On the 21st October 1966 a street, including a school, was engulfed in a landslide from a coal pit waste tip.  116 children and 28 adults lost their lives.  I grew up in the remains of a coal mining community.  My grandpa worked at the local pit, my father helped move the pit ponies through the town.  Coal is in my blood.  I still work with coal and coke, as an engineering volunteer at preserved steam monuments.  I will forever gravitate to an open coal fire.  Disasters, such as these, are very close to home.  If you can I would strongly recommend the suite of programs by the BBC this year on the disaster.  They have been very thoughtfully put together.

And thus Coalface Costumes was born.  Not just from my past and upbringing, but also for the communities that this work created and continues to create.  One of shared values and support, hard work and the rewards that can bring, of mucking in and experiencing things together, of mutual goals and gains.

As a costumer I never work alone.  There is a client, sometimes a designer, maybe a researcher or a buyer, maybe lighting techs, props and scenery masters, all working together for one goal.

One part of a whole.

And what a beautiful whole it can be.