Babe Profile - July 2008

Gabrielle Thompson and Shannon Gunn

Occupation:
Shoe Designers and directors of the brand tom gunn

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Professional details:
tom gunn creates fashion designer footwear for women. Designed in Australia and manufactured in Italy, tom gunn collections focus on clean, modern and simple design pared with beautiful Italian materials and quality. The philosophy behind tom gunn is that shoes should be little works of art for your feet and they should make the wearer feel special!

I most feel like a Babe when
Shannon: When I'm wearing a fantastic pair of shoes and an outfit I love!
Gabrielle: When I come to a Babes in Business event and see all the fantastic women doing their thing!

I love coming to work each day because
Gabrielle: I am following my dreams.
Shannon: I'm doing exactly what I want to do!

I first knew I wanted to be a shoe designer when
Shannon: I always wanted to be a shoe designer and when I had to go to the career guidance councillor in high school to discuss what we wanted to be that's what I told her. I don't think she had heard that one before.
Gabrielle: I was working in Dublin as a design assistant for a fashion apparel brand and I had an epiphany - it was 'shoes'!

Gabrielle Thompson
and Shannon Gunn

The one thing that got me where I am in my career today was
Gabrielle and Shannon: Determination - and quite a bit of hard work!

I feel most challenged in my career when
Gabrielle: The pressure is on and the deadlines are coming up all at once.
Shannon: I'll agree with gabs on this one - it sends us into a spin and we become very socially inept.

I feel most successful in my career when
Gabrielle and Shannon: When women say that they love our shoes!

The highlight of my career has been
Shannon: Finally putting on my very own pair of tom gunn's. It was worth all the hard work to see them on my feet!
Gabrielle: That was definitely a highlight! Both of us also studied footwear design in Italy at Ars Arpel School which was an unbelievable experience.

If I wasn't a shoe designer, I'd be a
Gabrielle: Some kind of designer - probably still in apparel!
Shannon: A jewellery designer or maybe a movie star&

The best piece of advice I have ever received was
Gabrielle and Shannon: The best piece of advice we've received is 'You first have to dare to dream and then follow your heart (it knows what's best!)'. We have this printed and positioned with pride of place on our office wall to remind us of it daily!

Next on our professional agenda is
For tom gunn to show at the shoe and accessory fairs in Paris and Milan later this year.

To me, Work/life balance means
Gabrielle: Making sure you plan some time in there for yourself as well.
Shannon: Ensuring you're still taking the time to look after yourself even when it gets chaotic.

In ten years time I hope to be
Gabrielle: Travelling the world for tom gunn and still having a ball!
Shannon: I hope tom gunn is a huge success and Gabs and I are still enjoying what we do!

I relax by
Gabrielle: Catching up with good friends and going sailing.
Shannon: Dinner and a nice bottle of red with friends and taking my puppy to the park.

The best holiday I ever had was
Gabrielle: So far Paris last year was a highlight for me - My partner proposed to me in front of Notre Dame!
Shannon: South America - Buenos Aires is one of my all time favourite cities.

My greatest love is
Shannon and Gabrielle: Shoes of course!

My favourite time of day is
Gabrielle: I love dusk.
Shannon: The evening.

Something that makes me really happy is
Gabrielle: Travelling around the world.
Shannon: New experiences.

Something that makes me really mad is
Gabrielle: Cruelty and injustice.
Shannon: Ignorant people and cruelty towards animals.

I treasured my childhood because
Shannon: It was just so fun and easy going. We were always taught to go after what we wanted and were supported in the choices we made. And there was always baked treats in the afternoon! Yum!!
Gabrielle: My parents were very supportive of everything I ever wanted to do and banned the word 'can't'.

The most interesting person I ever met was
Gabrielle and Shannon: We were both lucky enough to work with a shoe master in our previous jobs. He became our mentor and took us under his wing and imparted a lot of knowledge to us!

My biggest regret in life is
Gabrielle: Not taking every opportunity thrown at me and just going for it!
Shannon: I don't know that I regret anything too much, you tend to learn valuable lessons from your mistakes and I believe this is important.

My greatest achievement is
Shannon and Gabrielle: Definitely starting tom gunn!

For more information on tom gunn visit www.tomgunn.com.au.

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