Influenced by the beauty of Scotland's outdoors (and her own outdoor adventures), her line of backpacks, lunch bags and small accessories are in high demand. She says she "accidently started" her own business, but we think that it was definitely set out on her horizon.

Laura designs and sews her handcrafted products from her studio base in the Deemouth Artists’ Studios (neighbouring the alum-run Aberdeen Ceramics Studio), where she keeps detail and sustainability top of mind.

Tradition and care embed the tapestry of her brand and using materials that last a lifetime is important to the Fernweh ethos. Many of the products are made using wax cotton canvas which is not only highly durable but has a deep Scottish history and tie to the North East’s fishing heritage.

The material evolved from oilcloth and sailcloth which would be waterproofed with coatings of linseed oil and flax for making boat sails. After discovering that the sails would discolour and harden, cotton was then coated in wax to provide a more robust material.

She said: “I love the making process. All the fabrics we use have a lot of history and heritage behind them, the blending of the story of one fabric with our story is something I’ve always found really exciting.

“I didn’t want to design something and send it off to be made in an environment that I didn’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. By making my products in-house, I can control the conditions things are made and work to a zero-waste ethos. Our scrap bins are always full of materials, but it all gets used in some way.

“The wax cotton we use is from Halley Stevensons in Dundee. They’ve been making water-proof textiles since the 1800s and the team’s wealth of knowledge in that realm is amazing and the materials are fantastic to work with. It’s a huge bonus to use local materials that are so iconic to Scotland and being to work those into our story is really great. That heritage feel is huge for me.”

Her passion beams from her during our conversation and it’s that passion that really drives her brand. Her role is much more than the design and production of her line, she takes on every aspect of the business – she loves it all but the topic of work-life balance is one she’s certainly battled with.

She shared: “It’s probably one of my biggest challenges in my career to date. I’m getting better at it but it’s definitely a work in progress.

“When you love what you do so much, it can be hard to say no things. You want to take all the opportunities that come your way because they excite you and when you’re starting out, you don’t know when that’s going to stop. You want to grow your business by taking on awesome opportunities but it’s definitely one of those things you need to work out over time.

“I’m much better than when I first started out, but I guess it’s the nature of the beast.”

Regardless of the juggling, tight deadlines or hurdles, she wouldn’t have it any other way and encourages other creatives to roll out their talents. “Just go for it!” was her reply when asked to give some advice to future makers. But for Laura, passion is a key part of running a business and she urged budding entrepreneurs to keep that in mind before starting the process.

“There are so many different avenues you can go down in fashion and if you’re really passionate about what you’re creating, that will always shine through. Passion is going to make you really push through and make your product work.

“The more people working in creative careers, the better.”

Learn more about her creative journey and why she continues to work with Gray's students in her Alumni in Focus interview: