BRIDAL dressmaker Gaye Croft opened Miss Bella on Boronia Road three years ago, with beautiful bridal gowns at affordable prices and bridesmaids, mother of the bride and debutante gowns for sale and hire.
Her introduction into sewing was in 1972 at Boronia West Primary School as a grade two student.
“The class sat cross-legged on the floor with a 12 inch square piece of hessian, a darning needle and wool,” Gaye said.
“We frayed the edges of the hessian for a pretty effect and stitched a pattern with the wool.
“Seemingly impressed with my work, Mrs Brewster asked me to stand up and show my sewing to the classroom.
“Extremely shy at the attention, I stood up and lifted the hessian to try to hide my blushing face. The entire classroom exploded into laughter.
“I had sewn the hessian to the skirt of my dress and ended up showing more than I intended!”
Two years after the underpants incident, her grandmother taught her to use an old hand-operated Singer sewing machine to make clothes for her teddy bear.
She told Gaye: “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.”
“At 10 years old, I was French seaming so that the garment was just as perfect on the inside,” Gaye said.
Attending Knox Tech, and delving into pattern-making and clothing construction, she went on to further studies at TAFE, learning many aspects of the clothing trade and receiving her Certificate of Technology in Clothing.
Her parents encouraged her flair and skills with an overlocker for her 18th birthday.
She entered the workforce as a fabric cutter for local sportswear manufacturers in the 1980s and moved to specialising in bridal wear.
“It was great. I had the best of both worlds in being able to stay at home with our kids while they were young, and create gowns from sketches for a bridal shop in Camberwell, and do gown alterations for a local bridal shop,” Gaye said.
Surgery to mend wrist injuries got her back into the bridal industry with great gusto, but Gaye wanted to go that extra mile.
She found the “so perfect – it was meant to be” empty shop in Boronia, and with the efforts of husband Steve and friends David and Elisabeth, fitted out the interior to create a spacious bridal showroom and well equipped workroom where the alterations could be made.
“I had it all in my head – the chandeliers, plush Hollywood red carpet, big gold mirrors, large dressing rooms, and comfy chairs with car and fishing magazines for the dads,” Gaye said.
“We achieved that.
“I wanted to create a unique experience – a really comfortable and inviting place where brides and debutantes and their families could walk in and feel special.
“No rude or pushy sales assistants; just great customer service, great products, affordable prices and as stress-free an experience as possible.
I believe a gown sells itself. We simply provide friendly, helpful service – and with the advantage of the team at Miss Bella all being qualified dressmakers, we have a better insight into the production of a gown and how we can play around with it, tweak it and alter it to suit the individual needs of the customer.”
Miss Bella is at shop 6/109 Boronia Road, Boronia.
Call 9762 6595 and visit www.missbella.com.au to see an online ‘sale rack’ and awards and testimonials.
