Why did you want to work in Museums?
As a child I spent many a happy hour in my local Natural History Museum. I was fascinated by how things were displayed and I also loved the old building with its sweeping staircases. As I got older I became interested in other areas of history, visiting everything from castles to stately homes.

What's your favourite part of the job?
Bringing the collections to people. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to talk to people about something you love and see them fall in love with it too.

What's your favourite object?
Wow! With over 14,000 items in the Applied Art collection how can I possibly choose? I have to say my favourite at the moment is an Edwardian bodice - it is a great example of the contradiction of women's fashion at the time and the "graceful bondage" ladies had to endure. From the outside the bodice gives the impression of effortless femininity and elegance, but inside it is made up of a constricting double layer of boning, which along with severe corsetry would have squeezed a woman's figure into the desired shape of the time.