About Me
The Beginning
As a girl I always loved looking at wedding dresses in shop windows and thought how fantastic they were. Eventually my fascination started to develop from ‘Isn’t that beautiful’ to ‘I wonder how that is made’. My interest grew and developed into a fascination with period costume. After joining an amateur dramatic society I became their wardrobe mistress for about 3 years before deciding I really wanted to take this love of period fashion further and ended up completing a three year degree in Costume Production at Rose Bruford College.
My Studies
During my studies I learnt how to take a drawn design and make a pattern to develop that drawing into a real article. After graduating I worked for 5 years for various theatrical companies making a whole range of costumes from all designs and periods. The last theater project that I completed in early 2013 were some Edwardian costumes for the touring production of Birdsong.
New Skills
I have always loved sewing, even from an early age, and was always working on something from tapestry, cross stitch to embroidery. To this day I still like creating things and learning new skills. I have taught myself to knit, crochet, make bobbin lace and silk paint. I have attended courses at The Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace to learn Carrickmacross style lacemaking and Tambour beadwork.
The Years That Followed
Over the years I have created various garments for friends and family for their own weddings, being a guest at weddings, prom dresses and every day attire. I have also worked for a petite fashion company making samples to be tried before going into production.
Finding My Feet
I came back to the wedding industry in 2001 when I worked for a bridal shop altering wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. For my own wedding I made waistcoats and ties for the men and a chiffon jacket for my mum. In 2010 I needed a new challenge and it occurred to me that I should bring together all of my skills, from creating dresses to hand sewing embroidery and beading, and go back to where my passion began and start designing wedding dresses. Susie Grist Couture was born.
Present Day
It has been a pleasure to work with so many lovely brides over the last few years. I have created wedding dresses of varying styles using lots of beautiful fabrics. I thoroughly enjoy creating gorgeous wedding dresses for clients and am continually developing my skills.
I look forward to meeting and working with many more brides in the years to come