Holly Carpenter said she has been inspired by fellow former Irish models.
The ex-Miss Ireland winner has told how she, Pippa O'Connor and Roz Purcell have went from modelling on Ireland AM to becoming independent businesswomen.
Dancing with the Stars 2019 contestant Holly is focusing on her jewellery line LoveLift, while Pippa and Roz are both bloggers and entrepreneurs.
She said: "Other models that I have worked with like Pippa and Roz are doing so well. It’s nice that everyone has their niche, whether it’s food or nutrition or beauty.
"I saw that there was an opening in jewellery to do something with that.
"It’s funny because you’d never have thought when we were sitting backstage on Ireland AM that this is what we’d end up doing.
"We gathered so much experience and knowledge from working in modelling, from working with photographers and doing campaigns for new brands and products."
The 27-year-old blasted the "sexist" criticism models face when trying to relaunch their careers.
She said: "I think we had to work harder to get taken seriously.
"If a retired rugby player brings out a range of shoes, nobody says to him ‘Oh, I bet you didn’t design those yourself’.
"It seems like sometimes the criticism is a bit of a sexist thing.
"If you got caught up in the battle of listening to criticism, you’d never win. You just have to get on with it."
She added: "I was 19 when I won Miss Ireland. So it seems like I’ve been around a long time.
"There was definitely a time when I turned 25 and I just didn’t want to model any more.
"My mum said to me ‘Design is something that you love and that’ll give you a purpose to get up in the morning.’ Love/Lift gave me a new lease of life."
