Mum quits science job to launch her own lingerie business

A RUNCORN mum started selling lingerie from her living room to raise cash whilst she was on maternity leave.

Single mum-of-two Karen Purnell, aged 34, has now launched her own online business.

She has customers as far afield as Russia, France, Norway and Estonia.

Karen, who has a five-year-old daughter, Abigail, and son, Ian, aged four, wanted to spend more time with her children.

She quit her job as a pharmaceutical microbiologist and started her own family firm, Abbi’s Secrets, named after her daughter.

Karen, of Sextant Close, Murdishaw, said: “I started selling a little bit because you don’t get paid for the last part of your maternity leave.

“I was feeling less confident about my own figure have two children close together.

“I found shapewear and lingerie on the high street rather expensive.

“I realised there was a gap in the market.”

After extensive research, she discovered a selection of high quality fashionable products at affordable prices.

Karen, who studied for a degree at Open University, said: “Shapewear has come a long way from constricting corsets and waist cinchers that would pull you in but cause problems elsewhere.

“With breathable knitted fabrics, shapewear offers a comfortable everyday option.

“I know they all work because I wear them myself.”

Karen enjoys being her own boss and hopes to open a shop and create jobs.

Karen added: “I love the flexibility, choosing my own hours. I can do the school run and be here for the children.

“I can be a mum and be employed. It’s the best of both worlds.

“The fact that I’m a woman selling to women gives it the personal touch.

“I can relate to my customers.

“My five year plan is to have a shop.

“I am excited about the future.”

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Emma Stone Wears Sexy Lingerie as Sally Bowles in Broadway’s Cabaret—See …

Richard Phibbs/Roundabout Theatre Company

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to Broadway’s Cabaret, Emma Stone!

The first image of the 25-year-old Amazing Spider-Man and Superbad actress in character as Kit Kat Club cabaret performer Sally Bowles, the main female character in the hit musical, was revealed on Thursday, showing her wearing a black lace, semi-sheer corset top with black garters and stockings. Her red bob hairstyle is curled and coiffed and Stone gives a smoldering stare.

The show is set in a cabaret club in the early ’30s in Berlin amid the Nazi Party’s rise to power. Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966 and ran for almost three years. Liza Minnelliplayed the role of Bowles in a 1972 film adaptation of Cabaret and won an Oscar for her performance.

Stone has already begun rehearsing. Her role, which was announced in August, involves dancing and singing, including the famous tune “Don’t Tell Mama.”

WATCH: Emma Stone plays “Box of Lies” game with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show!

What’s she like as a singer? Watch a video of the actress, then known as Emily Stone, singing Meredith Brooks‘ 1997 hit “Bitch” on the reality competition show, In Search of the Partridge Family, about 10 years ago! Also, Stone showcased some phenomenal stage presence during a lip-sync battle with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in April.

Cabaret was revived on Broadway in 1987, 1998 and earlier this year, with Dawson’s Creek alum and Brokeback Mountain star Michelle Williams, who made her Broadway debut by playing Bowles at the show’s new venue, the famous Studio 54. Stone will take over her role on Nov. 11 and perform in the show, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, until Feb. 1, 2015.

The Good Wife actor Alan Cumming played the part of the Emcee in Cabaret in 1998 and reprised his role in the current production. The show is directed by Sam Mendes, who also helmed the former revival and other Broadway shows, as well as the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall.

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Stone said recently on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon that she watched Cumming perform in the 1998 production of Cabaret.

“The most inappropriate show to take a 9-year-old to,” she said. “So do not bring your kids! Do not bring a child!”

“I loved it,” she added. “I fell in love with it. I don’t really know why, at 9, I wanted to play that part because it’s a strange part for a 9-year-old to want to play.”

—Reporting by Marc Malkin

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