Millinery Australia’s Committee is elected each year in November at the Association’s AGM. The Committee consists of four executive positions: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and up to six ordinary committee members. Apply to become a member here.
Possum Ball – VIC
President
Possum is the Designer and Owner of Possum Ball Millinery, working from her home studio in Williamstown. She is one of the in-house milliners at the annual pop-up shop The Hat Shop, and is currently building The Millinery Retreat in the Macedon Ranges.
Possum likes to work in bright and vibrant colours with a focus on Spring/Summer and Fashions on the Field. She has a bit of an obsession with vintage shapes, and Turbans and Top Hats are particular favourites that make regular appearances in her creations.
Possum was a former President of Millinery Australia in 2019/2020 and is honoured to be elected into the position again in 2024. She’s looking forward to the millinery year ahead.
Wendy Louise Diggles – QLD
Vice President
Wendy is the owner of Belle Folie, in the Brisbane Arcade. Her background in jewellery and accessory design spans 30 years across the fashion, theatre and bridal industries. She specialises in hand-blocked, vintage shapes and styling. Wendy’s pieces often feature rare vintage trims and materials, making them visually distinctive.
Her work has won acclaim within Australia and abroad, most recently with the Masters of Millinery Award at the Royal Victorian Show, and Best Accessory Designer at Brisbane’s 2023 Women in Fashion Awards. She has previously placed as a finalist in the International HATalk Competition and twice as a finalist in the Millinery Australia Design Award.
Kathryn Campbell – VIC
Secretary
Kathryn is an Australian milliner, and owner of Hats Off Handmade Headwear, based in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. Kathryn offers her clients a unique millinery experience when visiting her studio and dedicated retail space, offering an extensive range of her handmade designs for every day wear, racing fashion, weddings and bridal.
Having spent 10 years based in Singapore and New York, Kathryn’s style is reflective of her experiences, and exposure to diverse cultures lived and travelled.
Millinery Association of Australia
PO Box 2074
Hampton East VIC 3188
Mary Mohr – QLD
Treasurer
This is Mary’s second year in the role of Treasurer. When she retired from full time work as a TAFE Business Administration teacher, Mary had time to indulge her more creative side and she completed tertiary studies in Millinery and Visual Arts in Brisbane.
Penelope Gervaise – NSW
Ordinary Member
Penelope is the Designer and the Creative Director of Bluewing Design Millinery, with a background in fashion/costume and Interior Design. With a longtime passion for hats it was inevitable that she caught the millinery bug.
Penelope is passionate about the Design Industry with a background in Childrenswear, and Interior Design for residential and commercial clients. She currently teaches Millinery and Design Fundamentals at The Design Centre, Enmore TAFE, NSW.
Cynthia Jones-Bryson – ACT
Ordinary Member
Cynthia Jones-Bryson has designed and made award-winning millinery for the last 16 years. She studied Fashion Design at the Canberra Institute of Technology, and while living in London, she undertook a number of theatrical millinery courses culminating in a love for all things headwear that would be better described as an addiction.
Cynthia has gained a glowing reputation with the racing elite and can a boast a number of high-profile clients. Some of her proudest moments include the prestigious Oaks Day Millinery Award in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Jane Moy – QLD
Ordinary Member
Jane returns again this year as an Ordinary Member on the committee. She makes custom millinery from her studio in Queensland and has been a member of Millinery Australia since 2018.
Nicholette Pottier – NSW
Ordinary Member
Nicholette is a Millinery, Costume and Wearable Art designer from Newtown in Sydney. Working at an Art studio further enhances her artistic expression. Her background in Design Fundamentals, Visual Arts, Costume and Millinery allows for all of her forms of natural artistic expression to be showcased in an organic free flowing form.
Nicolette won the MIMC 2023 competition with a simple Dior brim shape that allowed the natural flow of various techniques to shape and elevate the piece with a 3 dimensional prism-like effect, “Prismatic”.
Jo Ramsay – VIC
Ordinary Member
Jo Ramsay is a millinery designer known for her contemporary classic aesthetic. Her work seamlessly blends time-honoured silhouettes with current trends, using modern and traditional materials. Motifs from bygone eras are woven throughout her work.
Working under the tutelage of a master milliner, Jo honed her millinery skills in a traditional workroom. She has tertiary qualifications in Fashion, Communication/Media/Arts and Education. Jo divides her creativity between three distinct labels – Jo Ramsay for contemporary classic model millinery, Noosa Sundays for semi-model straw and linen headwear, and Tirra Lirra for vintage treasures and fabric blooms hand-crafted in the couture tradition.