Dr. Seuss, Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy! What?

Been a while since I've posted here.  I have been insanely busy making hats for all the hat-wearing events here in Wilmington, North Carolina, during the Spring.  It has been intense up until now and the orders keep coming in.  Our Azalea Festival, and especially Azalea Garden Party, are the biggest hat-wearing events around here and they are coming up in a couple of weeks.  Add in Easter, Passover, a few horseracing events, including Kentucky Derby and even Ascot, PLUS Garden Party, and you are talking a busy season.

BUT!  I recently attended the opening of the Dr. Seuss Hat exhibit at a local art gallery.  This traveling exhibit (10 cities) is in honor of the 75th anniversary of Seuss' 2nd book, The 500 Hats of Bartharlemew Cubbins; first time these (or any) of his hats have been on display anywhere outside the 'closet' at his home.  His wife, Audrey, chose the exhibited hats from the hundreds in the 'secret' closet in their San Diego home, a closet behind a bookcase with artwork and his collection of hats.  Obviously, the book was based on Seuss' collection of hats, something the public, and even friends, didn't know about until his death. Very mysterious!

Picture taking of the hats was forbidden at the exhibit but there were approximately 25 hats in a customized steamer trunk in which the hats were displayed and will travel from city to city.  There were military hats, feathered creations, a busby, felt hats and more. Just delightful!  Check out the poster below.

So, how, do you ask, are Dr. Seuss, Stephen Jones, and Philip Treacy connected through their ideas about hats?  I'll take some quotes from the exhibit, plus some taken from interviews with Mr. Jones and Mr. Treacy, and I think you will see a connection, albeit from totally different perspectives.


Although Dr. Seuss never specifically spoke of hats (after all they were a secret!), his wife and sister spoke of his  exuberance toward hatwearing.  From the exhibit:  "Dr. Seuss saw hats as transformational in his art work and personal live.  He was aware of their inherent magic. Far beyond their functionality, hats were the accent--the exclamation point--on a person's behaviour.  They could entertain, delight and embellish, even tease and taunt, but most of all, hats helped Dr. Seuss deliver a world of life-changing inspiration."

Compare this to the following quotes taken from interviews from Mr. Jones and Mr. Treacy, about hats and how they transform the wearer. I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting Mr. Jones in Salem, MA, last year, and I hope he approves of the quotes I've taken from his interviews over the years.

Mr. Jones:   "It doesn’t matter whether it is a big thing you do for a fashion show or whether it’s a baseball cap. It has to turn you into somebody. It applies whether you are young or old, a man or a woman—it’s got to have some magic to it."

Mr. Treacy:  "A person carries off the hat. Hats are about emotion. It is all about how it makes you feel. I like hats that make the heart beat faster. "

Mr. Jones:  "Hats are somehow this wonderful dream that you can put on your head. So many people
are scared of a hat, because they don't understand them and because they're not a daily purchase. But when I do put a hat on somebody's head, it sort of changes their life, it's funny. "

Mr. Treacy:  "It (a hat) is an expression of individuality, and we’re becoming more confident and adventurous. Wearing a hat is fun; people have a good time when they’re wearing a hat."

Do those not sound remarkably like what Dr. Seuss said about hats?  I love it.  From totally different perspectives...hats rule individuality!

The first recorded mention of Dr. Seuss' hats was  from his sister, Marnie, in 1937.  In an interview she said, " Ted (Dr. Seuss) has another peculiar hobby--that of collecting hats of every description.  Why, he must have several hundred and he is using them as the foundation of his next book (Bartharlemew Cubbins).  I  have seen him put on an impromptu show for guests using the hats as  costume.  He has
kept a whole party in stitches just by making up a play w/ kitchen knives and spoon for the actors."

I leave you with words from Audrey, Dr. Seuss' wife:  "Believe me, when you get a dozen people seated at a fairly formal dinner party and they've all got on perfectly ridiculous chapeaus, the evening takes care of itself."  Tradition at their home was for each guest to wear a hat at their parties!  Love it!

Wear your hats with style and personality...as would Dr. Seuss, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Treacy.

Dr. Seuss in a feathered beauty...above.

Happy hatting!

2013 Millinery Classes...Workshops...Courses

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday.  Now time to start the new year and look forward to all the promise of a new start for each of us.

Firstly, I'm announcing the 2013 millinery courses, workshops, classes...whatever you want to call them.  Most are weekend classes but some are 4-6 days.  I'll be teaching all over the USA--Atlanta, Washington,DC, San Francisco/Berkeley, San Antonio, and some of the most prestigious art/craft schools in the country.  Hopefully, you will be able to come to a class that suits your needs.  If not please stay-tuned here because.....

I hope to be posting more tutorials this coming year.  Pictorials that will show how to work in straw, buckram, sewn braid, flowermaking, felt, feathers and more!

Thanks for reading and posting your comments throughout the year!

PLEASE NOTE THAT MANY OF THESE CLASSES WILL NOT BE LISTED ON THE VENUE WEBSITES UNTIL CLOSER TO THE DATES OF THE CLASS.  Check with them regularly as some venues fill up the classes within weeks of posting registration.

May 18-19, 2013
Spruill Center For the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30338

Hat Shapes Using Wet Buckram: 
Unique cocktail and fascinator headpiece shapes are the goal for this fashion forward millinery class.  Learn to use buckram, a woven millinery foundation, to wet shape your hat frames. Many hat styles possible and all are student created. Wiring frames and covering with domette are also important parts of the class.  To complete your hats, learn pleating, smocking and ruching  to cover the hat frames in luscious fabrics and also how to make pretty linings. Two hats will be made in class. Individual coaching for all skill levels will be available.

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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June 8-9, 2013
Southwest School of Art, 300 Augusta, San Antonio, TX

Dyeing to Make Hats
Easy to use, non-toxic professional dyes will be used to dye a hood (sleeve/cone) and several lengths of millinery straw yardage: sinamay, jinsin, paris cloth, silk straw and/or raffia cloth.  Techniques include gradient dyeing, vat dyeing, painting/stamping, and free-form (tie-dye) dyeing.  Make your straws unique in color, shading, design!  Time permitting we will create one free-form styled hat from the straw.

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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June 22-23, 2013
Jacksonville Center for the Arts,
220 Parkway Lane South, Suite 1, Floyd, Virginia, 24091

Hatmaking: Blocking Straws and Felts
Interested in creating beautiful big brimmed straw hats for Summer and close fitting felt cloches for Winter? This fun-filled class allows you to use traditional millinery hatblocks, in varying shapes, to steam block straws and felts into fabulous hats.  Learn about different kinds of straw and felt, blocking techniques, adding petersham headsize ribbon, wiring brim edges, and some pretty embellishment techniques.  This class is all about old-world millinery techniques not embellishing pre-made hats.  Anyone from complete beginners to more experienced hatmakers can learn from this class. Very basic sewing skills recommended.

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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July 12-13, 2013
Judith M. Millinery Supplies, 104 S Detroit St, La Grange, IN 46761

French Flowermaking:
French flowermaking is an age-old process of creating beautiful flowers from specialized tools and rich fabrics. Each heated tool is used to shape fabric petals, leaves, and stems, as well as the textures associated with each flower part. Learn the secrets to prepping and stabilizing fabrics, cutting, shaping and assembly of each petal and part. In this class you will be making 2-3 flowers using the radius head, rattail, spoon, hammer, and knife. Patterns for 3 flowers, stamens and wire will be used along with natural fabric choices--silk, cotton, linen, rayon, bamboo, and lightweight woolen--to create your flowers.

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline Street Berkeley, CA 94703

July 24-25, 2013
Shaded French Flowers:
Interested in creating more natural looking flowers for your hats or home decor?  Learn not only two methods of creating beautiful hand-made flowers using heated flowermaking tools, but learn tips and techniques for shading, granulation, and mark making.  You will learn how to use the various heated tools to create petals full of curls and veining, but also how to add further realism to the flowers by adding color and shading for beauty and depth of perception.  Two assembly techniques will offer you choices on entirely different types of flower backs, important in how they are used on hats, garments and home decor. Patterns for flowers included in class materials--rose and camilla.

REGISTER HERE for Shaded French Flowers (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

July 26-27 , 2013
Buckram Hats — Pre-Formed and Wet-Shaped:
Create two fabric covered hats using techniques for working with a millinery foundation material--buckram.  Learn not only the different types of buckram available, but about pre-formed shapes/frames as well.  One hat will be created from a selection of commercially available pre-formed shames; additionally you will design your own hat frame using the wet-shaping method.  Learn to cut designs, wire the shapes, cover with domette, and ultimately several fabric manipulation techniques to beautifully and uniquely cover your hat frames. Linings will also be demonstrated. Both hats will be small cocktail or fascinator type hats, but bigger shapes (and the differences in covering with fabrics) will be discussed in class.

REGISTER HERE for Buckram Hats (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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September 14-15, 2013
The Art League School/Torpedo Factory
105 North Union Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Block Party — Open Studio Hat Blocking
Beginning through advanced milliners will enjoy this class of blocking straws and felts over traditional hat blocks. The Studio will make available over a dozen new and vintage hat blocks to use over the weekend. Beginners will learn the very basics of steam blocking and more advanced students have an opportunity to block as many hats as they like over the more complex hat blocks. Each will progress at their own comfort level. Learn about the blocking differences in felts, straws and other millinery mediums; puzzle blocks; shaping and couture finishing techniques for incredible hats. Many hat styles. Individual coaching for all skill levels will be available.

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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September 22-28, 2013
Arrowmont School for Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Hats, Textiles, Straws to Dye For
Immerse yourself into a weeklong study of millinery techniques, surface design/fabric manipulation, and multiple methods of dying straw for hats.  Firstly, learn to dye natural straw millinery forms and yardage, add some fabric manipulation (slashing, overlaying, dissolving, etc.) to create rich textiles for embellishment, and finally learn some old-world steaming, blocking, and free-form millinery techniques to create a number of unique hats.  A rare combination of skills that beginner to advanced milliners and surface design students will appreciate.  Many styles of hats, many embellishment options, and m,any colors and hues will be combined for beautiful, even quirky resulting headpieces.  Fun and inventive!

REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).

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October 19-20, 2013
Spruill Center For the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30338

To be Announced...

Flowermaking Book for Purchase!

Something new for this blog post.  I'm unashamedly selling something here. Yikes! Yes, and for those of you who have either been in my flowermaking classes before or those of you who have watched on from the numerous posts I've made over the years about this fully gratifying skill...you are in luck.  THERE'S A NEW FLOWERMAKING BOOK ON THE BOOKSHELVES.  To my knowledge there isn't another book like this now in print. 

A little over a year ago I taught a flowermaking class at Lacis in Berkeley, CA.  That first post is here.  Shortly after that...and I do mean shortly...as in a couple of weeks, I was contacted by an American publisher who had seen the post and was looking for a Technical Editor to help with a flowermaking book that was written and published in Mandarin Chinese.  Was I interested in the job?  Um, like, yeah!

Interestingly enough, I had just bought that book from Lacis, thinking I could just look at the pictures, use the patterns and create beautiful flowers sort of by default.  After all, I've been making and teaching flowermaking for years.  Sheesh, was I in for a rude awakening!

Back cover of the book in the picture below.

My little claim to fame in the picture below.

The photography in the book is very nice.  Close-ups of the flowers, many times showing them in various fabrics and patterns to show the range of looks for any particular flower.

Thirty-two flowers are included in the book.  There were more in the original but some were rather redundant or just not deemed worthy for the English version.  The editors did change the names of the flowers as some of the names in Mandarin were rather lofty in description with no identification--names that sounded more like haiku than flower names.

Each flower in the book is shown in three different sections--the beautifully photographed finished piece, then again in the instruction section, and again at the back of the book where the patterns for each flower are.

I can tell you, from a technical editor's perspective, it was HARD to take the 'translation' from Mandarin into English and try to make it understandable, readable, and true to exactly what the author was trying to convey.  I was not allowed to change anything substantive about the book, but was allowed to make clarifications and suggestions as to how the creative process could be accomplished using fabrics, supplies and tools available in other parts of the world. Glues and fabric preparation were the biggest differences and offered many challenges.  It sometimes took me as long a two hours (yes, two!) to read, understand, and then write my version of the 'translation' for a particular flower. Sounds easy--wasn't.

So as I said earlier in this post, I thought I'd just be able to look at the pictures and figure things out...I was so wrong!  Prep, pattern, cutting, and even assembly were much different than what the pictures show.

Who wants to purchase a flowermaking book?  I do have books on-hand and will be able to ship within the United States, the UK, Australia and Canada. (If you live in other parts of the world, please let me know and we will see about shipping options.) There may still be some shipping bugs to work out, so bear with me.  This is the first thing I've sold online through PayPal.  Click here to order the book from my website!

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones...Boston

On Saturday, September 8, 2012, I was lucky enough to attend the opening day festivities of Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones!  This is the final stop on a world-wide trip this exhibit has taken over the last few years--starting at the Victoria & Albert in London, then Brisbane, Australia, then New York City, and finally to Boston, Massachusetts (actually Salem) and the Peabody Essex Museum. The PEM is the oldest continuously operating museum in the USA.

To say I was excited about seeing this exhibit would be an understatement!  My friend and fellow milliner Janet, from Philadelphia, met me there.  We anticipated a whole day of millinery bliss.  We were not disappointed.

 I left the airport and had the taxi drop me at the waterfront in Boston.  I'd heard taking the ferry up to Salem was a great way to see some of the skyline, harbor, and beautiful sailboats.

A beautiful day for a ferry ride up to Salem (yes, Salem as in witch trials)!  Fall air, sunshine, water, history, boats!

Janet and I arrived at the PEM early on Saturday, just after opening.  Guess what!  As we were just about to enter the museum Janet said, 'There he is!'  We turned and Mr. Jones himself was just getting out of his taxi.  I'm basically a pretty shy person but I was determined to meet him and this might be my only chance of the day.  We walked over and introduced ourselves and he was exceptionally nice and friendly.  We had a nice little discussion about his support of wildlife (as is Janet), his lavender patent leather shoes (!), and our excitement to be at the exhibit. I could have left right then and the trip would have been worth the cost to get there. 

First event of the day was an interactive discussion by Boston's top milliner, Marie Galvin of Galvinized Headwear.  I'd never met Marie but have been aware of her contributions to the millinery world for quite a few years.  The crowd loved her as she had audience members come up on stage and she tried different shapes and styles of hats on them to give them different perspectives on how to wear a hat.

Marie had contacted me before I got to Boston hoping we'd be able to sit and chat a bit.  We did get a chance to meet but didn't have much time to sit and chat as there was so much to do that day.   I told her how much I enjoyed her presentation and all the tips, challenges, and thrills she mentioned about owning a millinery shop.  Owning a millinery shop myself, I SO related to her entertaining stories.

Next up?  A Conversation with Stephen Jones.  This sold out presentation by Mr. Jones, the V&A's curator of fashion, and the curator of the PEM's collection, was very enlightening as they discussed how the exhibit started, how some of the hats were added to the mix, Mr. Jones' first hat (great story), and how fashion itself is now regarded as more museum-worthy.  I thoroughly enjoyed this 'conversation'...except for the very annoying woman in the audience who thought the Q&A part of the event was all about her.  But I won't go into that!

Above...check out the patent leather lavender shoes!!!  Love!!!!

 Got a chance to have Stephen Jones sign my copy of Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones, which I bought when the exhibit first opened in London.

 Here I'm asking him what he thinks about some of the newer or less traditional millinery materials like plastics and wood-shaving.  Of course, his 'Wash and Wear' hat is quite an SJ icon, and was included in the exhibit.

 Because his first hat had spray-painted plastic flowers on it (yes!), we had a little laugh about using plastic in/on hats.

 Some of my favorite hats of the 250+  in the exhibit?  (Sorry I can't show pictures as photography was not allowed in the exhibit...although that didn't stop one woman from thinking the rules didn't apply to her, and had the nerve to post on a popular social media site.)  Favorites:  Striking (a hat of struck wooden matches) by Stephen Jones, the Schiaparelli 'Shoe' hat, a Caroline Reboux tricorn feather hat, Rose Royce by Stephen Jones, and so many more I can't describe.  If you get the chance to go to Boston/Salem, DO IT!  See for yourself the wide range of what millinery can be.  You will not be disappointed!

Til next time!

Felt and Straw Blocking; Puzzle Blocks, Vintage Blocks, etc

Atlanta, Georgia!  I teach here, at the Spruill Arts Center, about twice a year.  This Fall I taught a class that is relatively new.  It was Open Studio Blocking:  Straw and Felt.  The premise is that I bring a whole bunch of blocks--new, vintage, puzzle, odd, interesting, unique, fabulous! Each person blocks as many hats as they can over the blocks OR they learn the basics of blocking in a broad atmosphere of other, more experienced milliners. This class was divided into two groups, a group that is very comfortable with blocking millinery materials...and a group that has little to no blocking experience.

I'm always intrigued by these buildings in the area of northern Atlanta where I teach--Perimeter Center.  These high-rise office buildings have what I think of as wonderful wire frame construction tops!  The first time I taught wire frames in Atlanta I stayed at the hotel next to these buildings. I was back at the hotel this time and caught them at sunrise.

I loaded up my car and took about 35 hatblocks for class.  That's a big load...and heavy!  But I wanted a huge array of hatblocks for everyone to choose from.

More blocks!  These are mostly crown and whole-hat blocks.

I had 6 ladies who had never blocked before.  We did a comprehensive study on capelines--blocking, sizing, cutting crown from brim (and why!), re-attaching crown and brim (plus the specialty stitching), adding petersham, adding wire, and some other skills and techniques too.

'Olive and Jane' working on some beautiful parisisal capelines.  Great work, ladies!

Long-time students, Judy and Diane block block block block block!  Gorgeous royal blue fur felt capeline Diane is working on! I had 4 students who blocked an incredible amount of hats over 2 days...to be finished at home.  This was about taking advantage of the many blocks available for the weekend.  And they did!

Andre works on one of MANY hats he blocked over the weekend.  Most of the experienced blockers blocked on average 6 hats.  They were only interested in using the blocks over the weekend, as they know all the finishing and embellishing techniques from past classes.

Love the colors, love the styles!

 I'll be teaching this class again next year, somewhere around the country.  I think new and experienced milliners liked the opportunity to use blocks they may have never purchased or used if not for class.  Looking forward to seeing what others do with these blocks.

Happy hatting and I'll see you real soon for another post on my blog!

Buckram, Surface Design, and French Flowers--JCCFS, 2012

For the past three years I have been fortunate enough to be asked to teach a 'Unique Offerings' class at John C. Campbell Folk School in the Appalachian region of North Carolina.  The motto of the school is 'Sing Behind the Plow' and the logo is the plow team you see above.  This metal piece I found tacked to the entrance to one of the many craft discipline studios on this beautiful 300 acres campus.

There is a very rich history to the Folk School, named after Olive Campbell's husband.  The Campbells were enamored with the rich society mountain folk lived in and documented and cataloged that society for many years.  The School is a culmination of that effort, founded by Olive Campbell and Marguerite Butler.

Gorgeous vistas all around this campus.

This year I taught a week-long class and then a weekend class.  Week-long classes start on a Sunday night and end at lunch on Friday.  Weekend classes start on a Friday night and end on Sunday at lunch.  It made for a full week of great classes, fun people, new experiences and some fabulous work from my students.

The first class was entitled Hats and the Fabrics That Love Them (Buckram and Surface Design).  Yes, that is a mouthful! The class was designed to incorporate three different ways to make a buckram frame hat, and then (the really fun part) to create your own textiles from a fabric stash, using a number of surface design techniques. 

Surface design techniques included, pleating, slashing, dissolving, overlaying, embossing, and more.  In the photo below you see a few samples and a covered buckram form without the rich textile covering as yet.  Each student was required to make at least 4 textile samples to take home with them.  They could choose whatever technique they wanted to cover their buckram hats.

Below, Cat works hard on her buckram pillbox.  Three buckram hats were made:  one was a pre-formed shape from a millinery supplier, another was a self-created dry buckram pillbox, and the other was a wet-shaped buckram form of the student's own design.

Beverly working on her pillbox.  Beverly is a committed hat-wearer and wore one each day to class.

As we progressed through the week we also progressed in difficulty of technique.  Pictures of the shapes from the wet-shaping part of the class and the most difficult of the three buckram techniques.

Marilyn gets silly!

 At the closing ceremony each week-long class displays the work they have created during their study.  I wish I had better pictures of all the work tmy class did.  Unfortunately, I only had my phone camera.  My bad.  But each student displayed some of their sample textile pieces and at least one of their hats, most displayed two and WORE one!  When it was time for me, as the instructor, to introduce our work to all the other students from the week, ALL my students paraded to the front of the auditorium so that everyone could really appreciate the WEARING of the hats!  And everyone loved it!!

Before I get into the French Flowermaking portion of my time at the Folk School I'll show you a few more pieces of the magnificent JCCFS puzzle.  These photos are from displays in the History Museum on campus, to further explain this magical place.  Read the short bio of John C. Campbell below.

John C. Campbell

Olive Campbell and Marguerite Butler.

A few more photos of sites around campus.  You walk almost everywhere on campus and all these lovely little vistas appear out of nowhere.

On to the weekend class!  French Flowermaking.  On Friday night we all processed our fabrics so that we would be ready with dry fabrics the next morning.  Weekends are very full classes here!  Because they are very drippy after the processing, we hung them out to dry under a covered area in front of the Fiber Arts Building on make-shift clotheslines.  When I went by to check on them early the next morning, the whole area was covered in fog.  Makes for a beautiful and eery photo.

Enjoy the lovely flowers made during the class from many different fabrics--silks, linens, cottons; sheers, opaques, velvets, velveteens.  Each student made two flowers--a large rose and a peony.

Many fiber arts are offered by the school over the course of a year.  If you are interested in finding out more about the school and the many other offering throughout the year, click here.  You will not be disappointed!