Hi! I’m Nessa

My love affair with millinery began in 1996 when I got a part-time job at a hat shop in Dublin, Ireland, while still a student. From the moment I stepped into that shop, I was hooked—addicted to millinery, retail, and fashion. Despite studying a completely different field, I knew my future was in this industry. The real thrill came from interacting with customers.

Watching a customer walk in, unsure of what they wanted or what would suit them, and then seeing them leave with their head held higher, their smile wider, and their eyes brighter—that's when I knew I wanted to be part of this every day.

In 2001, aged 26, I opened my first business, Mad Hatter, on Lower Stephen Street in Dublin 2, and I've never looked back. By 2004, I had a unit at the Curragh Racecourse open on race days. It was Celtic Tiger time and I was on top of the world. My hats and headpieces were winning best-dressed competitions across the country. I had the honor of designing headpieces for Richard Lewis' fashion shows, and I appeared on television, in newspapers, and in magazines. Flying high!

But then the 2008 recession hit, and everything changed. By then, I was wholesaling to over 60 boutiques nationwide. Almost overnight, many of them closed down, and those that remained shifted away from occasion wear. Life was no longer a bed of roses! In 2010, I had the opportunity to purchase one of my largest boutique customers, Vanity Fair in Newbridge. There, I experienced the full spectrum of fashion retail. While millinery remained a significant part of my Vanity Fair life, we dressed customers from head to toe. It was an absolute honour.

But millinery still remained my main passion, nothing finishes off an outfit for a special occasion better than a hat. In 2014, when President Higgins and his wife Sabina visited the Queen, she purchased six of the eight hats she wore from me in Mad Hatter, the excitement was real let me tell you!!

In 2019, I decided to share my knowledge and skills with others interested in millinery techniques. It was the best decision I've ever made. From my very first class, I knew I had found something incredibly special. Millinery is a fun and expressive craft, and watching people who claimed they weren't creative make something they could wear with pride, gave me the biggest buzz of my life.

 I'm so excited to bring my teaching to the online world and hope to instill the same passion, enthusiasm and magic into your work that I have always had in mine.