Amanda's good and bad experiences of learning and that photo...

I came from a background where my mother and grandmother ( a court dressmaker) taught me to sew and I then went to college to study costume making. I followed their technical advice on the recognised correct way of doing things to the letter.

I was lucky enough to work with a costumier called Phil Reynolds straight after leaving college. Phil is dyslexic and self-taught and often approached things from a different angle. He was constantly on the look out for ways to do something more efficiently and better. For instance we only used pins when absolutely necessary, glue if it speeded a process and even once used a drill to ‘spin’ a tail for Lion King. He taught me the importance of being imaginative, that there is no right way to make something.

My French teacher was sadly unable to drum much of the language into me. Maybe it was the classroom environment, lack of the excitement of a native French accent or I just don’t have a natural aptitude for language. It is a sadness that I cannot speak with anything like the fluency or understanding I would like.

Anyway, here is the missing photo from my presentation

I look forward to seeing you all on Friday.

Amanda