The accidental milliner

My love affair with millinery began when I made myself a hat for a wedding. At the time I knew little about the techniques or processes involved but the hat was much admired and I was captivated! I went in search of expert tuition which I found in the form of Janie Lashford, an experienced couture milliner based in Worcestershire. The designs started to multiply and, before I knew it, an absorbing past-time had turned into a fully fledged millinery business; Coquette!

As I built up my clientele in London, I continued my training with Jane Smith, Ian Bennett and Caroline Morris at Kensington and Chelsea College and the Wimbledon School of Art. I also started to sell my designs through Valentina, a boutique in Wimbledon Village, which continues to be my exclusive London outlet stocking both my ready-to-wear collection and taking individual commissions. In 2007, having established a loyal customer base in London, I relocated to Shropshire and opened my studio in Brampton Bryan where I continue to design for customers locally and across the UK.

I offer a highly personalised service and love the challenge of creating a stunning headpiece for a customer who insists that hats just don't suit her! It is my pleasure to design a hat or fascinator that will enhance the character and appearance of its wearer. As part of this process I work closely with my clients discussing their ideas and preferences and taking account of personality, style, physique and colouring so that the end result is something they will really enjoy wearing. Hats can be elegant, flirtatious, demur or downright outrageous - virtually anything is possible! I love designing something that is beautiful, distinctive and totally individual.

I have always enjoyed experimenting with various creative past times from watercolour painting to garden design but none has caught my imagination to the same extent as millinery. Hats are both beautiful and functional and there is something about the way these two things combine that I find endlessly inspiring; their design is limited only by imagination.