About Wendy

I love nothing better than to sit with needle, thread and fabric in hand and someone else’s dream in my head, ready to be tailored into reality.

My passion to make “anything but ordinary” set me off on a journey that began with a BA honours degree in Costume for the Screen & Stage from the Arts University College at Bournemouth. There I specialised in costume interpretation and enjoyed my first taste of creating women’s period and modern dress. Later my skills were enhanced when I took a certificated course covering Jacobean crewel work, silk shading, canvas work and gold work at the Royal School of Needlework; and a B-Tec National Diploma in Fashion Design and Technology at London College of Fashion.

Learning these skills was one thing but paled in comparison to the thrill and hands-on experience of being involved in real life productions. I have gained many accolades and accomplishments to my name through working for flagship theatres and companies such as Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Derby Playhouse, Belinda King Productions, Royal Shakespeare Company, Harrogate Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse and on Cunard’s QM2.

I have also had the real pleasure of working with many wonderfully talented designers including Linda Haysman, Kimie Nakano, Patrick Connellan, Deirdre Clancy, Adrian Rees and Kit Surrey, and I continue to liaise closely with the directors, actors and technical staff of the various theatres and production companies I work for.

As well as supporting the cast and crew of fabulous stage and screen productions, my other great love is creating dresses and outfits for weddings and special occasions. Here, there are no limits to what can be made and it is all driven by my customers’ dreams and desires. Making these imaginations come to life is probably the most exciting and fulfilling aspect of my work… topped only by the look of delight in their eyes when they see the finished work.

Wendy Harrup – “anything but ordinary”