When Jamie Richards returns to her studio in central London, she says she is going to create, rather than work.
Creating vintage-inspired wedding gowns is a passion for the Central Otago-born fashion designer, whose friends reckon she is ''living the dream''.
What Miss Richards (37), who has been based in London for the past 12 years, did not expect when she headed to Otago in December last year for a holiday, was to end up collaborating with Dunedin's Rockbourne Gallery.
As a young girl, Miss Richards taught herself to sew and she recalled making patterns out of newspaper.
An aunt had suggested she should go to fashion school.
Wanting to ''explore a bit more'', she was thrilled to get accepted to study fashion design and technology in Wellington.
After graduating, she worked for designer Megan Tuffery in Wellington, which proved to be a valuable experience.
Keen to explore the world, she headed to London at the end of 2002, where she became a garment technologist, which was ''kind of like the engineering of a garment''.
She worked with designers and advised factories on measurements, shape and fit. She enjoyed the job because it was ''hands-on'', working with clothing.
While it was a ''great job'', she eventually decided to leave her full-time position and start her own business, while freelancing as a garment technologist.
Miss Richards had always enjoyed making wedding dresses. She made her aunt's when she was 21 and one for her cousin two years later.
After arriving to England, she made about one wedding dress a year. Eventually, she realised it was what she wanted to do as a career.
She was at the point now as a garment technologist that she needed to get into management, but she did not want to stop working with clothing.
In 2012, Miss Richards started producing her own wedding gown designs, under the label Margaret Wray - the inspiration for the name coming from her grandmothers.
''They are both a part of me and where I find inspiration,'' she said.
Making a wedding dress for a client was ''such an amazing feeling'' because it was a garment that was so special, she said.
''You've really got to connect with your bride and and know how their day's going to be, to imagine what their style is.
''Just talking to them, understanding what their style is like and how they want to present themselves on the day is really important''It's an exciting adventure for them to come in and choose something that will be individually tailored to them,''Her London studio, flanked on either side by galleries, was near Kings Cross, in a bustling and busy area.
A machinist was employed to help out when Miss Richards was too busy to do the sewing, but she always did the finishing work.
She based her business in England because the resources in Europe were ''huge''. But being able to bring it to her home country was ''the beginning of something special''.
She visited Rockbourne Gallery in York Pl to find jewellery for the wedding of her brother and now sister-in-law in Central Otago in December. She loved what she saw and asked the gallery if it would be interested in showcasing her collection.
The result was the development of a dedicated wedding room, which was ''like a one-stop-shop'' for brides.
An opening of The Bridal Lounge is being held tomorrow between 11am and 5pm and everyone was welcome to attend.
''I never expected to . . . have a collaboration with such an amazing place when I first came to New Zealand on my holiday,'' she said.
Miss Richards, who also has British citizenship, will head back to the UK in early March.
