ENTREPRENEURS Kara-Jay Matthews and Nicki Silvanus have set their sights on turning a house of junk into an empire.

House of Junk is the name of the brand the pair has dreamt up to wage an assault on the fashion industry, with their passion for vintage clothing and enterprise the driving forces.

The pair, both 23, currently work full-time, Kara-Jay as an administrator and Nicki as a call centre assistant, but they first met as sales assistants at Superdry at the Swindon Designer Outlet.

Now, between them they are putting up to 30 hours per week into the venture in their free time, with the long-term goal of expanding beyond fashion.

“It’s not very realistic, but I would love for us to end up like a company like Red Bull, which has built an empire. That’s the dream,” said Kara-Jay, who lives in Cornwall Avenue, Ferndale.

“Once we have conquered the fashion world, we want to move on to sporting events and entertainment.”

The brand consists of four T-shirt designs for men and women currently, priced from £16 to £20, with 50 sales already chalked up, packaged and shipped out from the spare rooms they store stock in.

Brand exposure has already hit the heights with an appearance on the main stage at Reading Festival last month, when Hacktivist, a band including a friend of the pair, donned their T-shirts for the full set.

“We started working together when we left college (New College) and decided not to go to uni, but go into full-time work,” said Kara-Jay.

“I have always wanted to run my own business and I went straight into work to learn as much as I could.

“Fashion is something I have always been interested in.”

After leaving college as 18-year-olds, Kara-Jay and Nicki, who now lives in Bristol but once lived in Royal Wootton Bassett, started at Superdry, before each travelling for a year.

It was when they returned from their globetrotting adventures earlier this year that they put their heads together on House of Junk.

Kara-Jay said their strengths complement one another, with Nicki’s sketchbook full of designs and herself leading on marketing and PR.

House of Junk is committed to the British economy too, with relationships already forged with domestic suppliers and distributors.

“We want to keep as much as we can in the UK,” said Kara-Jay.

“It’s easier, but it also supports our economy.”

T-shirts were taken on as the launch product because they were easy, according to Kara-Jay, but hoodies are expected to be rolled out to customers in November.

What about a five-year plan?

“I would like for the business to be earning enough for me to work full-time on it,” said Kara-Jay.

“And probably have a wide product range.

“I see us on a catwalk and being able to attend a fashion week in London.”

For more information, see www.houseofjunkclothing.com