised brand, had dressed celebrities including Michelle Keegan and Girls Aloud, and seen her collections stocked in more than 80 boutiques across the UK and Ireland, including Selfridges and ASOS.
But behind those achievements, she revealed the growing pressures that led to her decision last October.
“The truth is, the world has changed,” she said. “Small independent businesses like mine face challenges that weren’t there a few years ago. The digital pace has sped up, mass-produced brands dominate online, and algorithms decide who gets seen. Keeping up requires huge investment – and for a small creative business like mine, it’s just not sustainable anymore.
“I couldn’t have got through that time without the support of FFUK and my fellow female founders who rallied around me to offer love and support.”
Kate’s story struck a particular chord because it defied a simple narrative of decline. In fact, just a few years ago, she had experienced what she described as her “best year ever”.
After the disruption of the pandemic – when the cancellation of Bridal Fashion Week halted the launch of her first bridal collection – Kate used the time to completely rework her designs. The result was her Awaken collection, launched in 2022.
“It felt like my time as a designer,” she said. “I had less stress and could just focus on what I love, which is design.”
The collection was widely embraced and marked a high point in her career, but external shifts in consumer behaviour were already reshaping her business model. Promwear, once a cornerstone of her success, saw a dramatic decline – from 162 dresses sold in a single season to just 13 in 2024.
During the interview, Kate talked about the hidden financial pressures she endured and keeping up the façade of the “successful designer and businesswoman”.
In fact, when she won the Regional Wedding Industry Awards for best Wedding Designer and then the National, she actually didn’t attend the ceremony.
“I couldn’t afford to travel down to London for the awards,” she said.
“I was listening to the awards on a livestream in my front room in my dressing gown running around the room when they announced I had won!”
Kate also talked about the detrimental effects to her health and wellbeing and admits she has been crippled with burnout for months.
“Running a business is tough,” she said candidly. “Anyone who knows me will know I have fought this to the detriment of my health.”
Although Kate is still dealing with the legal ramifications of closing a business, tiny sparks of creativity have awakened in her. She turned up to the event wearing a sequinned kimono with a striking bejewelled design on the back, which she had created especially for her first appearance “back in the business world”. She also showcased an off-white jacket which she had bought from a charity shop and cut up and added lace detailing to create a one-off designer piece.
“I see myself moving into a sustainable fashion direction,” she said. “But it’s early days and I have so many questions – would people like my designs? Can I risk doing this all over again?”
She also acknowledges the very real need for strategic support and marketing for female founders to ensure they have longevity in their chosen sector.
“Everyone always says ‘but you’re so talented, it’s a shame you closed’ but the reality is that it’s not a question of talent or creativity, it’s a question of real practical support to ensure this doesn’t keep happening.”
Kate’s story resonated with the audience who nodded at points when she commented on how hard business life is. It also inspired Dave Ramrekha, founder of design agency VIA Creative and sister company, Middlesbrough Printing, based in Riverside Park, Middlesbrough, to offer Kate support when she is ready to venture into business again.
“I was really moved by Kate’s story and the journey she has gone on,” said Dave, who has been a business owner himself for 23 years.
“Only the night before I had been looking at old family photos with my wife and on the back, it said Fearnley’s – Kate’s grandad. I remember as a teenager going down to Alan Fearnley Records with my mates to see what new records were out. Fearnley’s is a brand that has been in Teesside for three generations.
“On the outside, I have watched Kate’s success and would never have guessed the pressures she had going on and like many of us, I was shocked when I heard the news she was closing. Having attended this event and seeing the facts and figures for myself, we all have to do what we can to support female founders. It’s in all our best interests.”
“Foundership for women is complex,” Sarah Dale said. “Success looks different for everyone. It’s not always about scaling to millions – sometimes it’s about independence, sustainability and balance.”
That theme carried through the event’s roundtable discussions, led by journalist and SASS media co-founder Sarah Walker, wh
ere attendees shared their own experiences and explored how support across the Tees Valley could be improved.
Sarah Walker said: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t. Unlocking female entrepreneurship isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s one
of the biggest economic opportunities of our time.”
And if the response to both the event – and Kate’s story – is anything to go by, it’s a conversation that is only just beginning.
All photography at FFUK event by Michelle Maddison. Bridalwear photography by Natalie Pluck.
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