Kathleen Watson has a passion for fashion, crafting unique hats and fascinators from scratch.
The Toukley-based milliner said she has been a hatter for 12 years, learning the craft at Newcastle and Ultimo TAFE.
“It’s an interesting story how I got into hat making.
“I originally applied to study fashion at TAFE in Tighes Hill, and they asked me if I wanted to study millinery, … I had no idea what it was, but I said yes and discovered a passion for it.
“I’m very passionate about it and it’s very satisfying.
“Once you know all the materials and know how they work together you can really play around with it to make it fit.
“In TAFE we had to make projects for a fashion show, and I would always say to the other women to have fun and play around with it.
“I love to make a statement with my hats,” Watson said.
Watson has been awarded internationally for her creations, picking up awards in France in 2010 and 2012, as well as competing in hat competitions in the UK, Australia and
New Zealand.
“I won first prize in Paris, and I’ve visited Toulouse, France where they have massive hat factories which I got to tour.
“I also run hat making courses, and on the P&O and Carnival Cruises ships I ran a course to show women how to make a fascinator.
“I’ve taught classes on how to design hats based on face profiles for hat making.
“Through COVID, I’ve been running hat making courses through Zoom here in Australia and overseas, my last one was actually for a group in Ireland.
“I’m also a part of the Milliners Association of Australia, and I work with schools as well.
“Twice a year I do the Spring Carnival, and I’ve also got my studio in Toukley where women can come along and have a hat designed,” Watson said.
Watson estimates she has made at least 500 hats.
“I’ve made quite a lot of hats over the years, and they all take a different amount of time to create.
“The time it takes to complete a hat really depends on the hat.
“The one I made for the Melbourne Cup took me a week to create by hand.
“I mould the hat, block it, stitch it together and then trim it.
“For fascinators, they usually take around two to three hours.
“They’re a lot of fun fascinators,” Watson said.
Watson creates an extensive range of head garments ranging from men’s and women’s hats in many shapes and styles as well as fascinators, costume hats, unisex hats and adornments.
Harry Mulholland