Belfast fashion retailer 'still on a high' 24 hours after Princess of Wales looks through a rack of her linen clothes - William and Kate's visit to flax farm in Cookstown, Co Tyrone
A Belfast fashion retailer says she is "still on a high" a day after the Princess of Wales looked through a rack of her clothing and quizzed her about her business.
Amy Anderson, who is from Dungannon, created her linen clothes business as a Covid side hustle, during lockdown five years ago.
Now she and her husband Joel run an up market fashion boutique on Hill Street in Belfast specialising in linen fashion.
The proud holder of a degree in fashion and textiles, she was inspired to be a part of the renaissance of the Irish linen industry after reading about how many people in her family tree were involved in the industry.
On Tuesday in Cookstown, she met the Prince and Princess of Wales on a Mallon Linen flax farm, where she proudly showed off a rack of her finest linen fashion to Kate and William.
Speaking to the News Letter the day after, she said: "I'm totally still on a high today, for sure."
"I actually feel pretty exhausted today, because there was such anticipation and build up until that moment that you actually speak with them.
But then they actually just really put you at ease.
"She is probably one of the most famous and photographed women in the world. So just to get that kind of opportunity with her and speak about what we've been building over the last five years was just amazing.
"And she was so deeply interested in it all, she was asking very good questions, and really getting to the heart of it all, which was brilliant."
She added: "She was really interested in a lot of the pieces, and it would be a dream to get some of it on her at some stage."
At one point one during the visit, one of the flax spinners told William and Kate that in ancient Egypt, the finest linen was so precious that it could not be bought and was reserved as a gift for royalty.
In response, William joked that perhaps he might expect some as a gift in the future.
Any confirmed:" Yes that is true, it was so fine it was worth more than gold."
She hoped his interest might provide an opportunity for her to dress Kate with some of her style.
Amy noted that Kate shared their concern for the welfare of all the workers in their supply chain - and about where they get their linen.
Kindred uses local seamstresses who work from home - all of whom are known by name - which avoids the risk of exploitation in large supply chains.
At present they get linen from Belgium and France with all the finishing stages performed in Northern Ireland. They also get a lot of fabric from Wexford and William Clark in Upperlands, Co Londonderry.
The couple are hoping to be supplied by Mallon Linen in Cookstown in the near future.
Any's brand began five years ago when she was furloughed from her restaurant job during Covid.
She had a degree in textiles and fashion and discovered her granny, granddad, great uncles and great aunts all worked in the linen industry around Dungannon.
So she began her business as ‘a covid side hustle’, which has just grown from strength to strength, she said.