No London calling for model Holly Carpenter as she gets more work at home
London isn't calling for former Miss Ireland Holly Carpenter any more as she makes more money from modelling jobs at home.
The 24-year-old moved to the English capital with her model mate Thalia Heffernan last year but decided to return home at Christmas.
"I'm always in touch with my agency and they're always saying to me to come over but I'm just not ready to go back yet," she told the Diary.
"I'm happy out here, when it's busy here, it's great. When you leave, you sort of lose touch and you have to start again reminding people that you're home.
"I don't know if I want to leave yet because the next few months, September and October, will be really busy," Holly said.
"I did get two big campaigns over there and the money for them is great because they've got such big budgets so I went over in January to do one of them and it's just nice to get that extra opportunity," she added.
Meanwhile, she has spent the last week looking after her pal Thalia, who was mugged on her way to the Brown Thomas fashion show.
"It's a crazy hour to be out on her own. I went to the garda station with her to give her fingerprints and she's just so jumpy," she said.
Dangerous
"I'm just trying to go to everything like that with her so she has someone with her. It would leave you so shook, but it's made me more aware as well.
"I walk around town with my phone out and anyone could just run up and snatch it out of my hand - it's as dangerous at two in the afternoon as it is at night," she added.
Holly, who is on the books at Andrea Roche's model agency, says she enjoys the job more than when she first started.
"I think it gets nicer as you go on because you get to know everyone a bit better," she said.
"At the start when you arrive at jobs there would be journalists, photographers, stylists and clients and I used to be so jealous of the girls who'd swan in and be like 'Hey' to everyone. When you know everyone you don't feel as nervy."
While she's happy modelling now, she says she would quit if the photocalls dried up.
"I wouldn't put a shelf life on my career but if it started to get quiet, I'd think about calling it quits," she admitted.
Holly was speaking at the launch of the Thomas Sabo autumn/winter collection which features their new Love Bridge range.