From Bute to Bling. These designers are a source of inspiration says Elena Taggart.
This month for the magazine I was really excited to meet two inspiring women who epitomise that in today’s world, careers and the places they take you can evolve to places you never imagined. Both in vocation and location, had you asked both at the start of their career or education to imagine where they would be now, they couldn’t be further from where they thought.
Ana Maria Ortega
I met award winning milliner Ana Maria Ortega, founder of Ultimate Design Hats whose incredible works of art have been worn by celebrities and royalty. Originally from Mexico, Ana Maria has been in Scotland for over thirty years now and passionately calls Glasgow her home. “I have found a very nice group of friends, and raised my son here. Scotland is my home now.” Having been based in Bearsden for over 20 years, she recently moved her beautiful studio to a new location in Finneston and believes it has been a positive move for her business.
I asked Ana had she always been interested in millinery? “Yes, I have always been very creative since I was very young in Mexico, I always wanted to dress up my dollies, make everything for their house, the curtains, everything! When I went to university I studied industrial design, then I studied interior design, then later I studied fashion and millinery at Glasgow School of Art.”
“I just love it, I love it more than interiors, more than industrial design. Having said that, I did love working in industrial design, it was very interesting, very challenging but I guess I’ve always been very inclined to make things in a very hands-on way. I love to experiment with colour, fabric and texture. Maybe that is why I love millinery; it’s very architectural, very structural. I love to put all my materials out and start putting things together.”
“Millinery is obviously a very structural form of fashion, which is why it suits me. It’s challenging to create something that is new, interesting and different, that is what I love, to challenge myself.
Ana has worked with celebrities, including famous headgear fan Jamirouquai and some of her designs were even worn to the wedding of HRH’s WIlliam & Kate. Her reputation crosses borders, she has even worked with women online who were coming to Scotland to attend events here. “I design for mothers of the bride and groom, for special occasions, investitures for anything or anyone who needs something special.”
Recently Ana has also started to do alterations and reinventions of bridal wear. “I love the reimagining of the design, at least 90% of brides will need something done to their dress, I have the skills for it, so I thought why not. I like this because Brides will have an idea of what they want but might not be able to get it exactly how they like it on the high street, I can make their dress something bespoke, I can help them. The dress I am working on now has been completely re-designed for the bride, fitted to suit her body shape. She was over the moon!!
I love what I do, I get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction in the work, I love looking after people, I love that I get to help people feel amazing for a special event or occasion when you want to feel special.” Ana’s passion for helping her clients really shines through.
Are there specific fabrics or materials you prefer to work with? “I love silk, I love working with silk. It’s very malleable, yes you have to be really careful with it but there are so many kinds of silk with many qualities. I like strong fabrics, maybe because I like building things which are more architectural. I guess that is reflected in my work and my personality, I am not inclined to go personally for very dainty things! For clients you design to their needs, but I enjoy creating strong designs with a lot of character.”
Surrounded by the most amazing ornate creations adorned with feathers and luxurious fabrics, I asked Ana which was her favourite design? “The next one is always my favourite!” Ana goes to her workshop and brings out something she is working on now for a client, “I so love to take on a challenge, I think, what if I did this, twisted this this way, what if I do this, add that… I love it, its just playing with fabrics and textures.”
Ana’s skill set is in really understanding clients needs and interpreting them, while also guiding them on what truly suits them. “When I meet a client, I have already spoken to them over the phone. I need to find out exactly what it is they want, what their vision is and what ideas they already have. I ask them to send me a few photos, of their dress, their shoes, of them. This helps me enormously. I can start to understand their skin tone, their face shape, their body shape and hair style. From this I can really start to build ideas of what style of hat will suit them and the style of dress they have chosen.
It is very clear with Ana, her experience is everything and why she has such a large base of loyal clients, “When I look at you I know exactly what sort of hat will be right for you based on the shape of your face, and your height. If you’re very tall you don’t need that extra height. Me, I need the extra height! An oval face can wear pretty much anything, for example Katherine, the Princess of Wales, she’s got a lovely oval face, she can wear anything. When a client comes, I prepare a number of different styles for them to try. If they hate it you can see immediately the body language drops. And of course if they love it you can see the immediate joy. It’s very simple for me to see quickly what will work and what won’t”
Pieces surround us laid awaiting a client coming to see Ana later that day. I ask how long it takes for her to make one of her beautiful creations? “The client who is coming today has her son’s wedding in Paris next week! So she is jumping the queue, it’s a tall order but I can do it! She has been unwell so has only just got her dress and shoes, now she needs her hat” Typically it would take Ana up to four weeks to make a bespoke hat, so what an amazing undertaking she is making for this client.”
Seeing the outfit Ana can guide on the size and shape of hat, “For the more intricate dress you might need something more simple, cleaner for your hat. I can advise on the hair style, the hat comes first then the hair style.”
I asked Ana how she liked being Westend based now after so long in Bearsden. “It is very important to my business, my target customer is right here. I have seen the benefit of moving here absolutely, I think I am right where I should be. The location is just fantastic. The people of the Westend are stylish, they appreciate fashion, they like things to be done properly and they understand quality. They like to look good and they understand to look good you have to work with someone with experience.”
Honesty is key to Ana’s client base. “I have customers who have been with me for the whole 20 years, they send their friends.” I asked Ana, does she ever have to guide customers away from trends or looks that won’t suit them? She laughed and said, “All the time! That is exactly why they come here, and why they need my experience.
You might have an idea but that might not necessarily be the thing that suits you so I slowly and carefully show them some other ideas to help them understand what will work. It is important to me to be honest, I always tell clients, “I am not going to put something on you that doesn’t make you look lovely.” I want them to go away knowing that they have received some good honest advice that is going to be beneficial rather than just trying to sell them something that is not suitable.”
Recently Ana’s creativity has branched into other areas and she has founded Needle Master, a brand focused on all things embroidered. She has created intricate embroidered designs for clients for uniforms, furnishings and table decorations.
You can tell Ana Maria has always had a restless thirst for learning and growth, an ever evolving career which has brought her all the way from Mexico to Scotland. A truly interesting and creative woman.
Looking for the best wedding/event hats in Glasgow? Look no further!
https://www.ultimatedesignhats.com
Mhairi MacKenzie
This month I was also delighted to meet with Mhairi Mackenzie who, originally from the Isle of Bute, has also experienced an evolving career in her creative field making interesting and provocative jewellery.
I spoke with Mhairi Mackenzie, the founder and creative force behind Bonnie Bling. I asked Mhairi to tell me about her business, what inspires her? “Bonnie Bling began in 2012 and grew from my love of our Scottish humour and culture, mixed with strong graphic design elements. Within my first two years of business the jewellery designs were being worn by lots of different celebrities!” This must have been so exciting, Mhairi said “the designs were very punchy and reactive at that time but my style has softened a little over the years. I like to focus on the attachment people have with things, the iconic symbols that have become woven into how others perceive us, but I like to add a twist to my Scottish icons.”
With a background in graphic design, before Bonnie Bling, Mhairi ran her own graphic design studio. “I’ve been self-employed for over 25 years now and I enjoy the ability to evolve and steer the business alongside my own personal/family life. Since having my daughter I really took time to refocus on where I wanted to be, and that’s when we decided to return to my hometown on the Isle of Bute. I purchased my own shopfront for the first time ever and have been working hard to develop more projects there, whilst still keeping Bonnie Bling moving forwards.”
Mhairi believes that Scottish creativity is really unmatched, “with the incredible landscapes around us, the architecture, our stories, our art, the seasons and the amazing people there is always something to catch my eye and make me smile. I have used my work previously to support causes I believe in, our collaboration with Refuweegee, of mini protest sign brooches really was quite an iconic moment.”
“People loved the initial Scottish Slang range, it felt like I’d hit on something just at the right time and I’ve loved creating jewellery ever since. Early collections were featured heavily in the press due to their eye-catching, statement style. That was a super exciting time for me as we featured on catwalks and photoshoots and even on TV shows like X-factor. and This Morning. I ended up having pieces snapped on so many well known people. Looking back I was extremely fortunate to have captured their attention, I know how hard it can be to promote and attract people to your business. Glasgow is so connected, it feels like everyone is only 2 or 3 people away from who you’re trying to get to.”
“It was a really exciting rollercoaster back then, social media hadn’t fully taken off to the extent it has now. It used to be so easy to reach out to celebrities or journalists and get a direct response, whereas now most accounts are run by agencies or representatives, it is a lot harder to reach the people you need to get to.”
Formerly part of the community in the Hidden Lane, Mhairi wanted to bring some of that “spark of charm to Bute”. She said “Post-covid I really felt the need to slow things down and get out of the city with my family for the next phase of our lives. Bute is still so close to Glasgow, only an hour and a half including the ferry, it is really easy to get our city “fix” anytime.”
After purchasing her Bute premises in 2023, Mhairi opened a speciality coffee bar with the guidance of friend Lisa Lawson the founder of award winning coffee company, Dear Green, who was also born on Bute. “This has grown into a business all of its own, which is really beginning to take off now, I don’t think I would have had the opportunity or the focus to take such big steps had I still been in Glasgow.”
“Slowing Bonnie Bling down when I started my family was a tricky thing to do, I kept trying to keep things going as normal but in addition to having my child I was also suffering from what we now know was stage 4 Endometriosis, a debilitating, painful condition affecting 1 in 4 women. Life certainly has a way of changing your direction sometimes and this was a big red flag that it was time to really make some changes.”
“And now that I’m on Bute, enhancing the Bonnie Bling experience by having our own coffee bar and gift shop has been so fulfilling. I have an incredible team of staff here who have helped me build and grow over the past 3 years. Our customers have always been so supportive but having a place they can come and visit and enjoy our island home is wonderful and we see lots of familiar faces appear in the shop especially in the Summer months.”
What is next for Bonnie Bling? “Our shop and coffee spot once housed the island’s printing presses and ‘The Buteman’ newspaper offices. When we became the owners we also inherited a derelict courtyard filled with junk that we decided to renovate, although it seems it will be a continuous work in progress for many years to come as it’s enormous! After many months of clearing, designing, meetings, plans, warrants and a lot of hard graft we have just opened a Courtyard space where our customers can now sit outdoors within the historic walls. It’s becoming Bute’s newest hidden gem. We also now have space to begin operating our micro coffee roastery and the next phase is to complete the new Bonnie Bling studio and move on to creating studio spaces for other creatives.”
I wondered what advice Mhairi would offer new business owners? “Always be ready and willing to pivot your business. Being self-employed gives you a lot of freedom and the flexibility to adapt. It’s not always easy, you have to make a lot of tricky decisions throughout the journey, but it does mean you can evolve your business along with your personal needs to make them both work for you better.”
And her final thoughts? “I never imagined that after disliking coffee for so many years I’d end up running a coffee roastery of my own, turns out I was drinking the wrong coffee the whole time! Now I love it, it keeps me fuelled up for days of making Bonnie Bling!”
Bonnie Bling designs can be found in Gallus Alice, in Finneston or at the Wylliem in Greenock.
