Anne Richards
Anne Richards was born and grew up in Bristol. She is a tutor at Silai for Skills, teaching upholstery and millinery since 1996. Anne was a professional milliner for many years.
"When I first started doing them, at that time wedding hats tended to be these sort of big brimmed things, but now of course they're much smaller they're tiny little fascinators that anybody can do really. But the big hats that I used to do, really took a lot of work, they all have to be moulded, shaped, hand stitched and decorated.
I was young during the war so there was virtually nothing on the roads so we had the whole place to ourselves. We used to roller skate down the middle of the street, round Eastville Park and all the way back again and felt perfectly safe. I went to Fairfield school in Montpelier, so I had to cycle from Fishponds across because there wasn't a bus that would get you there, so that was it. You either walked or you cycled, and I'd walked on many occasions, about three and a half, four miles.
Well I've always loved textiles, no matter what sort or what they're used for I've always had a passion for textiles, I can't pass a piece of fabric and say, "I want it I have to have it." My husband used to say, "What are you going to use that for?" "I just want to sit and look at it". So I have quite a stash, I've probably got enough to start my own shop. I just love texture, I love colour, I love design, and if it's silk all much the better!"
