Develop your own visual style and build a body of work that becomes your most valuable asset.
Does this sound familiar?
1. You work in the arts but feel like you’re not being as creative as you hoped you would
2. You have images in your head that you want to create but you need a system
3. Your techniques are solid - but you rarely experiment with your big ideas
4. Sometimes you question whether you have a job or a creative practice
5. You know there is more in you but you procrastinate
What you'll walk away with
Start to value your work and stop allowing your craft to be just transactional
Learn how to incorporate hard caps into the freelance work you already do
Learn to solve bigger problems for your existing clients
Collect and curate references that feel like you
Your own finished wig designed by you
A repeatable system you can rely on to make your own hard cap designs
Make your own work without the constraints of wefts, glaring seams and wigs that just won't do what you need them to do
Learn an artisanal craft dating back to the 1930s
Blend and mix your own bespoke colours to the exact shade you want
Seal and harden your wigs so they are performance-ready for your clients without looking like a "helmet"
About me
Why learn from me
I did fifteen years of traditional wigs and hair. My work only really started to improve, and I found my voice, when I started making my own work, and that was with hard cap wigs.
Once I started to focus on building my own visual language, clients stopped asking me to copy other people's wigs or Pinterest images. I was able to iterate on my own wig designs and build a body of work from them.
I went from order taker to collaborator.
Tam Walsh – founder.
25 years' experience, from lace wigs to hard caps.
- 15 years in theatre houses, including supervising at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, London.
- Hair and makeup designer on music videos including Take That, David Guetta, Birdy, Lana Del Rey and Gossip.
- Hard caps worn by Dua Lipa in Barbie.
- 6 years running my own studio making commercial hard cap mannequin wigs for Topshop, River Island, Missguided, Foot Locker, Bloomingdale's Dubai, Selfridges and Harrods.
- Bespoke window display work including Christmas windows for Bergdorf Goodman New York, Brown Thomas Dublin and Harrods.
- 5 years with private clients including Bianca Del Rio, Jimbo the Drag Queen, Kita Mean and Myra Dubois.
- Hard caps for numerous panto producers.
Who this is for
Wig / Hair
Freelancer
You're a wig or hair freelancer working in film, television or theatre. You've mastered the art of delivering someone else's design, but there's a gap where your own work should be.
Salon Owner /
Independent Stylist
You're a salon owner or an independent stylist. You're already making your own editorial work and want to push it further — or you want to start and don't know where to begin.
Sculptor / Textile Artist / Other Craft
You're a sculptor, a textile artist, or you work in another craft entirely, and you want to expand your skill set with a new medium.
Costume Designer/Milliner
You're already making hats/headpieces and want expand your skillset and work with news mediums
If you're looking for a shortcut, a quick fix or hacks, this isn't the course for you.
It asks for real commitment.
What’s included
Full Cohort
8 weekly 1–1.5 hour prerecorded lessons
Live 30 minute Q&A every week. Recorded if you can't make it
15–20 minute 1:1 video tutorial with me to pin down your design
A private student community to share your work, ask questions and get to know your peers
30 days access after the cohort ends to rewatch the lessons
A comprehensive kit list with all my favourite tools, my fibre supplier and specialist glue and sealer materials (with worldwide equivalents)
Self Directed
Learn at your own pace
Access once the lessons start on Monday 19th October and can re watch the lessons.
Full kit list before the lessons start
Curriculum
Week 1 — The Design
Week 2 — The Cap
Week 3 — The Colour & Texture
Week 4 — The Frame
Weeks 5, 6 and 7 — The Hair
Week 8 — The Finish
Student Work
