Hawick-based milliner Yvette Jelfs has landed a prestigious national award, recognising her business’ quality products and use of traditional skills.
The Marsh Heritage Crafts ‘Made in Britain Award’ was presented to Yvette at The Carpenters Hall in London.
The award, run along with the Heritage Crafts Association, recognises manufacturers who make British products using locally sourced materials and traditional crafts.
Yvette, an internationally renowned milliner, said:“It is wonderful. We were put up for it without knowing much about it, and to be put forward by other people is really nice.
“It was quite a shock, but it is a wonderful thing to win.”
In addition to creating custom-made pieces, Yvette also designs and produces collections for various design houses and boutiques, and as well as working under her own name she established Noble Headwear in 2012.
“We have only been going 18 months as Noble Headwear Ltd and I had to put a lot of my own money in to it, but I have been very fortunate in that when I was living and working in London I built up lots of contacts in the industry,” she said.
Supplying firms such as Jaeger, Daks and Aspinal of London, Yvette is focusing on quality over quantity.
“It is quite time consuming and labour intensive to make our hats as we do it all ourselves, so we are concentrating on high end and high quality rather than high volume.”
Yvette added: “I love my job, I’ve got the best job in the world, and I’ve got the best staff, and without them I wouldn’t have a business.”
And the good news is the workforce could double in the near future due to a move to larger premises in the St Boswells or Kelso area, which Yvette hopes will also allow the creation of a visitor centre.
Another big step has been the creation on a new website with online shop facility.
Yvette said: “The new website has been amazing. It has been designed by Definitive Studio in Melrose and people can now buy hats direct from us online. Selling direct means we get a better margin and the customers also get it at a better price.”