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   ‘We started from nothing,’ Voon says, ‘but it meant that we didn’t have anything to lose’.
   With hindsight she realizes that although VOON’s inception was relatively trouble-free, there are things she would do differently if starting out again now.
   ‘I started the shop with only 20 garments, with a lot of attention to detail put into each one. This made them very time-consuming to sew, especially since I was doing it all myself.’
   However, the hard work paid off—after just three months at Global Tribe, the Voons felt confident enough to move on.
   ‘The obvious next step was to find a shop of our own.’
   They found a tiny space in Willis Street Village, then expanded into their present site, just around the corner, in 1997.
   VOON is very much a partnership. In a workroom festooned with saris, Sophie designs, chooses fabrics, makes up patterns and sews the sample garments while Douglas takes care of the business side.
   ‘This is just as much his business as it is mine,’ she says. ‘I wouldn’t be able to have anyone else as my business partner—we complement each other perfectly.’
   Running a small business, especially in the fickle fashion industry, takes more than just an eye for a pretty frock. Voon believes determination to succeed has a lot to do with it, and concedes that she is ‘a pretty determined person’.
   Her husband agrees.
   ‘One of Sophie’s strengths is that she sticks to her guns. I don’t know how she keeps on coming up with ideas,’ he says.
   Her attention to detail spills over into plans for the future. VOON garments already sell in six New Zealand cities, and the couple wants to increase this number before launching overseas. Interest has already been shown from Australia, but the Voons are wary of expanding too quickly.
   ‘We want to do things properly and not get too big too fast,’ Sophie says.
   Voon is unpretentious and self-effacing, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that she has achieved a great deal for someone so young. She works hard, and is modest about her success. Despite her love of the art-déco era she has both feet firmly planted in the new millennium.
   She designs clothes for "dressing up" in, but believes ‘everyday clothes should have something about them that makes you feel special.’
   After all, she says, ‘every day is a special day.’
   If you are Sophie Voon, every day probably is.

Voon garments already sell in six New Zealand cities, and the couple wants to increase this number before launching overseas. Interest has already been shown from Australia.

Top: Sophie Voon with two of her designs. Above: The Voon retail store, in Wellington, New Zealand's Willis Street Village.