My mother was a beader and my father was a pattern maker. Together they made wedding dresses for family and friends. There were wedding accessories in our home at all times and as the oldest girl, I had a wonderful unpaid internship as a wedding dress model and executive assistant.

I found a creative outlet in beadwork that was much more appealing than cooking and cleaning and by the age of 14, I beaded a complete wedding gown on my own. The fact that this never felt like a chore made it clear this was a passion for me.

For a few years I hand-beaded bridal gowns for family and friends, and on occasion, I’d get paid opportunities with local dressmakers. But I considered it a hobby. My foray into headpieces – the work I’ve become known for – began with my younger sisters’ weddings and I found a singular enjoyment with that, that I hadn’t experienced with bridal gowns. Though the idea of using my hobby as a means of income never occurred to me. Until 2010.

In that year my husband was retrenched and we needed another source of income. Like so many things in life, Wimsy began out of necessity. It began with scarf pins and alice bands; something small that I could make and hopefully sell at a profit. Dressmakers would give me their offcut fabrics and I’d use that to make the alice bands and scarf pins. Occasionally there were custom bridal headpieces too.

For two years Wimsy was at local markets almost every weekend as I tried to sell those headbands, scarf pins and accessories. It was hard work and soon, it started to feel like work. I wanted to go back to my passion. So I made a conscious decision to focus on bridal accessories and specifically on headpieces in 2014/2015.

The move to headpieces has felt organic and it is something I love doing. Wimsy is still a proudly home-based business, where we get to decide working hours as our home family life changes. I am extremely blessed to be able to do what I love as an income where I work from my bed, kitchen or lounge on most days. I want clients to feel comfortable when we meet and not feel like it’s a stiff store environment. After all, choosing a headpiece is a personal and intimate thing. It is all about your own personal style, your specific taste and you need time and a relaxed environment to do that. I am here as a guide, using my experience with bridal accessories to help you make your individual choice.