The first “hats” Jacklyn remembers making were treasures from what she and her sister called the “magic cupboard,” her mother’s antique cabinet full of scraps of fabric, leftover materials and all sorts of fancy trims. “I learnt from my grandmother and mother. Ever since I was young, I would dress up, always putting things on my head and finding things in my mother's magic cupboard to make some form of hat Jacklyn's earliest creations weren't limited to her own dress-up, though.

I would even go as far as entering my ponies in the fancy dress event at shows and make them wear hats!” she says. While Jacklyn’s sister went on to study fashion, Jacklyn’s own first job was as a flight attendant. However, sewing and millinery continued as a weekend hobby. She was encouraged by the attention her unusual hats drew on race days, and drawing on her earliest creative inspirations, she began formal training in a wide variety of techniques, including classic millinery, embroidery and beading. This broad training gave Jaclyn so many ways to express her creativity, creativity that draws upon travel, the cultures of many lands, and of course, nature. “For example, I live in Singapore now, and I’ve learned Peranakan techniques of beading, embroidery and other handwork that I’ve incorporated into my style. You can also see the Asian influence at work,” she says.

Jacklyn is also inspired by the material at hand: “It fascinates me to watch flat surfaces of fabrics evolve into a fabulous creation, and with the richness of our textile resources new textures and colors emerge. When working with different materials you sometimes have to let them find there own form and go from there. Materials I use all kinds of materials, from fur and wool felts to straws, silk, and organza.”

Jacklyn also sees hats as the way a woman can define her own fabulous style, any where, any time: “A good hat should contain creativity, whether it is extravagant, elegant or daring. It should be a piece of art as well as a head piece. Hats can bring out your femininity your sensuality and sense of daring. When custom designing a hat, I try to blend the wearer’s personality with my own creativity, while retaining the uniqueness of each.”