A FASHION designer from Stroud has set up her own pop-up shop in the town centre to test her clothing on the market.

And on her first day of opening the 26-year-old Shalize Nichola was asked to design a wedding dress for a customer.

Already Shalize has had a wide variety of experience. She’s worked with the high end designer, Mary Katrantzou, opened a two-week pop-up shop in London and done a sewing hack-a-thon – up-cycling old clothes over 12 hours with a finished product to show at the end of it.

Having studied fashion and worked in the industry Shalize decided it was time to branch out and set up her own brand, Madia & Matilda.

For a while she worked from her Facebook page testing the waters designing and making clothes for her friends.

And with her Stroud pop-up shop now a reality she is hosting her official launch party this evening from 5pm to 9pm when the shop will be open to customers and guests from some of Stroud’s shop owners.

Explaining where she gets her inspiration from for her designs Shalize said: “Here there and everywhere.

“It could be a colour on the pavement or a range of fabrics.”

As a self-confessed “hoarder” she says she uses a lot of vintage and end of life fabrics.

Prices range from £14 to £185 in her little boutique which stocks women’s clothing and is open for a month - until Monday, June 15.

Shalize is still working out what her market is but is eager to produce sustainable clothing and “give back to the world rather than throwing it away in landfills.

“We go through a huge amount of wastage every year.

“An estimated £140 million worth or 350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year.

“We want to minimise this number by up-cycling garments, adding to the lifecycle of a garment.”

Shalize’s brand name Madia & Matilda is taken from two of her nicknames.

When they were little her sister tried to call her “my dear” but it came out as Madia and the name stuck. Matilda is the name her Stepfather has for her.

Shalize hopes to continue to build her base from Stroud and trial more pop-up shops in Cheltenham, Bristol and London.