Our Directors

RUPA GANGULI
Founder

Rupa Ganguli has travelled the world of textiles and fashion through her career. Educated in India and in the UK, Rupa has worked in the private and public sector. A young entrepreneur in Mumbai, she went on to work in the New York fashion district, interned at the World Trade Organisation(WTO), developed and ran projects as Sector Advisor for Trade in Textiles and Clothing at The International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva. She now heads the international consultancy firm, Clothing Connect, as Managing Director. Her passion for textiles and keen desire to empower more women through trade, lead to the creation of SPINNA and SPINNA Circle.

EMMA DICK
Director in charge of Projects and Training

Emma Dick is Lecturer in Visual Culture Fashion at Middlesex University London and Director of Projects & Training for SPINNA Circle. She read Turkish with Islamic Art & Archaeology at the University of Oxford and holds a Masters degree in Design Practice (Textiles as Fashion) from Glasgow School of Art. Emma has lived and worked in Turkey and Singapore, where she was Head of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts (2007-2010) and collaborated on the vocational curriculum in Tailoring project for the Royal Government of Bhutan with UNDP Bhutan and Singapore International Foundation. Emma travels frequently throughout Central Asia for SPINNA Circle projects and associated research and knowledge transfer activities. During 2014 SPINNA Circle managed and implemented the USAID-funded grant in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, ‘Empowering women in Central Asia by building capacity and linking markets through setting up SPINNA Circle hubs’ working with over 100 women from the region. This work is continuing in 2016 with further research and project implementation in the Central Asian region. In the UK, Emma works closely with our partners at NatWest to develop content and activities for the SPINNA Circle NatWest Business Mentoring Programme, which has been going strong since 2013.
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You can read more about Emma’s ongoing teaching and research work at Middlesex University here.

Our Advisory

Advisory and Supporters

GABY COVE

“Having been on the receiving end of advice and support from some extraordinary people over the years, I am committed to try and help other women in business to succeed and develop their skills in turn. Empowering women is one of the most critical things we should be focusing on in business right now, and I’m delighted to help in any way I can.” Gaby has worked in the fashion industry both as a buyer, and latterly as a picture director at Conde Nast. Currently Head of Photo and Video for Conde Nast Digital, she manages all of the visual content for the 10 British Conde Nast websites, including Vogue.com, GQ.com, and Glamour.com. She lectures on photography for websites, picture editing, and social media.

BELINDA DICKSON

“SPINNA Circle is a wonderfully innovative brainchild; we strive as designers to source quality manufacturing, but all too often it is costly and time consuming to access available manufacturers. Having this comprehensive database of companies is an invaluable asset to the sector.  Utilising these alternative manufacturers to produce the garments of high-end designers presents exciting possibilities. Such collaboration can bring much needed income to developing countries and LDCs, allowing them a bite of the cherry that is the enormous fashion industry. It’s a positive move with recognition and benefits for all involved.” Belinda Dickson OBE is a knitwear designer who strives to provide quality, luxury and comfort for her customers. With a reputation that precedes her, Belinda has earned the affectionate title ‘Queen of Cashmere’. Before starting out in fashion, Belinda worked within various roles from teaching to telecommunications, a portfolio career that has taught her the value of hard work and perseverance. From this work in telecommunication she became involved in providing services within the fashion sector, allowing her with that crucial insight into the cashmere industry. This saw the launch of Belinda Robertson Cashmere in 1992 and since then has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, from Karl Lagerfeld to Michael Kors. The brand now reaches far and wide with a new collection of Jersey wowing it’s existing customers and enticing new ones into the luxurious fold that is Belinda Robertson Cashmere.

KAREN S HIRSCHFELD

“SPINNA’s outreach to designers, manufactures and its ability to ultimately bring products from the developing world is exhilarating in so many ways – the economic opportunity that is stimulates makes it a more than worthwhile endeavor but additionally to create and actively encourages networks of opportunity is fruitful in so many ways that benefit all those connected to the textile industry and it’s offspring. That I can bring my own background, sills and expertise to assist entrepreneurs in growing their businesses is very satisfying.”
Karen S Hirschfeld grew up in the world of importing and distributing, designing and purchasing products from Asia, India, South America, Europe, The United States and Canada, and selling to retailers across Canada. She has an intimate knowledge and a wealth of experience in bringing products to market. After running her family business for several years and successfully selling it, today Karen’s consulting company, KSH Associates works as a ‘thinking partner’ with her clients; whether corporates, non profits, entrepreneurs or artists, helping them to map their route to success and then putting in place the plans and steps necessary to achieve the results they are seeking.

NICK HOWE

Nick Howe, Enterprise Manager, Diversity in Business at NatWest Bank, has worked for 16 years with businesses of all different shapes, sizes and sectors. Nick hugely enjoys working with new ideas and innovations and applying knowledge based on previous known business successes to enable new creative ideas to come to fruition. Nick says,  “Starting a business is easy but making a viable business is the actual challenge facing those starting out today. By working with SPINNA Circle we are able to blend the challenges that most businesses  need to tackle and adapt to, with the specialist knowledge and contact network that is vital to a business entering the fashion industry.”