March? Already?

I recently returned from another grand tour of Carnival in Venice, Italy. As usual, it was the kind of vacation that you need another vacation to recover from. Not that I'm complaining. It was just one costume party after another, each better than the last. If, like me, you love clothing-as-art, it's pure magic and always over too soon. Somehow, we forgot to take photos this year, but photos that others took of us are popping up on facebook, I'll make another blog post soon after I gather a bunch and ask permission for their use.

It seems like every year spring sneaks up on me. I hardly have time to sit down after the holiday rush, and the spring / summer hat season has already started. With all the races coming up, and bridal already booming, I'm hip-deep in prototypes for my new spring / summer and bridal lines in addition to a major pile-up of custom orders. This year I'm expanding my horizons to include a lot more straw hats and casual styles to accompany my top hats and other minis, which are still selling like gangbusters. Men's full size hats are also getting more attention with several new styles. Photos of all these should be ready in a few weeks.

In the meantime, I'm preparing to go to Hat Camp at the end of the month, it's an annual hat makers conference that's being held in LA this year. Looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting new people, visiting hat shops, and doing some shopping in the garment district. If you're interested in meeting with me to discuss a custom order, or possible wholesaling of my hats at your shop, contact me to arrange a meeting. I'll have a trunkload of samples to show, and also my conformateur in tow for anyone who might like to avail themselves of my custom hat shaping service.