As the famous milliner Martha Sliter once said: “A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armour and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wearing a costume; it’s the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it’s the difference between looking adequate and looking your best.”
Just about 10 years ago, Gwen Walsh decided that now was her time to join the ranks of artists and designers, so she opened up her very own millinery business, Breathnach Designs, in Mullins Mill, Kells, Co Kilkenny. But things don’t automatically happen at the snap of your fingers and Gwen actually started out as a city girl.
“I actually grew up in Cork city, but I moved up to Kilkenny with my husband John and three children over 20 years ago. John is a farmer, so that was a bit of a culture shock for me.” Luckily for Gwen, she had always been dabbling in different crafts, which helped to keep her occupied when she first moved to the countryside.
It was only when her children were mostly grown and heading off to college that Gwen decided she would like to open a hat-hire business. 
“I got the feel for making hats then, so I searched for millinery courses and I found classes in Tullamore under Nan Larkin,” says Gwen.
She set about learning the craft and once she felt ready, Gwen came up with the brand and called her business Breathnach Designs. “I have always been able to sew, my mother taught me when I was 13 years old. She put me on the sewing machine and I started making all my own clothes at that stage. I’ve always been into sewing and painting, so the technical and design elements were always there, it all just gelled,” she says.
Tuck Mill
It was 2016 when her youngest child was moving to college, that Gwen decided she needed a small studio to house her growing business. “That’s when I found the Tuck Mill in Mullins’ Mill, Kells, and that’s where I opened the studio. I called it Kells Mill Craft Centre. The large old 16th-century building overlooks the King’s River in a gorgeous setting.
“I always remember the first day that I opened the Tuck Mill, there was nothing down there,” explains Gwen. “I remember opening the doors and thinking, ‘What am I after doing?’ I had to literally claw the ivy off from around the windows.”
The old mill had been somewhat abandoned, but Gwen could see its potential. People started visiting her studio and more people began to visit the whole mill area once again. As business grew, Gwen decided to contact local crafts people and artisan food producers and began hosting monthly markets on the site.
“The mill’s wheel is back up and running, there’s no power from it yet, but that will be the next thing, hopefully,” says the milliner. There is a plan in the pipeline for a new generator to create electricity. In 2017, the enthusiastic entrepreneur won a Kilkenny Business Award. She was actually nominated for two awards – the first, Craft Producer of the Year and another for Culture and Tourism. Gwen won the tourism award for her efforts in reopening up the mill area.
The building is owned by the village of Kells, where there is a very active committee called Kells Region Economic Enterprise (KREE). “They run the mill and its surrounding area and I rent my studio from them, it is KREE who got Mullin’s Mill operating again.”
Growth
Gwen started her millinery business by travelling around the country, attending many shows and displaying what she was making. “From there, I was able to get customers and bring them back to the studio where we would have our consultations. I get all sorts of clientele, but people mostly come to me for weddings and horse racing meetings. I have noticed that hats have become poplar for christenings this past year.” 
The hats Gwen creates are all bespoke. Customers are first asked to visit the studio with their outfit, where Gwen showcases her range of hats. “First we’ll pick a hat that suits them, then we go into colour co-ordination and the finish; a customer might have seen an embellishment that they would like to add and we address that in the consultation.” It takes Gwen approximately four weeks to make a hat as the customer’s accessories and outfit must be taken into consideration at each step of the process.
Gwen creates hats for many clients, but there has been one special customer that she is particularly proud of – the president’s wife, Sabina Higgins. “It was wonderful, she wore one of my hats during a special European royal visit at Áras an Uachtaráin,” smiles Gwen. 
There is a common theme throughout the style of the hats created by Gwen, she has a strong affection for the vintage look. “I like the classics, the 40s and 50s, they have become very popular over the years and it’s still in fashion and I have recently started working with tweeds,” she says.
Hats are usually made from a material called sinamay, but at Gwen Breathnach Designs, silk can often be found incorporated with it. Each and every hat created at the studio is hand-sewn, nothing is done by machine. For this reason, the hats often include a lot of beading, as Gwen really loves working with beading. “It takes a long time, but the result is worth it,” she says.
Gwen has already proven her entrepreneurial skills, however, the studio is not the only string to her bow, as she also gives millinery classes. In addition, she provides training to art students. The classes, held in her studio, have proven quite popular and her classes are always full.
“I try not to have more than four students at any one time, but it’s a lovely class and everybody helps each other out,” she says. Even though the studio is currently closed, Gwen is busy creating new designs and preparing for the reopening later in the year. “I suppose that’s the best thing about crafts, you’re never bored,” smiles Gwen.
‘It’s like a pub with no beer’