Student who retired from midwifery career to pursue a textiles degree wins bespoke design competition

A textiles degree student has described an evening course at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Carmarthen School of Art, as a lifechanging experience, that inspired her to retire from a 27-year career in midwifery and embark on an exciting new journey into the creative arts.

Alison Fletcher has not regretted her decision, as since starting her degree, her work has won a prestigious heritage-driven textiles project.

The Bespoke Welsh Woollen Coat competition asked participants to design a bespoke print for a winter coat lining, taking inspiration from Welsh Wool Company and the area of Saundersfoot, where the farmers and the wool for the coat fabric came from as well as the history of the woollen industry in south Pembrokeshire.

College textiles students visited Trevayne Farm, which was where the wool for the coat originated from and Alison’s inspiration came to her whilst walking on Saundersfoot beach nearby. “I took a photo of Monkston Point from the beach,” said Alison. “The shape of the headland symbolised to me the area that the wool for this particular coat originated from and the farm is just visible between the trees higher up the headland and so the repetition of this image was used to create a woven image.”

This is a collaborative project between Teilwr Bach and Oasis Cardiff funded by the Heritage Fund. 

The coat is being exhibited as part of ‘A Bespoke Welsh Woollen Coat’ project, at St Fagans National Museum of History until April 2025, as part of a collection of jackets and coats. 

The exhibition showcases traditional tailoring and screen printing, promotes slow fashion and explores the history and heritage of Welsh wool. 

Made from 100% Welsh woollen fabric from Welsh Wool Company and woven at The Bristol Weaving Mill, the aim of the bespoke coat initiative is to create better links between producers of traditional woollen fabrics and sheep farmers in south Pembrokeshire. 

Alison Fletcher was invited to the private view which she said was an ‘amazing, exciting experience’. “It felt so empowering and privileged to be part of such an incredible collaborative project,” she said. 

A bold step to retire from a successful career in the NHS has really paid off for her.

Alison Fletcher said: “I realised when I did the part-time sculpture course with Lee Odishow that I had always wanted to explore my artistic and creative side. 

“I had been a midwife for 27 years, which had been a long and fulfilling career, 23 years of which I worked as a community midwife but I decided that I needed a change.

“In 2022 I attended a ceramics evening class, and also the introduction to access course and then the full-time access to higher education course and it was during this period that I decided to start the BA honours textiles degree which I now study at Job’s Well campus.

“I love being part of Carmarthen School of Art, I find it such a warm and welcoming place. 

“The textile department is particularly supportive and I can’t believe how much my art and technical skills have developed in the first year. 

“The course gives us lots of opportunities and I feel that I am constantly learning new things and developing my practice. I can say that I have never regretted that fairly rash decision I made in the Autumn of 2021.

“I’d like to personally thank Catherine Davies of Teilwr Bach for the opportunity of being part of this wonderful project.