Ask the Expert: Gill Rushton, Senior Sales Executive

Gill Rushton is the Senior Sales Executive for Ceremonial, Military and Costume fabrics at AW Hainsworth.

In the lead up to the King’s Coronation earlier this year, Gill was busier than ever ensuring that our ceremonial uniform fabrics were woven, dyed, and shipped in time to be worn by the royal guardsmen. We spoke to Gill about her time at Hainsworth and what she’s learned from working with such prestigious customers.

When did you first start working at AW Hainsworth?

I began working here in 1992 after finishing a degree in Textile Marketing. Initially I was on a 6-month placement to identify new market opportunities for ‘narrow fabrics’ – meaning the tapes and braids used to trim military uniforms. Those six months became a year, and aside from maternity leave I’ve been at Hainsworth ever since.

How did you become involved in Ceremonial and Military fabrics?

I gradually worked my way up from market research to become Marketing Manager, and then after doing this for a while decided I wanted to move into a sales role. In the early days I ran two divisions that have since been merged into the wider Hainsworth brand – Abimelech Hainsworth (cloth for non-ceremonial military uniforms) and Joshua Briggs (fabric for academic scarves and blazers).

I now manage sales for our Ceremonial, Military and Costume clients. There is quite a lot of crossover between these areas – a lot of period productions like The Crown and Les Misérables want their military costumers to look authentic, so I advise them on the best cloth to use.

I work closely with Kashket & Partners, the tailors that make ceremonial, parade and formalwear for militaries across the world, most famously the guardsmen at Buckingham Palace. Kashket played a big role in the Coronation, and we are very proud to work alongside them to create these iconic uniforms.

Is there anything you’re particularly proud of?

I’m very proud to have been involved in creating moments of British history through my work in Ceremonial. I’ve worked on some extremely prestigious projects and had the chance to visit some very famous places through my work. Things like the Buckingham Palace guards and the Trooping of the Colour are something that my friends and family outside of the company all recognise and think of as special – it’s iconic.

What else interests you outside of work?

I love spending my free time with my friends and family – I have two grown-up sons who take up a lot of my time! I also like walking and being out in the fresh air – I’ve just completed the Kirklees Valley Circular route with a friend and now we want to train up for the Coast-to-Coast Walk.