The Fashion Network interviews WoW co-founder Michelle Hua

10 Minutes With... Michelle Hua Founder & CEO MadeWithGlove

MadeWithGlove is a UK wearable technology company in prototype development designing fashionable heated gloves for women. We interviewed CEO & Founder, Michelle Hua to learn more about the company...

Could you tell us a bit about the brand and what is the concept behind wearable technology?

MadeWithGlove is a brand and a wearable tech company based in Bury, designing fashionable heated gloves for women. We are in prototype development with a team in Silicon Valley working on the heating element for the glove.
Our concept is to measure the skin temperature of the hands to turn the glove on, before the hands get too cold. This is because once the hands get cold, it is usually too late to warm the hands back up again quickly, resulting in being cold for a longer period of time.

How was the company started?

I started Made With Glove in 2014 after I resigned from my job as a solicitor for 8 years working for the Western Australian Government.
I’ve spent the last 3 years learning about the wearable technology industry, meeting key people in the industry, forming networks and attending wearable technology conferences both in the UK and US. The industry is still in its infancy and the challenging and exciting part of it is being involved in it and having the opportunity to shape its future.

What is your background and how did you become interested in wearable technology?

My background is in law and business. I worked as a commercial legal advisor for Telecom, the largest publicly listed telecommunications company in New Zealand before working as a Senior Solicitor where I amended laws and negotiated commercial contracts for the Western Australian Government.
While studying, I also worked in fashion retail for Australia’s biggest departments stores for 10 years working with brands such as Levis and Ralph Lauren.
I became interested in wearable tech after winning a wearable technology hackathon in Manchester in 2014 where we developed a proof of concept for the heated gloves over a weekend.
My work in forming my own wearable tech company has now extended into starting a new initiative in early 2016, Women of Wearables, with my co-founder Marija Butkovic, a fellow woman in fashion tech.
Women of Wearables is an initiative that inspires, supports and connects women in wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, Augmented and Virtual reality through our events and wearable tech workshops.

Read the rest of the interview on The Fashion Network blog.