One of my earliest childhood memories was going to the fabric shop in the town I grew up in on an excited trip to pick fabric for my new dress or skirt or coat that my Mum was going to make for me. I felt like a very lucky girl looking at all the pictures of pretty dresses and being able to say which colour I liked best. Sadly the fabric shop was closed when the town was modernised, but memories never fade and I still feel the same excitement now when I make a trip to a fabric shop.

When I was younger it was hard to visualise one straight flat piece of fabric becoming a wonderful item of clothing but they soon took shape and I looked forward to each fitting and standing on the chair so my Mum could see me at a convenient level to get the hem just right. The skirts that I could twirl in were my favourite! My Mum was a talented lady and made a large proportion of my wardrobe for many years and gave me the inspiration to sew.

Tailoring/dress making is in my blood. My paternal Grandfather Louis Schuster was mentioned in Lord Alan Sugar's recent autobiography as giving Lord Sugar his first job at the tailors he worked at, Silvermans in London. Lord Sugar spoke very highly of my grand father.

My maternal Grandmother was one of the glamorous Victoria Dancing Girls in London and also very talented at dress making, knitting and crotchet.

I liked to help my Mum and started making basic dolls clothes and hemming hankies or just machine stitching line pattens into cut off pieces of fabric.

As I grew into my teens I would make hair 'scrunchies' with elastic centres - the bigger the better was fashionable at the time and I would embellish with sequins or use shiny fabrics to catch the light. As I enjoyed sewing it felt natural to take the option of textiles for part of my technology GCSE which I got a A grade for. I still have the childs cot mobile that I designed and made for my project, which I was able to use in both my childrens bedrooms.

From here I found myself not being entirely happy with ill fitting shop bought clothes and decided that if I liked something that was a sale item, I would buy it to experiment, customise it and make a better fit and put my own stamp on it so it was more 'me'.

Other more unusual items I have turned my hand to have been a hanging belt rack when they were expensive to buy and a wipe clean portable printer case.

When I started salsa dancing in 2007, I found some of the gowns for the balls were highly priced, uncomfortable and would make me feel far too hot whilst dancing. So I decided I would make or alter dresses that I felt were suitable and received some very nice compliments. At this point I realised two points. Firstly, I had a talent for making a beautiful garment exactly how I wanted it to look. Secondly, that on my Mum's recommendations if I could make it from a Vogue pattern, it would be a quality structure and I could adapt, embellish or add to it.

My biggest achievement to date was a dream come true, making my own wedding dress for my big day. I found the perfect pattern with Vogue (they must have been telepathic!) and I embellished with stitching and diamonte buttons and gems. I was so pleased with how it looked and felt on my big day and think I surprised a lot of people too! Another achievement which I initially felt of as a challenge but took to it in no time was adapting an evening dress to fit an 8 month pregnant lady who was Matron of Honor at her best friends wedding. My aim was making comfort a priority as well as providing a feeling of glamour on the day - without outshining the bride of course!

I will turn my hand to most things, stohls/wraps, handbags, curtains and home bean bags. So ask if there is something that you have in mind.

I love having an excuse to use my Singer sewing machine, having learnt to sew on a wonderful 1960's classic black model, I have a modern version now, that does a variety of different stitches. I can cross stitch, applique and quilt and nothing gives me greater satisfaction in making the perfect dress or outfit to feel special at an event, day or evening out.