New Retailer: Metis Makers in San Francisco

Yet another new retailer for us. Metis Makers, a new collective on Grant Street in North Beach, carries a range of hand-made products made by local designers and artists, including hats, leather goods, hand-made clothing, and jewelry. The shop is gorgeous! Be sure to check it out soon.

Their website doesn't have much on it yet, so see their facebook page for photos of the store, events, etc.

Yesterday, I took over a dozen new hats to the shop. Here are quick snapshots I took of some of them before they were delivered.

Just finished moments before being packed up for delivery, our very newest style, 'Cheri'. It will probably change a bit before its official release in 2014, so most likely this is a one-of-a-kind piece. Black velvety velour-finish felt with chestnut brown trim and a huge gilded glass button.

Here's 'Mattie' in navy blue fur felt with black trim and a spray of exotic feathers. I only had one of the antique buckle, so this hat is one-of-a-kind.

And 'Mrs. Belzoni', our newest cocktail hat style, in black and in hunter green with matching feathers and black trim. 

Head over there soon- they have lots of things that would make great holiday gifts, and Edwardian Ball-ready hats galore.

New Special Hats at Dark Garden

I just delivered a passel of new hats to Dark Garden in San Francisco today. Perfect for holiday gifts or the Edwardian Ball! In addition to several of the new styles available also in our Etsy shop, I've been brewing up some special styles, many of them one-of-a-kind. Here are some quick snapshots of the latest batch.

Ah, nostalgia. This is a 'Kit Kat', one of my earliest styles, a petite mini bowler. Tweedy chocolate brown fur felt, trimmed with a cockade in vintage ribbon and distressed veiling. This one and the red one that follows will probably be the *last* 'Kit Kats' I make (I'm moving to a slightly larger mini bowler soon), unless they're requested, so grab them while you can or contact me about a custom order. 

A tweedy red 'Kit Kat' with a classic cockade and big spray of red feathers.

The following are all a preview of some new styles that will be released in my Etsy shop by mid-2014- if you'd like to order any of these before that, contact me for a custom order.
 
Here's the 'Mattie'. Made with long-nap felt on our short, John Bull style mini top hat block, trimmed with super fancy feathers and an antique Victorian buckle brooch. More similar to this are coming soon, but only *two* of these brooches are available, so if you like the look, better snatch one up while they last. FYI some of the feathers on this hat come from our cruelty-free exotic feather supplier and unfortunately are not available for shipment outside the US, due to trade restrictions. But, if you like the look I can put together something equally awesome that will pass customs for international customers, just ask.

Here's the 'Marlene'. It's a taller mini top hat in long-nap felt with vintage ribbon and a big faceted jet button. I might change it a bit, so consider this a one-of-a-kind piece. I'll be making this one next year with different ribbon and possibly other changes- there was only enough of this extra-wide antique ribbon for one hat!

Another preview style- 'Mrs. Belzoni' will officially launch in 2014 in four colors- black, and also in hunter green, navy and cherry red, all with black trim. The long, hand-curled pheasant feathers are gorgeous- they're dyed to match the felt, but with their natural markings showing through the color and have amazing iridescence that doesn't show in these photos. Be an early adopter and get one now before they're all over the place.

And, one last little beauty. This is 'Therese', a petite mini top hat in gorgeous medium gray velvet-finish felt with a cockade in silver, black and white striped ribbon, delicate black silk veiling, and a big spray of black rooster hackle feathers. Stripes + cockades = fantastic. I'll also be making these in other striped combinations for 2014. 

If any of these strike your fancy, head on over to Dark Garden or contact me by email at (tricia @ house of nines design. com) - with no spaces in the address- for mail order. Dark Garden is also carrying House of Nines Design hats in a special display each weekend of Dickens Fair, so be sure to look for it!

Introducing the 'Jesse' Riding Hat

Another brand new shape for Fall / Winter 2013: The 'Jesse' riding hat.

This soft riding hat has a low crown paired with a curvaceous brim that dips down flirtatiously over the forehead. The overall shape is something between a top hat and a bowler, and the deep upside-down ' U-shape of the brim hugs the head as it perches slightly on top. Trimmed with three vintage engraved metal coins (transit, 'amusement' and good luck tokens), and two feathers. Comes with a ribbon sweatband.

Offered in two colors to start. This is chocolate brown with brown and white striped turkey feathers.

The second color is charcoal gray, with blue / green parrot feathers. Each feather in my collection is different, so the exact colors and patterns on them will vary, making each hat a unique item.

I've been buying feathers from an incredible aviary in Oregon that has rare and beautiful birds. The birds there have a really nice life, are housed in no-cruelty conditions, and all the feathers are harvested when the birds molt naturally (or when, sadly but inevitably, they die of old age or natural causes). The aviary has a special license to have these birds and sell their feathers. Because of the way they're collected, the feathers are in short supply and only available twice a year, very limited and special. Due to trade restrictions and to comply with US law, I'm able to sell these parrot feathers to customers within the US only (i.e. no international sales).  I'll be writing another blog post soon to profile the aviary soon with more information on their business.

The chocolate 'Jesse' is available now in our Etsy shop. If you would like to purchase the charcoal one, please contact us directly to arrange the order.

New Mini Top Hat Styles for Fall / Winter 2013

Here are all of our *new* mini top hat styles for Fall / Winter 2013.

While designing new hats for this season, I decided to approach one of the new styles a little bit differently than usual- rather than beginning to design from some idea for ribbonwork I'd like to try, or some other aspect of trim as the jumping-off point for design, I decided to think about feathers as my primary source of inspiration. I really enjoy working with and manipulating feathers, each type has different properties and behaves differently (depending on the part of the body and the bird it comes from), so it's fun to experiment and see what each type will do under the various forms of stress I put them through. After countless hours spent curling, stripping, ironing, dyeing, bleaching, cutting, and steaming feathers to create different effects, it's still a lot of fun! I think of each of the hats in 'The Bird Series' as a little song of thanks and admiration for the material and its source.

The 'Peacock' mini top hat is made with lush, high-quality fur felt in navy blue, with royal blue and apple green silk veiling, and a ribbon cockade in blue and green tones, all to coordinate with the colors and natural markings of the feathers. A special arrangement of hand-curled Peacock eye and sword feathers sprays out from behind the cockade.

The 'Golden Pheasant' mini top hat is made with lush, velvet-finish black fur felt, copper-colored silk veiling, and a ribbon cockade in camel and chocolate finished with a brass button center, all to coordinate with the colors and natural markings of the feathers. Two long hand-curled Golden Pheasant tail feathers complete the composition.

Another hat shaped using the same blocks as the hats shown above, saucy 'Simone' is made from high-quality fur felt, and trimmed yards and yards of vintage silk tulle veiling wound around the crown, dipping over the brim to make a birdcage veil, and looped up into a large bow at the back. The loops of the bow are held in place with hat pins tipped with honeycomb-shaped finials made to match the hat felt. The 'Simone' is available in black, charcoal gray, and purple plum.

The 'Madge' mini top hat is made from high quality long-nap fur felt, polished to a high shine. Trimmed with drape-y crocheted vintage veiling that gives a bit of peek-a-boo over one eye, and a vintage ribbon band and bow. The bow is large and asymmetrical, finished with a sparkly Art Deco-era antique cut steel buckle. It's shaped using the same blocks as our popular 'Wellington' and 'Sabrina' styles- a classic Mad Hatter style top hat with straight sides and a slightly domed top. Available in black with silver gray trim, or loden with apple green trim.

And finally, the 'Astrid'- another petite mini top hat shaped using the same blocks as our ever-popular 'Una' and 'Belle Epoch' styles. This one is all about the cockade! This jaunty ladies hat is made from lush, high-quality fur felt, with a huge hand-made cockade of vintage ribbon. The cockade is backed with a bow with fringed ends on its tails, and finished with a delicately etched metal button. Hand-curled Silver Pheasant feathers. Available in black with black and ice gray / green trim, or in chocolate brown with trim in brown tones.

All of these styles are available for sale now in our Etsy store.

Fall / Winter 2013: New Colors for Popular Styles

The photos for our new styles are rolling in now!

Lot of mini top hats are in the mix. Here are some new colors in popular styles from past seasons.

Our 'Una' mini top hat has been a best-seller. It's made with a glossy long-napped fur felt, polished to a high shine, and trimmed with vintage ribbon and veiling. Since we've got the antique lace-edged veiling in chocolate and navy in addition to black, we're branching out this season with more color options.

Camel with chocolate trim.  This trim would also look great with a medium or darker brown felt- just ask, if you'd like to order an alternate felt color. But if you like the brown veiling, better move fast, we only have enough left to make one additional hat!

And another 'Una' in vibrant purple with navy trim. On this one, the purple felt is vintage too, and extremely limited.

The navy trim also looks great with felt in navy or pale blue- available upon request. There is only enough of the veiling in navy (and in black) to make less than 10 more hats. The silk veiling used in this style is a rare antique item, it's unlikely that we'll ever find more, so the 'Una' is a very limited edition.

The 'Una' is made using our 'Belle Epoch' block set, the most petite mini top hat style in our collection. For more information about hat blocks and how hats are made, see this previous post.

There are new colorways for the 'Viola' also. This style also sports hand-curled feathers and vintage ribbon trim, but the blocks used are slightly larger than those for the 'Una', so it's still a mini but closer to a full-size hat in scale.

Cherry with black trim.

 

And bronze with chocolate trim.

Here's our latest addition to the 'Wellington' line, in a luminous raspberry pink long-napped felt with burgundy trim. It's got a hand-pleated band, and a large ribbon bow backed with huge vintage popcorn veiling that gives a bit of peek-a-boo over one eye. As you can see in the photos, the 'Wellington' is very different than the other mini top hats in our range- with straight sides and a slightly rounded top, it has a classic Mad Hatter shape.

Here's our 'Sabrina', previously available only in black, this time in deep sable with trim in brown tones. Natural colored 'badger' rooster hackle feathers ring the crown. Antique bronzed glass beads give a bit of sparkle through the veiling across the front. It's made using the same blocks as the 'Wellington', shown above.

These are all available now in our Etsy shop.  

There are lots more new styles coming up in the next few days, so stay tuned.