Hats off to Mrs Marland

"I paid a lot of money for a fascinator for a country race meeting last year and when it arrived, it really wasn't up to scratch," Kate said.

"I didn't have time to send it back, so I ended up pulling it apart and re-doing it myself.

"I got to the end of the process and realised how much I'd enjoyed it. I loved what I had created and decided to just keep going."

Trading as Mrs Marland, Kate's millinery business has taken off since its launch in November. Working from the home she shares with her lawyer husband, Tom, and their two boys, Jack and Sam, Kate is now flat out designing and creating beautiful pieces for the Roma Picnic Races on March 14.

Her home, which in itself says much about Kate's eye for style, has become a busy studio, with boxes of newly arrived silk flowers and materials stacked neatly in the corners.

A well-thumbed sketch pad featuring Kate's beautiful creations sits amid a mess of pins and combs on her antique dressing table, awaiting the moments Kate can steal away from her young sons.

Although humbled by the busy start to business, Kate says she is not overly surprised by the strong demand for inexpensive but quality pieces of headwear.

Her aim is to create unique hats and fascinators, but she is determined to keep her prices reasonable.

She says women have been buying overpriced hats and fascinators for years, with only a few milliners across Australia doing the sort of work worthy of their hefty price tags.

"There aren't that many milliners doing the fine, technical work that makes a piece really valuable, and often I think women are buying very expensive pieces that haven't actually cost a lot to make.

"My pieces are affordable and I think that's important because usually they only get worn once."

The daughter of a jeweller, Kate is self-taught in many of the technical aspects of the craft, but has her heart set on attending a well-regarded millinery school in Melbourne.

Now pregnant with her third child and still working part time for the ANZ bank in Roma, Kate says that dream may have to wait a little longer.

"Juggling everything with the boys and work has been hard, but I like that I can do this work from home.

"As a mother of two boys, I spend a good portion of my days making pirate ships out of Lego, playing cowboys and cutting up Vegemite sandwiches, so Mrs Marland really allows me to express the girly girl I am at heart."

Kate also loves the exposure her business gives her to other ladies with a love of country racing.

Having previously lived and worked in Emerald, Bundaberg and Toowoomba, Kate has been a regular fashions on the field finalist at many country race meetings, providing plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

"Fashions on the field is always a bit of fun - the trick is not to take it too seriously, and I've always found it a great way to meet new people.

"Now with Mrs Marland, I am just loving being able to make beautiful pieces for beautiful ladies. It is fun looking at their outfits with them and talking about the kind of look they are after."

Mrs Marland has come on board as a sponsor of the Roma Picnic Races fashions on the field, with Kate donating two custom-made pieces for the best headwear section. She said there was a distinct trend towards more modern outfits for this year's meeting.

"I think the vintage 1950s look has been done fairly well, and a lot of dresses I am seeing for the Roma Picnics are really modern - lots of bold colours and patterns.

"I'm doing a mixture of both hats and fascinators, and the good thing about the Roma Picnics is that it is generally not too hot for gloves for those who are serious about the fashions on the field."