When the eldest of her three daughters got married in February 2009, Anne Reeder searched everywhere for the right hat. “I needed fabric to complement my cashmere coat but the only hats that matched cost a fortune,” she says. “I had to go for a straw one in the end and probably looked a bit ridiculous.”
The experience sparked an idea that Reeder only began to pursue three years later, at the age of 65. Deciding to become a freelance consultant after four decades as an occupational therapist and trust manager in the NHS, Reeder signed up for weekend classes in Ipswich to learn millinery, the art of hat making. “I’ve always loved drawing and sewing and I could always do with more hats to round off an outfit,” she says. “Millinery seemed like the perfect combination of my interests.”
