Maggie Partington-Smith

Maggie trained as a Graphic Designer/Illustrator at Hornsey College of Arts & Crafts and worked briefly in the Commercial Art World in London before going to live and work in Paris, Marseille, Aix en Provence. On return to London she worked in the workroom of The Costume Centre,, Covent Garden, adjunct to The Dance Centre in Floral Street which was started by actor/dancer Gary Cockrell and his partner Valerie Hyman. She did a variety of other jobs before being invited to join the BBC Costume Department where she stayed for 21 years. "It was like having a very good Agent, we were allocated to a very wide range of productions including Dramas and Light Entertainment, in the TV Studios, Ealing Film Studios, on Location all around the country and even abroad. It was BBC policy in those days not to give credit to any but the Head of each Department, so the majority of us worked in the shadows so to speak". On leaving the BBC Maggie worked briefly in a London Costume Hire Company where she met a whole other range of Feature Film personnel. This made for a large Network of Colleague contacts when she went Freelance. The Freelance world being uncertain, it was helpful to have so many strings to her bow alternating work as an Artist, an Assistant,an Organiser, a Designer and a Prop/Costume Maker.