At the age of six Jilli remembers being in a cold dining room in her grandmother’s house and being fascinated by the sight of a table covered in decorative feathers, hats and hat blocks.  This early attraction led to her studying at Glasgow School of Art where she specialised in embroidered and woven textiles.

Since graduating in 1986 she has become renowned for her ‘slash and show’ technique where she combines texture, colour and design. 

Discussing her work she says “Textiles are generally seen as having a utilitarian function.  Clothes, carpets, curtains, bed linen and cushions are created to fulfil necessary functions.  I, however, see textiles as being the raw material by which works of art are created.  Each type of fabric is unique in the way it absorbs and reflects light, cuts and hangs, looks and feels.  Each material has a beauty and personality of its own.  The combination of various materials can produce an amazing and sensuous cacophony of shapes, colours, textures and lustres, which may create a work of art as vivid and expressive as any painting.

"In my work everything is by hand.  I dye materials, cut them so as to bring out the individuality of the various ragged edges, combine different materials and sew them together in layers in order to create a work of art, be it a hat, a dress, a handbag, a curtain a cushion or a bedspread.  I design and create individual pieces of all kinds that, as well as fulfilling their utilitarian function, are there to be looked at and which challenge the viewer’s perceptions of the function of the fabric.   In each of my works I try and show both the intrinsic beauty of the materials and my own artistic vision.”

She completed a major installation for the reception at St Andrew’s House for the Scottish Executive in 2002, her creation the Millennium kilt was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and she exhibited in 'The Best of British Design' at the Conran Shop in Tokyo, Japan.

In June 2005 Jilli held an exhibition of new work, ‘Art to Wear’ kimono collection, at the Julie Artisans’ gallery in Madison Avenue in New York. 

She is currently working on a number of new commissions, one of which is for a healthcare centre in south east Belfast that will be ready for installation in October 2005 and is titled ‘Imbue+Illume=Zest’.

Her wallhanging ‘Revolve’ was recently bought by the National Museums of Scotland and it is currently included in a display of new acquisitions in the Crafts Gallery.