A La Carte

Before and after.

My new gig at St. Lawrence Market, north side, in front of the fountain. I'll be here every Friday in August. Unless there's a monsoon. I also hope to be there many Saturdays while the weather holds. Same side, just a bit further back from Front Street.

Please come by. And buy. Or at least say hi.

Name That Source of Inspiration

Does my new black straw braid pagoda hat remind you of anything you may have seen before?

Les Vaches Qui Skient

A fabric print darn near impossible not to love. If you're me, anyway.

Flora and Fauna

My first full piece in sinamay, a fascinator with leaves, flowers and a rather personable bug. It's held on by a comb.

Flora-Dora!

For shy, retiring sorts.

Resident Installation Artist

I'm not the only one who's into creative modes of expression at my house. Oh my no. For instance, we have Chuck, who has been working on an installation piece for several months now. I suspect the completion day is nigh. Submit your bids.

He's heavily into deconstructionism as a form of social protest. Or maybe it's just monkey-wrenching. We won't get into how his colleague Audrey goes about it.

The piece is entitled, "You said you'd feed me as soon as that last seam was done..."

Happy Summer!

How very thrilling that the first day of summer is actually summery! In honour of the occasion, here's a wide brimmed linen hat with a floppy boho touch.

And Happy Father's Day to all you papas out there.

That's A Wrap

At the moment I'm in love with colours that remind me of dried mud. They make accent colours really pop. Viz this one.

It's Official!

Look! I'm a Milliner!

Isn't it pretty?

Fresh Offerings

Another spring bucket, in periwinkle linen with a braided grosgrain band.

Old Stuff

Well, it's new to me. And probably to you, too. See the pretty vintage straw pagoda hat I bought today!

New Stuff

You've been very patient with me, so here's your reward:
A New Spring Hat!

News

Some new photos of hats in the right-hand margin with new information and a new masthead, subtle though its newness is. Can you spot what it is?? Let me know!

I'm Still Here!

...and I'm still making hats. Currently I'm approaching the end of Theatrical Millinery, the final course requirement for my millinery certificate. The course began in January. Many friends from the first two courses in the class, and some wonderfully talented new faces. Including our teacher, Amanda Farquharson, who worked in the millinery department at the Stratford Festival (all bow down and worship). Amanda has bravely stepped into the breach created by the departure of the previous theatrical millinery teacher, and we're glad she did. Amanda also makes puppets! How cool is that?

Anyhoo, the course has kept me very busy, as they always do, so I haven't been photographing any spring hats. I've made some, though, and I'll show you pics as soon as I can.

In the meantime, my Balenciaga-ish hat (rear view) can be seen in the window of Studio 998, 998 Bathurst.

Loonacy

Winged Mercury meets the Quaker Oats man.

Wear Your Heart On Your Head

Here is a selection of hairbands I made for Valentine's Day. Each one has a unique wire heart on a velvet background of black, deep grey, purple or deep red with a crinoline shadow. Available while supplies last!

Homdora

It's a Hombergian crown with a fedoracious brim. It's a Homdora!

See, I can make hats for men, too. But having seen it modeled by both genders, I can attest to its being, um, ambidextrous.

Aaaaack!

I just learned that my "Contact Me" email link never worked properly! Oh, the guilt, the guilt! If you've ever tried to email me from this blog before and were stunned by my rude lack of response, I apologize most humbly. I wasn't rude, I was just mired in ignorance. Anyway, I believe I've fixed it now. Emailing myself works wonderfully well. Here, try it yourself, just for fun: email me! I promise I'll answer!

Alternative Media

Cashmere. The bathroom kind. Yup, toilet paper. Well, if Thien Le, Evan Biddell et al can make grand ballgowns out of the stuff, why not?

Would I do it again? Maybe not. Maybe in silk, though, for a bride...

Front view photo courtesy of Tierre Taylor.

The Bucket List

The ayes have it. Two out of two people agree that the fedoras look better with hat bands. Here they are, for your delectation.

Joining them are my new bucket hats in three different colours and sizes, which may be difficult to properly see here, so I'll just tell you that from left to right they are black, purple/plum and brown. They are fleshing out my craft sale offerings this season, which got off to a rainy start in Hamilton last weekend. Here's where else I'll be, so far:

Saturday, Nov. 29: Bennington Heights Public School Craft Show/Sale, 76 Bennington Heights Drive (Bayview and Moore), 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 7: The Sassy Little Christmas Craft Show, The Victory Cafe, 581 Markham Street (behind Honest Ed's), 7 p.m. - midnight (with cocktails! Wee!)
Saturday, Dec. 13: The Artisans' Gift Fair, the Tranzac Club, 282 Brunswick Avenue (at Bloor), noon - 6 p.m.

Please come by, say hello and play a little dress-up at my display. I thank you.