Despite the recession, a party mask company has seen its business double in the last year. Could it be down to the growing popularity of masquerade events, or their own celebrity customer? RIAH MATTHEWS finds out more

WHEN mask designer Samantha Peach flicked through OK! Magazine to look at Colleen and Wayne Rooney's wedding, she had the shock of her life – it was her products that were being worn by the celebrity guests.

"It was my mum who told me to get the magazine" said Samantha. "She said there would probably be a surge on masquerade weddings now Colleen had done it.

"I thought I'd have a quick look and to see what the masks were like.

"When I saw them I thought, they're not just masquerade masks – they're OUR masquerade masks! I was absolutely amazed."

The £1.5m OK! Magazine pictures showcased Samantha's masks perfectly and Colleen Rooney is seen proudly wearing her sparkly creation at the silver and white masquerade ball the couple had at their evening wedding reception.

A few months before, Samantha had received a mysterious order from an events company who ordered 60 white and silver masks.

"A lady phoned up and I was actually quite off-putting because I was nine months pregnant and could have gone into labour any second. Luckily she persisted and my husband sorted it out and sent off the order. I didn't think anything more about it," said Samantha.

Since unwittingly providing the masks for one of the most high-profile weddings of 2008, Samantha's business has expanded from just her and her husband operating from the attic of their Mapperley home, to a large studio in Roden House, Sneinton with two employees.

The couple's masks have been used at other big events since the Rooney wedding. Most recently, the dancers at the re-launch of Gatecrasher in Nottingham wore Samantha Peach masks for the burlesque-themed evening.

Fashion-lover Samantha initially started a business selling vintage clothing, but four years ago she stumbled across masquerade masks at a trade fair.

She started selling the masks online and then moved on to designing and making her own masks, which now make up most of her collection.

The daughter of a BBC wardrobe mistress, Samantha is naturally creative and husband Martin is in charge of what he calls the "boring stuff".

Samantha said: "Martin does the financial side of things and keeps me in control! He's the voice of reason and tells me not to spend every single penny on nice, beaded things."

Their studio is filled with lovely oddments, such as beaded butterflies, reams of lace, corsages and, of course, the masks – which come in an amazing array of designs and colours.

Samantha's masks are designed and made in the Sneinton studio and she takes pride in stitching Made in England inside each mask.

Having spent four years making the masks, Samantha can now afford the luxury of hiring recent Nottingham Trent textile graduate Beth Shipley to painstakingly piece together the designs. She also hired Lola Paxton to do photography and market the company.

Their best-selling mask is the black fascinator, which is modestly decorated with a single black rose and feathers. For the more adventurous, there are masks adorned with tall, peacock-style feathers and others in a flamboyant gold with red trim. The plainer masks sell for around £9.99, while the more extravagant designs cost £30.

After the success of the white and silver masks chosen for Colleen's wedding, the couple are branching out into a more luxurious range aimed at the wedding market.

Samantha believes there is a masquerade mask for almost any occasion.

"We get 16th birthdays, 21st birthdays, as well as loads of graduation and forces balls," said Samantha.

"They work for anything really."

The couple sold 4,800 masks last year and predict they'll sell twice as many through 2009. They are particularly busy at the moment, gearing themselves up for the Christmas and New Year party season.

"Next year we'd really like to do some designs for Pride festivals as we've never really pushed that market yet," added Samantha.

Samantha also has predictions about which male mask could be her 2010 bestseller:

"We're getting a mask in from Venice. It's in the advert for Heath Ledger's last film – it's called a Zanni mask. It's an authentic Venetian design going back centuries – it's actually a really creepy mask."

riah.matthews@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk