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Anna - After leaving school I enrolled on an art foundation course as I knew my creative side was stronger than my academic side. It became obvious that I had a talent for designing, cutting and making clothes. I gained City and Guilds part one and two with credits and distinctions without really trying. I found making the garments, so much more satisfying than designing them.
After leaving college I worked for Jaeger in their design rooms, as a sample machinist, it was excellent training, the methods used there I still use today. From Jaeger I moved to Body Map as their only sample machinist, then to Warehouse owned and run by Jeff Banks at the time. It’s here I learnt pattern cutting and fell in love with cycling, which went down well with Jeff. We cycled the London to Brighton and the Bristol to London together.
I had a brief spell at Windsmoor as a pattern cutter, before spending six months in Australia, still working in the fashion trade. Upon my return to the UK I started working at Kingston University as a senior technician; my itchy feet had settled down - after eighteen years at Kingston I have retired due to ill health. I haven’t given up teaching altogether. I now teach a number of day and evening classes.
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