After building her career in fashion, Amy Armitage turned her love for interiors and vintage finds into a new venture, Tangerrine Casa. Inspired by a gap in Dubai’s preloved homeware market, she launched the brand to offer curated pieces that make sustainable shopping feel stylish, accessible and exciting. Combining her background in fashion marketing with her passion for creating beautiful spaces, Armitage is giving preloved homeware a fresh new identity in the region.

In this edition of How I Got My Job As, Armitage shares how she made the move from fashion to homeware, what it’s like running a business independently, and the values that guide Tangerrine Casa. She also opens up about balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood, building a community through Tangerrine Table, and why trusting your instincts has been key to her journey

What’s your educational background?

I went to the local comprehensive school in the UK, followed by going to university to study a Fashion Marketing degree. I did various internships in PR, production and styling while at University.

What was your favourite subject at school?

English and PE. I had great teachers in those subjects at school. I enjoy poetry and being creative in writing and have always loved sports and being active.

What was your first job?

In 2013, my first full time industry job was as ‘Studio Assistant’ in a multi-brand photography studio in London. Working with a variety of brands such as Harrods doing anything and everything you could think of to assist the styling and photography teams on photoshoots.

What inspired you to make the switch from fashion to homeware and launch Tangerrine Casa?

I’ve always loved both, but in terms of the preloved market I feel like we’ve seen an exciting growth in the options available within fashion in the region. When it comes to homeware however, I realized when I moved apartments and was looking for preloved options that there were not really any cool places locally in Dubai, so I decided to create my own!

What are the key elements of your role?

My business is just me right now, so I am the intern and the CEO! Researching, sourcing products, curating product edits, styling and photographing items, copywriting, running social media, website and preparing customer orders.

Talk us through your daily routine.

I like to try to start my day with fresh air and movement. A walk and coffee in my local neighbourhood with my husband or a run and coffee on the beach with Jumeirah Johns Running Club. Currently days are a bit of a juggling act looking after my 10-week-old baby while running Tangerrine Casa. In the nap windows it’s creating content for social media, managing the website, picking and packing any customer orders and future planning and researching for sourcing new stock. When I go to bed, I like to leave my phone in another room & switch off with a good book.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to follow in the same footsteps?

Just start and trust your gut. It can be so easy to get caught up in waiting for the perfect moment to start but I believe you really have to learn as you go. Trusting your gut in all that you do will help your decisions always remain authentic to you.

What are the pillars that define Tangerrine Casa?

Cool, unique, affordable preloved homeware. We are passionate about keeping existing items in circulation for as long as possible, making the preloved homeware market more accessible in the region and bringing joy to your home in a more sustainable way. We want to elevate preloved, to challenge any preconceptions you might have about it and show how cool shopping preloved can really be.

Tangerrine Casa places sustainability at the core of it. What was the idea behind that?

I don’t believe you can shop your way to sustainability, but shopping preloved is a more sustainable option than buying new from fast furniture brands. Everything we buy has to finish up somewhere on the planet. By opting for items that are already in circulation, we’re extending their product life and avoiding the environmental cost of new production. We try to also choose products that are good quality and will stand the test of time. If pieces are unique, people are also more likely to keep them for a longer period of time too.

Tell us a little about Tangerrine Table. How did you come up with the idea and what do you aim for people to take away from it?

It’s a great way for us to connect with the community. My husband and I love food and hosting. He is the chef of the household, and I love to get lost in the creative details. We enjoy learning about different food and cultures and believe that coming together and gathering around a table over food brings joy and connection.

What do you think makes Tangerrine Casa unique?

I don’t think there is anything like it in Dubai right now. Existing preloved sites are great but can be overwhelming to navigate through or envisage the items in your home. We aim to select cool products and curate them in a way that shows people how they could style them in an elevated way in their homes.

What are your favourite products from the brand?

I hand select all the products, so I have a love for them all! Things that feel unique, quirky or cool. I think I have a bit of a thing for fish homeware, so our Arcoroc France glass fish dish is a current favourite!

What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Be consistent, not perfect. An imperfect regular effort is better than aiming for perfection and quitting if things don’t go according to plan.

And what is the worst?

You have to always be hustling. While I believe in a good work ethic, balance is key. I tend to get my best creative ideas when I have rest and reset. I don’t want to run a business based on over consumption, so it also wouldn’t make sense to be burning out and pumping out products 24/7.

What has been the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

As there doesn’t tend to be the type of cool vintage products available locally we are looking for, we have to wait until we are able to travel overseas to source the products.

What are your goals for the future?

To grow Tangerrine Casa’s offering in a sustainable way, with a more epic curation of vintage pieces. We want to be the go-to platform in the region for preloved and to show people how cool shopping preloved can be. I would love to develop Tangerrine Table into a bigger community project, with a plethora of guests and collaborate with other small businesses too.

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Images: Supplied & Feature Image: Supplied, instagram