Miriam Ward is standing as a student representative for textiles, this is her statement
Background bio
Ever since I was a small child I have been passionate about “crafts” of any kind, an avid collector of small treasures to be transformed into something else. I was influenced greatly by my grandmothers, one of whom was a seamstress and the other a primary school teacher who always had a textile project under way and every birthday or Christmas gift was hand made. Upon leaving school I applied for a “proper job” and spent 19 years in the Insurance industry, while always dabbling in textile related pursuits in my free time. In late 2010 the opportunity arose for me to take redundancy, and my personal circumstances were such that it was time for me to take a leap of faith and pursue a career change. I will never forget handing in my work mobile and laptop one day and diving into the textiles course material the day after! This is where my journey with the OCA started and until recently I have been studying with the OCA full time, whilst also enjoying being a full time mum to my two children. I recently commenced work for the National Trust, at Quarry Bank Mill demonstrating the spinning machinery to the visiting public.
