Ilona Sciberras

Ilona has worked in the Australian fashion industry for more than 20 years, mainly as a pattern maker par excellence. In that time, she has accumulated a thorough knowledge of all the production processes involved in creating fashion, from casual wear and denim manufacturing to tailoring and couture. Ilona’s resume also includes an 18-month stint in the costume department of the Koblenz City Theatre in Germany, where she worked on various productions and was able to learn the creative aspects of theatre design.
Ilona has been teaching at Sydney Community College since 2011 and was responsible for the course development of Sewing Essentials, Sewing Extension and Patternmaking Essentials and feels privileged to be able to share her knowledge and skills with all the amazing, wonderful, and enthusiastic students she meets in her classes. She feels fortunate to have been able to combine her passion for education and fashion and turn it into a stellar career.

Qualifications

• Certificate in Fashion Technology (Newcastle TAFE)
• Cert. IV in Training and Assessment
• Currently studying a Bachelor of Education through Swinburne Online

Achievements

Ilona has built up her own dressmaking and design business, and also sells a range of exquisite children's formal dresses. In addition, she freelances her expertise and services to other fashion companies and designers. Ilona's greatest thrill is seeing her clients ecstatic about wearing one of her beautiful suits or a gorgeous dress they have always dreamed of.

Teaching style

Ilona acknowledges that sewing can be a challenging, even frustrating new skill to learn, and so has made it her mission to pass on her knowledge and expertise in a way that is fun and enjoyable for her students. Her lessons are structured to be easy to follow and she accepts that learning is an individual process where no two people will learn the same way. In her classes, Ilona uses a range of resources and strategies to help her students reach their learning goals and is mindful of the varying needs of the class.

Something unique

Ilona chiselled off her very own piece of the historical Berlin Wall when it was brought down by liberation-hungry protestors more than 20 years ago.