IT'S a pretty safe bet that some of Dawn Bushby's creations will be turning heads at York races next week. Her flamboyant designs have become her trademark; her hats are as much a work of art as a piece of head gear. She describes them as 'head sculpture', and it's an apt term. A browse through her collection reveals her talent for combining unusual shapes with dramatic feather and floral decorations.

"I don't think of them as hats per se. I think of them as 3D sculptures," she says.

Bold and quirky, her hats are impossible to ignore. Just the job really for any woman determined to win in the fashion stakes at race day - or at a smart wedding.

Dawn says women can be very competitive about wearing the best hat to an important occasion, which is all part of the pleasure and fun. She says: "If you are wearing a special hat, people come and talk to you. They ask you about your hat and tell you how nice you look."

York-born Dawn has been making hats for 14 years, ever since she took millinery as a sideline while at art college in Surrey, where she studied fashion design.

After graduating, she worked as an interior designer and then designed children's clothes for Marks & Spencer. Next came a job with a couture house.

"One client wanted a hat making, so I offered to do it. Before I knew it, all I was doing was making hats and I realised I really enjoyed it," says Dawn.

After a spell working with Droopy & Browns, Dawn began designing hats for Get Ahead Hats in York. Last year she set up her own business, Dyonni Design, and now employs eight staff. From her workshop and home/office in Acomb, the company turns out up to 80 hats a month to shops and clients across the country - and even overseas. Soon, Dawn hopes to be selling hats in the States.

"It's constant," says Dawn of her workload. "I just never stop - I even dream about hats. There is no respite from it."

It means the decorating work on her large terraced home in Acomb is progressing slowly.

"I do things I can complete in an hour - like a spot of gardening, or cleaning the floor tiles in the hall," says Dawn.

But her commitment is paying off. Commissions for her distinctive designs are on the increase, from hat shops and individual clients.

To meet this, Dawn has trained her eight employees in all aspects of millinery - including her mum Joan, who is also her best friend.

"Mum was a cleaning lady for more than 30 years," says Dawn. "It's only since she retired that she has had time to work for me.

"She says I've given her a new lease of life. She was very talented as a young girl and won a scholarship to art college. But she didn't go because her family wanted her to go and work at Rowntree's."

Dawn is full of praise for her mum's creative talents. "She makes the most fantastic flowers out of organza", she says with pride.

While Dawn hopes the company will continue to blossom, she has no desire to get too big. Her main aim is to maintain the quality of the hats she produces. Her designer hats are sold at the exclusive range end of the market and cost from £150 to £700.

"There are lots of people who make mass-produced hats, but we make everything ourselves.

"When you start mass producing, you lose that individuality. Every single one of our hats has got its unique, quirky bits. I don't want to ever become so big that we lose our identity.

"People do have to wait for orders a little bit longer, unless it is for a special occasion when we can turn things around in four weeks."

As for the future of hats, Dawn believes there will always be a demand for them.

Pop stars such as Kylie Minogue have started wearing hats, making them very up to the minute, but there will always be race days and weddings, which just wouldn't be the same without a hat, says Dawn.

Also, hats have evolved to change with the times, she adds. Her collection features full, traditional hats as well as smaller creations or 'head sculptures', as she calls them.

"Evening weddings are increasingly popular and we have found people moving towards 'head sculptures' as opposed to a full hat.

"They can wear it to the ceremony, and into the evening - they can even eat in it.

"These hats are great because they feel like part of your head - and you're not going to bang into anyone."

Of course, someone might bang into you - to ask the name of your milliner.

For more information about Dyonni Design, telephone 01904 785164 or 0780 3607348.

Updated: 12:54 Tuesday, May 07, 2002