Woofstock 2011

Once again the doggies descended in droves upon Front Street last Saturday for Woofstock 2011. Established in 2003, it's like a kind of Ex for pooches and the people who love them. People bring their dogs who may be all dressed up, or au naturel (the dogs, not the people; clothing remained mandatory for humans) to meet and greet, mix and mingle, and do things dogs and people like to do together. You could even have your dog's DNA tested! It's an extremely adorable event. Scott and I loves us some pooches, so we have a lovely time kissing and patting and squealing with glee.

One of my recent customers came by to tell me how much he likes his cap, and of the good comments he's had in it. Always a pleasure to hear some positive feedback!

The weather very kindly co-operated, which was a huge relief after last week's deluge.

And Woofstock gives us lots of extra photo ops! Here's this week's album:

Dorothy stopped by for a little dress-up.













Many have played with this colourful creation, but Helen is the one who made it hers.








Dorothy selected one of my new sinamay and feather fascinators to wear to a wedding.

(Interesting coincidence: One of my favourite relatives was my Aunt Helen, whose middle name was Dorothy. How amazing is that??)




Isabella was dancing to the klezmer band with help from her dad, Adam.












This fountain was a very popular hub for the pups. Much diving and chasing of Frisbees and balls ensued.





A rare sighting of a dog in sandals. Nicely co-ordinated with her sundress, as you see.








Luke. What a lovely boy. I grew up with a series of Great Danes, and I love them. It's so great that these days these big beauties are allowed to wear their ears unmutilated by cropping.

Some local colour:

In Honour of My 100th Post, Presenting... Eliza!

I had just finished this hat when I noticed that I have now made 100 posts to this blog. It seems apropos to honour that occasion with the reveal of "Eliza." She's a good girl, she is, and she's adorned by an English rose. David Dunkley brought me a spray of them when he was studying in London a while ago. This is the hat that inspired me to finally utilize one of them. I think they deserve each other. What do you think?

Duck Weather

It was bound to happen one of these days, and today was the day. Scott and I got to the Market and it started to rain. And it wouldn't stop. It rained and rained and rained and rained. We don't have sides on the tent the Market provides, so we got quite damp. It got so dark the street lights came on. Needless to say, the few people who scurried by were much too wet to stop to browse the crafts. We hung around for half the day, trapped by the weather, until our will to live began to recede and we decided to call it a day.

So we packed up our damp selves, damp hats, damp almost everything, packed it in the car and went to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, playing at the cinema next door. It was just the thing to cheer us up. Of course, when we emerged afterwards the sun was out and so were the people. There was no point in setting up the hat display again, because the hats were still wettish. Who would want to try on a wettish hat? The few brave vendor souls who stuck it out (I'm lookin' at you, Maria and Marjorie) won the day. My hats off to you guys! All my hats.

Offloading water from the tent roof with a broom. This nice man came around often.














So no one got to see my pretty new slouch cloche in silver and white. Next week will be sunny and dry, right???

Market Fluctuations

We were back at St. Lawrence Market for this last Saturday in May. The weather didn't know what it wanted to do, so it did it all: cloudy and cool, sunny and warm. It never actually rained on us, for which we are truly grateful. It pays to dress in layers. It also pays to bring a chamois to dry off one's sodden table prior to setting it up, or to have friends who will lend you theirs. (Thanks, Lena!)

Karina kindly paused to pose.









Faye, Linda and their mum Doreen Dohoo. Faye, from Detroit, is modeling her new equestrian cap with zipper trim that looks so great with her top. Linda is in her new hairband that looks so great with her colouring.








James busting a move to promote O.I.P. Dance Centre.








When I saw what my fellow vendor Gloria had on today, I asked her to model this hat.









Many have admired the safety pin trim on this grey linen striped bucket hat, but Kate is the one who made it hers. I think they'll be very happy together.

Henriette and Anne Visit My Home Showroom

Last Christmas, Anne (another one) and her siblings wanted to give their mother, Henriette, something special. As Henriette is a longtime hat lover, a gift certificate from a milliner was a natural choice.

Just today Anne brought her very stylish mother to my home showroom. Another room reveal, another "Wow!" (My favourite one-syllable word.) We were all prepared for measurements and custom order taking, but no! Henriette found a couple of ready-made hats she liked very much that fit her needs for everyday, plus one a that's little fancier. She looks fabulous in both of them, and I am honoured to dress that elegant head!

Henriette models the black and white checked hat she eventually chooses, while Anne takes her picture. The hat reminded them of the decor of a room in their family's past, which Anne's siblings are expected to "get" once they see it.

I neglected to snap Henriette modeling her new Trilby. (If I'm really lucky, maybe she or Anne will send me such a photo???)




Trying on a grey linen striped bucket with safety pin trim











Checking Anne's photos











Playing dress-up in "Mean Mr. Mustard"









Anne playing dress-up in my sinamay fascinator. Her shirt demanded she try it on.

Absence Alert

Please note that I will not be at the Market on Saturday, May 21. I will be out of town at a memorial service for a member of my family. See you (weather permitting) on Saturday, May 28.

Hats 1, Weather 0

Well, the hats have always won, as far as I'm concerned. (Yes, I am a word nerd and can't resist a pun.)

It was supposed to rain all weekend. But when we woke up Saturday morning, there was no rain. There was gloom, and damp ground, but no precipitation was at that moment precipitating. Just anticipation of precipitation.

The rule chez nous about such occasions is we simply take the hats to Market and hope for the best. So this is what we did, and a kind universe rewarded us with a relatively dry and warm outing.

Not much foot traffic, however. It was very foggy and gloomy, if not actually rainy, and most people seemed to have chosen to stay in. Which is really their loss, because today, Sunday, is way wetter and colder.

Only one photo this week: Hailey, who was in town to compete in a hockey tournament. A jock, and a fashionista! Well-balanced child. Doesn't she look excellent in her sunny new hat?

To Market, To Market

It's May, so that means I'm back selling my hats outside St. Lawrence Market on Saturdays. Last Saturday was our first day of the season. It's a little like the first day of school -- greeting returning vendor friends, meeting new ones and locating your position. Mine is practically the same as last year's - one tent closer to Front Street. (The tents are cheek-by-jowl close, so you probably won't be able to tell.)

The weather was quite nice, which is such a psychological boost to start the season with. Some cloud and coolness, but mostly sunny and warm.

We really lucked into our tent neighbours for the season. To our right is Lena Saunders, a jewelry maker and a peach, one of the first friends I made here, and on our left is Derek Ryles, who sells lavender products from his own farm in Prince Edward County. In a fabulous coincidence, he also happens to be a dear old friend of Scott's brother! It's looking like it will be a very happy summer.

So come on down and see us, and try on a hat while you're here! We'll be on the north side of Front Street, just west of Jarvis, between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. (maybe later) on Saturdays from now until the end of September, weather permitting. And if I know in advance of any changes to that schedule, I'll post them her on my blog. Don't hesitate to email me, if you're planning to come. Not necessary, but always a pleasure to hear from you!

Now, on with the show!

Catherine is the very first person to try on my new equestrian-styled cap, and doesn't she just rock it? Why yes, she does.









Mayu and Haolin looking adorable in straw hats.












Kathy and Carla playing dress-up.






Debbie's taking her new hat to live in Michigan.












Melissa was taken by the undulating sequin trim weaving in and out of the folded grosgrain ribbon on her new slouch cloche. I called it "Nessie". It was a happy design accident and I'll be making more. Just not exactly the same. Every hat I make is one of a kind.

Harry and Edith

Still feeling that Royal Wedding afterglow. Herewith a family photo with a royal touch.

Harry and Edith Pollard were my mum's aunt and uncle. Here they are in front of Buckingham Palace, circa 1970-ish. They had been invited for a Royal Garden Party, in Uncle Harry's capacity as mayor for the wee village of Carleton near Skipton in York, in the north of England. Of course Aunt Edith is wearing a hat.

Edith was a costumer for a community theatre company. I've blogged about her before. I really think my interest in millinery and other textile arts is at least partly genetic. It totally runs in my family.

Edith and Harry were absolute pussycats, and here they are in London to visit the Queen!

In Good Company

Andrea Case of CTV came by yesterday to interview David Dunkley, my part-time boss. He's been very busy lately, with the attention his Royal Wedding collection has been receiving.

Here's a souvenir photo of the three of us.

Ta-Da! My New Home Showroom Springs Forth!*

*or What I Did This Winter (with lots of help)

What to do with a growing client list and an unnecessary spare bedroom? Repurpose the bedroom into a showroom!

That's what I decided to do, and luckily for me, the indispensable Scott let me do it. (It's his house.) Not only let me, but helped me immeasurably and, of course, indispensably.

The first hurdle was the vision. After staring at the room in its un-renovated condition for way too long, I realized I was much too close to the trees to see the forest, so to speak. Enter Barbara Quinn of Breathe360, stylist extraordinaire. She came, she saw, she figured it out. It was awe-inspiring to watch her scan the room and envision what would go where, and in such detail. We had a plan and we started to work it.

I collected four bookcases over some months through Craig's List and Kijiji to display my hats and store fabric and other supplies. For my birthday last year, Scott's present for me was a beautiful antique wardrobe, for more storage. The lovely quarter-sawn oak desk and my grandma's oak table were already in place. Scott painted the walls a cheerful, soft yellow, painted the bookcases white, created cabinets in the bottoms of the bookcases and hung pictures. I made curtains, slipcovers and an inspiration board, and we both made oodles of hat stands with leftover MDF from the cabinet doors, dowel and styrofoam balls.

Once the paint was done the energy changed dramatically. It's the sunniest room upstairs, and the yellow paint makes my heart sing. I now work in here, too, and tidy up for clients' appointments.

My liking it was all very well and good, but what would my clients think? "Oh, wow!" was the first impression of the new showroom's first visitor. Phew!

Okay, enough with the talk. On with the photos!

This is the first impression from the hallway.



















This is the room before we got busy.







Hats much?












Handy to have this aptly-coloured and sized framed print waiting to be put to use.












I love my cabinets. I thought them up, and the wonderful Neil at Rona told us how to make them. Neil is awesome.

Sewing projects: curtains and window seat cover, with cutout for windowsill. Hooray for spring-tension curtains rods!

I really am a milliner, see?











The very beautiful wardrobe Scott gave me, now a storage cabinet. Inside there is a wee Ikea shelving unit stained to match. This gives me the storage I needed without having to drill holes to hang shelves, which would have been a crime in such a gorgeous piece.






My new inspiration board, with lots of family souvenirs. I'm feeling my British roots, leading up to the royal wedding.











And so farewell!

So it works! I have a pretty, functional room in my home in Toronto's Beach neighbourhood to which to welcome my clients. When can I expect to see you??

Contact me for your appointment!

Thimble

David Dunkley's been to London and brought me back a particularly apt Royal Wedding souvenir, purchased, most appropriately, in a shop behind Buckingham Palace. It joins a roster of other royal souvenirs, such as a Charles & Diana tea towel and a mug and plate commemorating the Queen's coronation.

So this is what I'll be wearing as I try to stay awake in the wee small hours for the big event April 29. Because a fascinator might get mooshed against my pillows.

Things That Have Been Springing Up Chez Moi

Mushrooms?

Hat stands!