My passport lists my profession as “Costumier”. Although designing and making costumes has been a constant throughout my career, I also work in many other design fields. So these days, if I’m asked? I tend to say “designer".
My work as a "costumier" has extended over 20 years. During this time I have designed and produced costumes for theatre, private commissions and public hire. I also produced a range of historical Jewellery. This included tiaras and crowns for the wedding industry, which were often featured in major bridal publications. However, this area of design soon came to a stop when my son started crawling....it seems that toddlers, hot soldering irons, sharp bits of metal and boxes full of trillions of rhinestones and pearls, didn’t mix. |
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As “designer” I have worked for many of the larger London Museums including the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London producing activities and bags for family packs. I have also made costumes and accessories for, among others: English Heritage, National Trust, Apsley House and the V&As Museum of Childhood...
So... textiles might seem to be quite a divergence. however, in many ways it’s been a continuation of the costume work. On occasions, over the years I have been called upon to create fabrics for a particular costume, In the past this would usually have meant hand painting or screen printing. The beauty of the digital printing process, is that small designers can reproduce high quality images in very small, bespoke, quantities. This frees you from the restriction of the huge set up costs involved with other processes and has allowed me to indulge my passion for history and nature, together my absolute love of detail. Designing fabric isn't my only day job however, over the years I also continue to work as a professional artist, and graphic designer. More recently I've been working as a gardener on the private Childwickbury estate in St Albans, where my bees are kept. Much of my work now inspired by the insects and flowers from within these gardens.
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