Studio

 

Hi, I’m Fee — and this is me trying to pose without getting run over by cars flying down the road to the local golf course.
This photo was taken around 7am by my wonderful husband (who very optimistically suggested I sit in the middle of the road to “get the trees in the background”). Thankfully, makeup does wonders for tired eyes!!!!!!

 

My millinery journey began over 30 years ago during a fashion and design course, before life took me in other directions. I returned to millinery in 2012, quickly realised why I loved it so much in the first place — and I haven’t looked back since.

I’m an award-winning milliner, a member of the British Millinery Association and a member of the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland.

Sewing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. The skills were passed down to me through generations — from my mum, her Nanna, and a long line of tailors and seamstresses in my family in Melbourne. It really is in the blood. I even discovered that my ancestors made the tracksuits for the 1950s Melbourne Olympics, which still makes me smile.

I moved to Northern Ireland with my family in the late 1980s, where I continued my studies in City & Guilds and fashion and design. Over the years, I’ve grown my business from a home studio to my first retail space at The Designerie in Bushmills, and now to my own hat studio in Ballymoney.

Today, I design and create small-batch, handmade headpieces that are intentionally limited in number. Sustainability matters deeply to me — not as a buzzword, but as a way of working — avoiding over-production and mass manufacturing in favour of thoughtful design, skilled craftsmanship, and pieces made to last.