Ali trained in theatre design in Edinburgh and Croydon a very long time ago. Since then she has designed, devised, made, facilitated and taught all over the UK. She started her career in London, then was resident designer with the Belgrade Theatre in Education Company and designed several community plays in venues from East End derelict churches to Scottish border stately homes. In 2003 she returned to Scotland to set up the costume design degree at Queen Margaret University. Since then she has made shows in a Chinese motorised rickshaw, a planetarium, a pub garden and a teapot, and has worked with numerous companies including Scottish Opera, Grid Iron, David Leddy/Fire Exit, Nutshell, Licketyspit and Dogstar for which she designed the fringe first winning show, The Tailor of Inverness. She has recently designed Romeo and Juliet, the opening show for the new Cumbernauld Theatre.                  

In her spare time Ali does yoga and 3D embroidery. She lives by the sea in Kinghorn with her husband, a dog and 120 teapots.