Speakers

Ivanka Belic Little Workers

Profile:

At the age of 17 Ivanka immigrated from her homeland Croatia, to live in Australia, where she spent the next 15 years working for Ansett Airlines.

Having always had an interest in fashion and design, she trained in interior decorating at the Melbourne TAFE, it was her passion and enthusiasm for fashion that led her into her own business. In 1995, Ivanka started to design and make children’s clothing from home and within a short time she began selling them at the Brisbane’s Riverside and SouthBank markets.

Her customer base grew to such a point that she could no longer operate from home and this motivated her to look for an alternative location where she could continue to expand the business.

In 1998 Ivanka bought a high set Queenslander in Paddington Brisbane that she and her partner renovated and attached a connecting retail outlet and a warehouse. This became her head office where she now sells and designs her clothing ranges. Since establishing Little Workers the business has taken off, achieving over 150% increase in revenue over the past 5 years. Ivanka employs 20 multi - cultured people with specialised skills that help her design, manufacture and distribute over 100 designs in 13 different sizes.

These days Little Workers distributes to selected boutiques throughout Australia and exports to the USA, Japan, NZ, UK, Singapore, New Caledonia and Saudi Arabia. Ivanka has found the international interest and demand for her designs overwhelming, increasing her export business by 250% in 2004.

Her designs have been applauded by the Australian fashion industry, resulting in numerous awards such as; the 2004 and 2003 Australian Fashion Awards, in 2002 they won the Gold Coast Fashion Awards and the RAQ Viewers Choice Awards. They’ve been a finalist two years running in the RAQ Fashion Design Awards and between 2000-2004 they consecutively won the Quest for Small Business Award and were inducted in to the hall of fame.

Ivanka supports many charities the most recent project has been ‘The Door of Hope’ in Johannesburg where she has raised funds for freight, medicine, bandages and medical gloves as well as donating over 1100 pieces of her own children’s clothing range.