As I start my latest order, I’ll be lifting the lid with a new hat box and fresh headwear design. People often ask where my inspiration comes from to start the hat design process.
My early years were very much influenced by a great passion for fashion, particularly on the maternal side of my family. My maternal grandmother made me many a dress from her treadle sewing machine. At an early age my job was to select the colour of thread to match the material she was working on.
I can recall my own mother sewing, but she developed a strong desire for watercolour painting, she also worked three dimensionally on sculptures and was very creative with clay.
Perhaps this great combo provided the pathway for my millinery journey?
I spent some time recently at a lodge in North Yorkshire overlooking the Cleveland Hills, it provided a wonderful base for our travels to surrounding areas.
Travelling to Barnard Castle, Durham, we arrived in the grounds of Bowes Museum. Nathan Coley’s words “You create what you will”, being the first thing on show, a time for reflecting on creating.
It was good to see the Silver Swan in action, a novelty in its day, a delightful piece of art that also moved! There was also a new exhibition, Vivienne Westwood, the “Rebel- Storyteller”, a “visionary” who rewrote the rules of fashion.
Historical influences remain a close second to the inspiration I derive from the countryside all around me, which tell great tales of shape and form.
A much-loved photo of my parents’ wedding in 1957 is an important documentation of that era. A picture which is hugely sentimental to me, as I adore fifties fashion, I love the choice of the neat headdress and the cool collar, it remains one of my favourite styles.
Whether it’s frivolous fabrics or the flourishing of the floras, touching those textures along with eye catching contours, all provide great outlines for me, a Millinery maker.