Following his move from Dundalk to Galway to study textile design, Jaime Nanci McEleney's career has gone from strength to strength. Many of his designs are set to brighten up Ballybrit Racecourse during the Galway Races, while he is also actively involved in Galway's music scene.

Design has always been in Jaime's blood. Both his mother and grandmother worked as seamstresses and from an early age, he knew he wanted to work in fashion. After completing his Leaving Certificate, Jaime decided to leave his native Dundalk and move to Galway to study textile design at GMIT.

On reflection, Jaime admits that he was probably too young to fully appreciate the course at the time but his move to Galway certainly opened a number of doors for the aspiring designer. His passion for costumery led him to become involved with some of Galway's local theatre companies and from there, his career snowballed.

A feature on his designs in a local magazine was spotted by a Dublin woman, who commissioned him to create a hat for her to wear to the Dublin Horse Show. She went on to claim the best-dressed crown and after being approached to create a number of hats for companies including Red Bull, Jaime realised there was a large market for his designs and decided to concentrate his efforts on millinery.

In his latest collection, Jaime has concentrated on working with felt. He describes it as a very bright selection of hats, incorporating floral themes. He avoids feathers, unless expressly requested, as he feels they are "overdone", instead using Swarovski crystals and embroidery to create a unique detailed effect. He has taken inspiration from the 1940's burlesque revival, with miniature chic berets taking centre stage. Hugely popular on the social events scene, a number of Jaime's designs will be on parade at Ballybrit next week, as thousands of women fight for the coveted 'Best Dressed' crown.

However, while Jaime is clearly passionate about his designs, his true love is music. Having set up jazz five-piece Cuckoo Savante with friends, he now considers his full time career to be a singer and manager with the band. The group began life as a two-piece, performing jazz standards in wine bars and hotels around the city, but quickly gathered momentum to become one of Galway's most distinctive bands.

Cuckoo Savante got their big break almost two years ago, when blues legend Mary Coughlan approached the band asking to cover one of their songs. They suggested they provide backing support and last December, the single Red Apple was released to raise funds for AIDS West. The band has worked with Coughlan numerous times since and is set to collaborate with the songstress again in Dublin this September.

Cuckoo Savante have gone from strength to strength ever since and are currently in talks with two record labels. They are hoping to sign a deal in the near future and in the meantime are gigging in Ireland and the UK, including many high profile festivals such as Electric Picnic.

Jaime currently divides his time between Dublin and Galway, and says that Galway's nurturing nature was a definite factor in the band's success.

"People often call Galway 'the graveyard of ambition' but I wouldn't agree with that. It is a very nurturing place for the arts and you are free to do what you want to do. However, it can be very insular and there is always that risk that you will get stuck in a rut doing the same thing. After a while you do need a break and there are a lot more venues and opportunities for networking in Dublin," he says.

In his spare time, Jaime is a big film fan and loves to go to the cinema as much as possible. He and the band are now preparing for a busy couple of months as their new album is to be released in October. For more information on Jaime and Cuckoo Savante, check out www.myspace.com/cuckoosavante or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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