TAKE your hats off to Newport woman Sheila Mone, pictured, who has reached the peak of a new creative profession after a career in nursing.

Ms Mone, once a nurse at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, has reached the semi-finals of this year's The Hat Designer Of The Year competition.

The contest, which was open to all milliners, both amateurs and professionals, asked entrants to submit six original hat designs.

Ms Mone is hoping to hear from judges within the next few days to find out if she has been chosen for the finals of the competition.

Originally from Ringland, Ms Mone studied at Newport Art College before training at the University Hospital of Wales and working for ten years as a Staff Nurse.

But it was not until she moved to Leeds that she decided to change her career and return to her art roots.

She said: "When I moved to Leeds I had no friends and doing a course was a way of filling time."

Studying at the Leeds College of Art and Design, Ms Mone, 32, completed an ONC level course in jewellery, followed by a course in millinery and an Access course in art and design.

During this time, she continued to work as a nurse in the Haematology Department at St James' Hospital in Leeds to fund her studies.

Now, the mother of two is preparing to begin a degree in art and design in the autumn, while running her own small business, Crowns & Coronets, which supplies jewellery to shops in Leeds.

She said: "In the future I hope to be able to combine both nursing and art - doing Art Therapy or Teaching."