All about me and the"creative journey"

The creative journey began many moons ago which took me down many interesting paths in search of my very own design studio which was launched in 2003.

Thinking back I probably made my first pieces of jewellery and clothing at the age of five, by producing the most fascinating and way out wardrobe for my faithful old collection of Sindy and Barbie dolls.
By the age of twelve I was making wacky earrings and necklaces for my long suffering teachers and selling them in the school staffroom.
My most creative claim at that stage was making the funkiest collection from a selection of innersoles!
In my heart of hearts I felt that "I had arrived.

 Since completing five years of BTECS and HNDs in Fashion, textiles and Accessory design at The London College of Fashion, I went onto working under the bright lights of the west end as a wardrobe assistant. My main role as a buyer at The Royal Opera House led me onto working as a freelancer for many ballets and Operas, then eventually into a number of long running west end productions. After a few years of many long hours and late nights in London's west end, I decided  that I wanted to bring my theatrical knowledge into the bridal wear industry and learn a thing or two about running a boutique and classical bridal trends. For a couple of years I worked alongside two of London's top bridal wear designs assisting in sourcing fabrics, design concepts and the transition from paper to catwalk. This was a very exciting time, but still not feeling ready to leave the theatre and high drama of the costume industry I landed my final job role in the worlds largest costume house where I worked as a ladies costumier.

I spent three years working on anything and everything including many period dramas, commercials, big and small budget films and endless amounts of television programmes. I never lost the excitement of seeing the costumes I had created worn on the big screen, it was truly amazing!

By the time I felt ready to launch my truly unique range of accessories it was the summer of 2003.I threw myself into a learning frenzy of business setup courses, millinery workshops and textile brainstorms in order to find a totally individual style which would provide key pieces for my bridal/occasion wear accessory ranges. Through many years of sourcing and searching I am proud to present Amanda Sutherland Designer Accessories and would very much like to welcome you to The Design studio which I am sure you will find will speak for itself.

Whether it was the many years of different design experiences, or simply a pair of innersoles? (Who knows) all I know is that I am now living the dream, being able to create the most beautiful pieces for my clients.

"Everyone wants something that is a little bit different and special to them." I would like to think that I have brought a unique touch to the world of accessories.