Posted: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:07 am

Renowned entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway MBE has been announced as the keynote speaker at the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) annual conference taking place in Oxfordshire this month (January, 2012).

The former owner of fashion label Red or Dead will close the conference by sharing his business experiences with delegates at the event on Tuesday, January 24.

GCA Chief Executive, Gillie Westwood said: “We are thrilled Wayne is joining us to speak at our annual conference. As a leading entrepreneur, with experience in urban landscaping, retail and marketing, to name a few, I’m sure his talk will be extremely interesting.”

Wayne was born in 1961 in Morecambe and began his career in fashion when he launched Red or Dead, which started out as a market stall in Camden. The label went on to receive global acclaim for its clothing, footwear and accessory collections.

At the height of his fame as a fashion designer, Wayne sold Red or Dead and set up another company in 1999, called Hemingway Design, which specialises in affordable and social housing design.

The company also designs products including digital radios, fold-up bikes and sheds. To add to this, Wayne has published a coffee table art book ‘Just Above the Mantelpiece’.

Gillie added: “Wayne has had such a varied career, not only is he a designer, he writes for architectural and housing publications and is a regular on television and radio, including appearing on Stephen Fry’s 100 Greatest Gadgets and The Gadget Show.

“He is also a Professor at the School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University.”

The GCA 2012 Conference takes place from January 23 until 25 at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Wayne’s talk is on Tuesday, January 24.