Knit Your Own Broons

Ruth Bailey was born and brought up in Thurso, Caithness. After gaining a postgraduate degree in painting from Edinburgh College of Art she went on to self-train as a milliner. She currently works freelance as an artist, costume designer and prop maker for theatre and business. Amongst others, Ruth has carried out work for the Royal Lyceum, the Festival Theatre, the Royal Commonwealth Games, the Metro Centre, Tyneside, Macsween of Edinburgh (giant haggis!) and Muscular Dystrophy UK. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner, daughter and an axolotl. Jackie Holt has worked as a costume maker and a wardrobe supervisor in numerous theatres around Britain. She has worked in a freelance capacity on anything from small-scale touring shows for companies like Red Shift to supervising large-scale musicals, such as 125th Street at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End and the sell-out 20th Anniversary concert of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd at the Royal Festival Hall. Living in Edinburgh for the past 20 years, Jackie has worked for the Traverse Theatre and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, and prominent amongst her recent work has been working on The Secret Garden and The King and I at the Festival Theatre. Jackie met Ruth when the designer of The Secret Garden asked for her to make hats for the show. They have laughed together ever since! Ruth Bailey and Jackie Holt are both available for interview.