Creative Midlands: Introducing our new Guest Blogger – Susi Henson from Eternal Spirits

Introducing our new Guest Blogger – Susi Henson from Eternal Spirits: "

A very warm welcome to Susi, the brains behind Eternal Spirits Nottingham, one of the UKs leading corsetieres and maker of fine lingerie, evening and bridal-wear ( and I personally can vouch for that!). We asked Susi our customary 10 questions to get to know her a little bit better.

Who are you?

Eternal Spirits – based in Nottingham

What brought you to Nottingham?

Born and bred in Nottingham – a perfect place to start a fashion label as it’s such a wonderfully creative and vibrant city.

What keeps you in Nottingham?

I love Nottingham…. If I am honest what keeps me here more than anything is my wonderful family and friends. They are the ones that keep me happy and sane. Running a business can be amazing and those exciting things that happen I want to share with the people I love but also the nightmares of being in business mean I can off load and deal with problems better with the support from the people around me. In terms of working in Nottingham… it’s a great place to be with a wonderful creative community with a shared sense of purpose and love for the city.

What makes you different to other creative people in Nottingham?

The thing that makes Eternal Spirits unique is we are one of the few traditional corsetieres in the world. We have a global reputation and a global customer base. There is no other business in Nottingham that competes with the product, service or reputation of which I am very proud. I have a very old fashioned sense of service and this really adds to the experience of Eternal Spirits… whether that be for a bespoke corset, lingerie or a bridal or evening gown. Old fashioned tailoring for the modern woman which is literally a cut above the rest.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Still enjoying what I do and being happy…. And with babies!! I have recently scaled back the business to get back to being the creative person that’s in my heart. And hopefully in 5 years time things will be going just as well. Its difficult because my goals and dreams only a few years ago were different to what they are now. But in a nutshell if I am still making women happy and looking gorgeous with my products then that’s enough for me.

By Marcus Holdsworth Photography

What do you wish you had more time for?

Two things…. Creative projects such as more work for stage and film and also it is my dream to be more organised. Alas after a decade in business I have given way to that happening. Personally more time to read and go for long walks and thinking time.

What keeps you awake at night?

I can sleep on command so not that much!! At the moment my sleep is interupted by excitement because I am planning my wedding which is very soon so its all quite last minute. When I had the huge boutique in town and a huge team, sleep was a different story. It was a lot to deal with and in a recession… now we have moved and I am back to being a creative rather than a business person and back to where I want to be I sleep easier now.

What do you think is Nottingham’s best kept secret?

Eternal Spirits of course!!! Ha ha!! Well apart from that I guess I’d like people to really know about the wonderful amount of creative genius that this city houses… there is a ridiculous amount of talent in the city. People who are involved in creative industries here know that but the many people that aren’t are missing out on knowing what’s out there.

What would you like to see more of in Nottingham?

Ironically after moving mine out of the centre of town, but more independent boutiques selling quality products, The Davenport Shop of Originality is doing a great job…. Selling items from around forty artisans and designers all based in Nottinghamshire. The city needs to be screaming from the rooftops about the talent here and it needs to be reflected in the shops. So rents and rates need to cove down dramatically in order to get this back to the thriving city it once was.

What Big thing are you currently working on?

We have just completed three new collections. Two of which we photographed with the amazing Rob and Chris at Scene Photography, and the third was photographed in Iceland by Marcus Holdsworth with art direction by Sarah Davenport. All the pictures are fantastic and I am working on a brochure with the very talented Charlotte Thomson on the bridal side of things also. Aside from that its business as usual… a few stage projects for costume, lots of brides and working on designing the next collection that will be selling exclusively via ASOS. Every day there’s something new.

Thank you to Susi for joining us as a Guest Blogger, you’ll be able to read more about Susi over the next two weeks. In the mean time check out Eternal Spirits online and join Susi on Twitter.