‘Circles, not Ovals’ 2020-21

As it was for many people, 2020/21 was a turning point for me. Changes in both my professional and personal life led to a wish to explore a new creative direction, separate from my hat designs, and to discover how my extensive millinery experience and fashion/textiles background could inform new work.

These small sculptural pieces and vessels were created during lockdown, using millinery materials and techniques. Some derived either literally from some of my archived couture hats, others were inspired by them, or by the ideas behind them.

The title refers to a phrase that came to mind as I worked on them - an awareness that I wanted to explore this path away from millinery, and towards something else. At this time, I was also just beginning to develop design ideas for lightshades, working with circular frames. In contrast, one of the earliest lessons we learn in millinery is that the head is oval, not circular, and every part of the making process for a hat, whether blocking or pattern-cutting, reflects this.

It became apparent that this work needed more time and space to develop than I was able to give to it, and so I put it to one side, to concentrate on developing my range of sculptural lightshades.

I have recently returned to some of these early ideas and themes, and am working on sculptural textile pieces, alongside learning new disciplines and materials, including carving in wood.