A TIARA business is making real headway for art and design graduate Julie Baross.
Julie, of Prengwyn, Llandysul, launched her business last October and dreams one day of seeing her bespoke, handmade tiaras being worn by celebrities and sold in exclusive London stores.
She takes inspiration from her surroundings and uses a wide range of materials, including paper and silk flowers, to create light, comfortable tiaras to match the brides' dresses and ideas.
What started out as a hobby is becoming a successful company thanks to the support of the Welsh Development Agency's Graduating to Enterprise (G2E) and Knowledge Exploitation Fund (KEF) entrepreneurship scholarships.
College graduates are encouraged to start their own business through personal allowances, free mentoring and specialist consultancy support.
Julie has used funding to carry out market research, upgrade her tiaras and commission a website and professional photography to promote the business to potential customers.
"The KEF scholarship has enabled me to do things that I would otherwise have struggled to do and the G2E mentoring is brilliant, because it keeps me motivated and gives me the confidence to develop my ideas," she said.
Lampeter's Centre for Enterprise currently has five graduates receiving scholarship funding in diverse areas such as landscape gardening, archaeological heritage restoration, interior design and electrical retail and repair.
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