#4REALFRIDAY IS WHERE I ASK 5 QUESTIONS TO SOME DAMN REAL, DAMN AWESOME PALS WHO ARE LIVING AND DOING DOPE STUFF 4REAL!

THEY'VE INSPIRED ME OR BEEN A SUPPORT IN SOME WAY AND I WANNA SHARE THEM WITH YOU.

Carly Hallahan

WHAT COFFEE DO YOU DRINK?

I’m a Long Black with a touch of cold milk kinda Gal:) No Sugar.

WHAT WORK DO YOU DO?

I dress women in Dreamy Dresses, I started a fashion label that helps me do this.

COOLEST ACHIEVEMENT?

Starting my fashion label ‘Jarlo’

It all began with a Portobello Market stall in 2008 and to think 7yrs on we are Global, when I really think of the journey I have to pinch myself.. . . it makes me feel very proud.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

I recently lost my Father, it’s by far been the hardest life moment I have come up against, it has absolutely made re -evaluate…

Finding a balance has always been a Big challenge for me, I am passionate about what I do, it’s hard to turn off… but has never been more important than now.

BEST ADVICE?

Make sure you stop every now and then and take it all in. . . .

Carly is one of the most incredible women I know and I don’t see her merely enough these days to get my dose of her good vibes. But I’m ok with that because she is off living her dream - busy running and designing her own successful fashion label Jarlo. Often she is travelling between Hong Kong, Australia and London so we end up communicating via snapchat or text from her hotel room or some cute foreign street.

But it wasn’t always such glamorous beginnings. I first met Carly a year or so after she had moved over to London from Australia. At that time she had just finished her stall at Portabello Rd markets where every day she would pitch her stall to sell her dresses. I remember one time, Carly telling me about those days, how even on those freezing winter mornings she would relentlessly be there at 5am to set up shop outside. I noticed her nostalgic tone that seemed as though she couldn’t quite believe it herself, yet at the same time a recognition that it was indeed very real and significant in the fact that she wouldn’t be where she is today if she hadn’t put the effort in back then. Today her dreams and creations are sold to women all around the world through some of the most popular online shops like; ASOS, Revolve.com, Nordstrom, Zalando. Celebrities like Keira Knightley have been noted as being fans of Jarlo.

Carly is sort of a hippy at heart – She’s like a cross between Penny Lane from the film Almost Famous and Jessica Alba’s character, Dark Angel from that James Cameron action series - floaty and chill but glamorous and sharply focused (even with a cheeky glass of vino in her hand). This personality comes out through her work and designs, like maxi dresses and some more structured formal dresses.

Over the years I’ve watched her company develop and grow. Although she didn’t start off with a design background, she has learned mostly about garment construction and design by trusting her vision over the years and attributes a lot of her success to great teamwork. She has fantastic people around to advise her and firmly believes that you are only as good as the people you work with, a sentiment that I fully agree with!

Carly works incredibly hard and passionately to achieve her vision and always remains super positive and supportive towards anyone else who is doing the same, no matter what she has going on - probably because she knows first-hand what it takes to create the life she wants. She stays true to herself and her own vision. It’s inspiring and empowering to see how much she has accomplished and learnt in the 7 years of starting her label and yet she stays humble.

I love seeing her because she really embodies the things she loves and believes in. She’s knows she's on a journey that has it's own challenges and is real about life. She just wants people to feel good in themselves – whether that’s through her dresses or her own attitude. I'll have more of that please!

Check her out. #4Real xx