MBE honour for 30 year veteran of Luton straw hat making

Veronica Main received the New Year honour in recognition of a lifetime spent researching, practising and teaching the craft of straw plaiting for the hat industry.

Once an important trade in the UK, straw hat plaiting is now critically endangered, with only a few remaining craftspeople.

Veronica has made it her life’s mission to ensure that these skills are not lost, and appeared last week on BBC Radio commenting on the closure of Luton hat firm Olney Headwear.

Veronica has been involved with Wardown House Museum and the Culture Trust in Luton for over 30 years – first as volunteer, then ‘hat plaiter in residence’, and finally as curator – becoming the go-to expert for the history of women’s hats and hat making.

She has been a consultant on straw work to museums across the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of London.

Over the years Veronica has taught many hundreds of people the skills of straw plaiting in the UK, US, Europe and Bangladesh, where she taught straw work to the women of Sreepur village, to increase their repertoire of craft skills.

Veronica is a Queen Elizabeth scholar, Wingate scholar, City & Guilds gold medallist, and member of the Guild of Straw Craftsmen and the National Association of Wheat Weavers (USA).

She is a founding member of the British Hat Guild, a group of 33 professional milliners, each selected for their highly individual contribution to millinery. In 2003, she published Swiss Straw Work, a comprehensive guide to straw plaiting and other techniques that were common in Switzerland and across Europe.

Veronica continues to find new ways to spread her knowledge of straw hat plaiting. Concerned that skills and knowledge could be imminently lost, she has created a website to share her knowledge and has embraced social media as a tool to share her skills.

Daniel Carpenter, operations manager at charity the Heritage Crafts Association, said: “Often it is only in retrospect that we realise that particular craft skills have survived purely thanks to a few dedicated individuals, working tirelessly to safeguard the future of our intangible heritage so that future generations can use them as a basis for innovation, industry, connection and wellbeing.

"Veronica is a shining example of this and we are delighted that we have been able to recognise her skill and commitment through this successful MBE nomination, putting her up there among other great luminaries of public life.”

For more information, visit www.heritagecrafts.org.uk.