I’ve enjoyed working with textiles and embroidery since childhood when my mother introduced me to the potential of what could be achieved with a needle and thread. During the 1970s I completed a Diploma in Fashion Dressmaking and Design from the Norwood Further Education Centre and I have designed and made many of my own clothes since my teens.

Since retiring from the Australian Public Service in the 2004, I have had more time to unleash my creative instincts. After making a bag for myself I realized the potential to further expand my skills and creativity through exploration of this medium and I’ve become an avid ‘bag lady’. Through the ACT Embroiderers’ Guild I was inspired to seriously explore embellishments, including various beading techniques and needle felting. Since moving back to Adelaide in 2006, I am continuing my exploration of embellishments and fabric manipulation though the SA Embroiderers’ Guild.

I aim to create bags that are functional, visually attractive, slightly whimsical and a pleasure to own. I’m inspired to create by lots of different things. It might be a particular embroidery technique, a handful of beads, different shapes or the ‘flavour’ of a particular period in history. Although I mostly work to a range of specific styles, I use colour or embellishment variations to make each bag or purse slightly different.

Creating bags is rather like doing a three dimensional jig-saw puzzle. A very simple bag has at least ten essential pieces, but some bags require several dozen pieces. Most of these pieces are not outwardly visible on the finished product, but are integral to a bag that works when it is filled with a myriad of items!

Apart from the essential pieces used in each bag, I often embellish or manipulate fabrics with embroidery, beads, sequins, ribbons, beaded smocking or felting. Some beads are so tiny that it takes more than 300 to create a feature that is only about 5 cm long! I also hand-thread beads which I knit into a variety of patterns for evening bags and purses. The more elaborate styles contain several thousand beads. I use embroidery techniques in a traditional way, but I also like to give a new twist to old techniques by using non-traditional colours, fabrics or threads.

So far I have sold most of my bags by word of mouth and a total of seven private showings in Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide.