Having discovered a passion for working with straw over forty years ago, Veronica continues to work tirelessly to promote the various forms of straw work and to pass on their associated social histories.
Her QEST Scholarship allowed her to travel to America to study little known hat collections then and to record what she saw, and to Switzerland where she studied hat industry techniques on the verge of being lost. This research resulted in her highly regarded book Swiss Straw Work: Techniques of a Fashion Industry which has reinvigorated interest around the world. Her book Straw Plaiting: Heritage Techniques for Hats, Trimmings, Bags and Baskets was published in August 2023. It includes instructions for 56 traditional plaits, keeping the craft alive and enabling knowledge to spread.
Since retiring as a curator at Wardown House Museum and Gallery Luton where she oversaw the Hat Industry and Headwear Collection, Veronica can often be seen and heard on TV and radio and continues to be busy making, teaching, and lecturing. She is as determined as ever to promote and share her love of straw.
