‘When I grow up’ is a self-portrait piece based on my childhood aspiration of becoming a wedding dress designer, from a very young age I was drawn to the creative process of making particularly in textiles. A strong memory that sticks with me and reminds me of this passion –is the memory of learning to stitch for the first time- a memory which has inspired me to create this body of work. Although my creative direction has changed it has not dulled my passion for the fashion industry and remains as a constant inspiration to me, this has led me to produce a glass wedding dress which free stands as a scuplture. Whilst designing this piece I took into account current wedding trends and chose a 1950s T-length skirt design with a glass lace effect bodice. Pâte de verre was my choice of glass making technique (Pâte de Verre is a kiln-formed glass technique which translates to ‘glass paste’ in French, and is made up of small granules of crushed glass mixed with a bonding agent to hold its shape whilst firing and usually has a crystal sugary appearance once fired) as it has a delicate and elegant quality which reflects the qualities of lace.