Halifax auctioneers to host collection from award-winning hat-makers whose clients include Paul Weller and Laura Whitmore

Marie Flanagan has been one of West Yorkshire's most longstanding millinery designers and creators, and her daughter, Molly Bunce, owner of Good Golly Miss Molly Bespoke Hats, is an award-winning milliner.

Both of whom have designed and crafted hats for the rich and famous, as well as having their creations featured on Emmerdale on numerous occasions.

After careers within a very competitive artistic profession and having yielded clients such as Paul Weller and Laura Whitmore, both mother and daughter have decided to take a step back from their respective passions, and pass on the baton to new milliners.

Marie's collection features a number of hatmaking blocks from Royal milliner Philip Somerville, including frameworks used to design hats for the Queen Mother and Princess Diana, as well as a number of Christian Dior mannequin busts.

The auction will be at Halifax Mill Auctioneers on Sunday, March 10, starting at 12 noon.

Lead auctioneer and owner, James Watson, said he was proud to be hosting an auction of this kind.

"I've been surprised as to how much interest there has been so far through our social media channels,” he said, “and the anticipation there appears to be around the catalogue.

"We're just happy to have had Marie and Molly reach out to us, and to bring the sale and their collections to light.”

The collection can be seen at the showroom on Paradise Street in Halifax during the weekend of March 9 and 10, and the online catalogue can be viewed at www.halifaxmillauctioeers.com from Tuesday, March 5.