Could you please describe your creative practice?

My creative practice is centred on contemporary millinery, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern design. I work as a millinery designer and educator, creating bespoke headwear for high-end clients alongside a ready-to-wear collection released each September to coincide with the Spring Racing Carnival.

Education is a core part of my practice; I run international workshops, private studio masterclasses and the Bali Millinery Retreats, which are designed to inspire, skill and mentor the next generation of hat makers through hands-on learning and creative exploration.

I am also a hat block designer, wooden hat blocks are the foundation of traditional millinery, providing the forms over which straw and felt are steamed, stretched and shaped to create each hat style. I collaborate exclusively with Australia’s leading hat block maker, Darryll Osborne of Hat Blocks Australia, with a dedicated ‘Rebecca Share Series’ of blocks named after me and used globally by international milliners for modern, sculptural designs.

When did your creative journey begin?

My creative journey began with a lifelong love of sewing, but it truly took shape when I was 16 years old. While studying Year 11 Fashion at Bendigo Senior Secondary College, my teacher challenged us to design and make our own outfits. One project involved deconstructing an XXXX beer bucket hat, which I transformed into a beret-style hat adorned with a rosette.  Our class was then taken to the Bendigo Cup and entered into Fashions on the Field. I placed runner-up, and that experience sparked a lasting passion for millinery, racing fashion and the power of headwear.

I went on to study Fashion Design at RMIT, where I quickly realised that millinery was pulling me in a more focused and exciting direction. The immediacy of the process, the materials, and the way a hat can completely transform an outfit resonated deeply with my personality and creative instincts.  Fast forward to today, and I have been designing and creating hats for over 30 years, building a career dedicated to contemporary millinery, craftsmanship and innovation.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the creative field?

While studying Fashion Design at RMIT, I created many outfits, but it wasn’t until I visited a milliner to have a hat made that everything truly clicked. I was completely mesmerised by the variety of hats in her studio and the artistry involved. I saw how a hat could become the centrepiece of a race outfit -  demanding attention, stopping traffic, and quite literally turning heads.

I was inspired by the way headwear has the power to transform an outfit entirely and, more importantly, how it gives women confidence. That moment made it clear to me that millinery was where my creativity belonged, and it sparked a career dedicated to designing pieces that empower, elevate and make a statement.

How do you connect with the Greater Geelong area through your work?

My connection to Greater Geelong is deeply rooted in education, mentorship and community engagement through millinery. I regularly host hands-on millinery workshops and one-on-one masterclasses from my home studio in Geelong, welcoming students from the local area and beyond. Over the years, I have also delivered workshops in collaboration with local businesses, including florists, helping introduce new audiences to millinery and creative making.

I have been actively involved in the local racing and fashion community for many years, judging the Geelong Cup Fashions on the Field on more than ten occasions and generously donating prizes to support emerging participants and creatives. I also taught millinery and fashion students at Gordon TAFE for two years, which remains one of the most rewarding chapters of my career.

In February 2026, my millinery design will be exhibited at the Geelong Library as part of Hats Under the Dome for the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival, a moment I’m incredibly proud to be part of within my local community.

My work also supports and collaborates with a wide range of local creative businesses. Each year, my Spring Racing ready-to-wear collection is produced through partnerships with Greater Geelong photographers, graphic designers and website developers, as well as on-location photoshoots at local venues such as Baie Wines. These collaborations not only showcase Geelong as a creative destination but also generate work and visibility for local professionals across the creative industries.

One of the most meaningful outcomes of my work is seeing Geelong-based milliners who once attended my TAFE classes or workshops, many of whom were stay-at-home mums or seeking a new creative path, now running successful and flourishing businesses. Supporting others to build confidence, skills and sustainable creative careers in Geelong is something I care deeply about, and it continues to inspire my ongoing commitment to the region.

What challenges or barriers have you encountered in your career?

One of the greatest challenges early in my career was gaining exposure and building a client base. At the time, there were no websites or social media platforms to showcase work, so everything relied on word of mouth and personal initiative. To overcome this, I took a proactive approach and quite literally picked up the phone and cold-called Lilian Frank to ask for advice and guidance on gaining exposure for my brand. She invited me to her Toorak salon, where I showed her my designs, and before long she was generously sharing my contact details with her network. Almost overnight, I found myself driving my little Hyundai Excel to Toorak mansions, meeting a host of new clients and building momentum in my business.

That opportunity also led to creating designs for Royal Children’s Hospital charity fashion parades, which became a pivotal turning point and significantly accelerated my career. Gaining exposure and kickstarting consistent orders was by far the hardest part of establishing my practice, particularly in an era without the digital tools available today.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a very different challenge. Like many creatives, I was forced to reassess my business model almost overnight. I pivoted quickly to online live lessons and began filming structured video courses, which led to the creation of a second business, Hat Atelier. This shift opened my work to a global audience and allowed me to collaborate with and film world-renowned milliners, sharing their techniques through courses now accessed worldwide.

Ultimately, the two defining challenges of my career have been gaining initial exposure in a pre-digital era, and later, adapting and innovating during COVID. Both experiences reinforced the importance of resilience, adaptability and being willing to take bold action when opportunities don’t yet exist.

Looking ahead, what would you like to achieve?

Looking ahead, my greatest goal is to continue inspiring and teaching millinery in meaningful, accessible and creative ways. Teaching is where my true passion lies, whether through in-person workshops, online video courses, one-on-one mentoring, or travelling internationally to host immersive learning experiences. I get an enormous sense of fulfilment from seeing what my students go on to create, watching their confidence grow, and knowing I’ve played a small part in their creative journey.

One of my proudest achievements has been the creation of the Bali Millinery Retreats. Each year, my husband and I host a small group of women in Seminyak for an intimate week of learning, creativity and connection. The retreat combines millinery workshops with cultural experiences—visiting my trusted suppliers, cooking classes, beach dinners, a day trip to Ubud and time to rest and reset. What makes it truly special, however, is the sense of community that forms. Millinery can often be a solitary and competitive career, especially when working from home, and these retreats create a supportive, lifelong network of friendships that continues well beyond the week in Bali. Being able to facilitate that connection is incredibly rewarding.

Moving forward, I would love to expand my teaching across multiple formats, developing more online courses, hosting additional retreats and workshops both in Australia and internationally, and continuing to mentor the next generation of milliners. I am especially excited by the intersection of tradition and innovation, seeing students use the wooden hat blocks I design alongside contemporary techniques to push creative boundaries.

Ultimately, my aim is to keep building an inclusive, supportive global millinery community, one that encourages creativity, collaboration and confidence, and to continue giving back to an industry that has given me so much over the past 30 years.

Where can we see/learn more about your work/projects?

Rebecca Share Millinery:  https://www.rebeccashare.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccashare/
Hat Atelier – online courses:  https://hatatelier.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hatatelier/