Edward Seychell is an upholsterer for 11 months of the year, producing anything from car seat covers to punching bags from his cluttered and chaotic hole in the wall in Merchants Street, Valletta.

But every year, around carnival, he lets his creativity run wild and puts his tailor talents to another test: sewing an elaborate costume for his five-year-old nephew.

Emerging resplendent out of strips of leather, reels of thread and piles of fabric, is the intricate outfit of a Venetian prince, complete with mask and hat, which Mr Seychell has moulded from scratch.

Rising from his sewing machine in the corner of the room, he explains the technique behind the red, velvet, gold-trimmed cap. To get the perfect round shape of the head, he covered a balloon with glue and paper - papier-mâché - and then used foam and other fabrics for the rest.

He may be a busy man but, two weeks before carnival, he stops the run-of-the-mill jobs to design the costume of the year. And he'll keep doing it until his second nephew grows out of the fun fancy dress.

"I hope to have another by then," he says.

Carnival is an opportunity for Mr Seychell to give vent to his artistic flair and he would consider giving up his regular job for this, particularly if it were to work in movies, which he has already had a taste of.

Carnival floats and costumes are also a form of art, he maintains, bitterly pointing out that the only artists recognised in Malta are those that put paint on canvas!