About AJR Designs

Designing and making is something that Ailsa Rendell has been interested in from an early age. Ailsa trained at the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music And Drama in Glasgow where she specialised in Wardrobe and Design. She then worked in the world of theatre for 6 years, venturing twice into the Film Industry. The year Ailsa graduated also coincided with the start of her career in designing and making custom made Occasional Wear, and she then designed and made her first made to measure Wedding Dress. Since then AJR Designs have catered for many an occasion with the ambition to help create the dream outfit for all her clients.

Ailsa's career has taken her to many corners of the world, from London to New York, South Korea and Taiwan. In March 2005 she represented Scotland at the World Stage Design Competition in Toronto, Canada with Ailsa's costume designs for the play "Spring Awakening".

Ailsa believes in making a first class product and is always reliable. She listens to her clients wishes and provides a unique service that helps complete any special day.

The Process

We begin with the free consultation, which can be done either in person or over the phone. Ailsa likes to talk about what you like and dislike and get a general idea of your taste. From these discussions Ailsa will be able to determine what you are looking for. It doesn't matter if you don't have any ideas about what you want - or for that matter if you know exactly what you want. Ailsa will sketch a variety of designs and from these you will be able to see exactly what you like and what you would like to change.

Once a final design has been settled upon, we must decide upon colour and material. AJR Designs will provide you with samples to choose from, the cost of the fabric will be the big factor in setting the cost of the quote. Once a fabric is chosen, AJR Designs will offer you a quote and you can decide from there whether you want to go ahead, if its not for you or if we need to tailor the quote to suit your budget.

There is no obligation at this stage, should you decide that a custom made outfit is not for you, you can walk away with no charge. That is the whole point of this consultation stage, to explain to you how the process works and to see if it suits you.

If you are happy, AJR Designs will set about making a pattern and toile (practice version using cotton, as seen in the two black and white images above), using the toile in the first of two to three fittings, Ailsa will make the item to fit your body shape. At this stage, you can still change the design - alot of the time you cant tell how a design will look until you see it on. This is the luxury of custom made outfits, you can develop the design during the process.

The final stage is making the item in the chosen material, having another fitting along the way and then one more when finished to view the finished article (this last fitting is not compulsary but can be used as a final check to make sure it fits perfectly).

Its a simple process, that offers you control but little stress. Book a free consultation now to discuss what you are looking for - remember, there is no commitment.