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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.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Coming to LA Soon
I'll be in the LA area March 23-27. If anybody wants to see some samples and discuss a custom order or wholesaling, let's arrange to meet.
My conformateur set will also be coming along, if anyone wants head shape measurements taken for custom hats. Read more about this amazing machine here.
My conformateur set will also be coming along, if anyone wants head shape measurements taken for custom hats. Read more about this amazing machine here.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Customer Question: How to Store Hats Properly
Thanks very much to my lovely loyal customer Beth Ann, who asked me recently for advice about hat storage. It was a great question, so I thought I'd share it with everybody.
Beth Ann has a growing collection of House of Nines Design hats, and wrote in "I love hatboxes, but they take up so much space. What would you recommend for hat storage in a small apartment? A hatstand? Do they still make those?"
Living in a small apartment, myself, I feel Beth Ann's pain.
Displaying hats temporarily on stands or pegs is ok, but I don't recommend storing hats that way for more than a few days at a time. I have stands to use in my studio, but the hats are only on them for a short time before shipping out. The problem with stands is that they usually have a part that protrudes up into the crown of the hat, so the weight of the whole hat is pulling at the top of the hat from the inside. Fabric or knitted hats can take this treatment without a problem, but felt hats are not designed for it. The weight of the hat should rest on the brim, not on the inside of the crown, or the shape can be distorted. Stands with hard pegs are the worst, but even padded stands can cause damage. Mannequin heads are fantastic, in terms of being the right shape for your hat to rest on, but hats can get faded and dusty from being exposed to sunlight and in the open air for a long time.
All House of Nines Design hats that are purchased from me directly (custom work, or from Etsy, etc.) come with a hat box like this:
But, once you buy several hats, the boxes start piling up... The best way to store hats would be in one hat per box, but that's difficult unless you have enough space. I have the same problem. So, I have several large boxes that I store multiple hats in. They are actually lightweight plastic drum cases, that look like this:
Even though the drum cases are large, they take up less total storage space than if each hat is packed in its own box individually. I like the 18x18x18 inch size, but they come in different sizes, and they're stackable. They also travel well, I've taken mine all over by airplane with no problem. You may be able to find them locally at a music instrument store, or maybe used on craigslist, etc. If you'd like to purchase one through me, contact me for pricing info. You could also search online for large cardboard hat boxes.
I also collect vintage hat and wig boxes, like these:
These usually measure about 13x13x13 inches, and I can fit about two full size hats, or three mini top hats, per box (just for reference). They're readily available online through sites that sell vintage stuff, like Etsy and Ebay. They're stackable, and the handles are nice. They're great for car travel, but not for air travel, as they're not strong enough to survive as checked baggage but they're too big for carry-on. You can get some good deals if you search around, I try to never pay more than $20 per vintage wig box. If you get this kind of box, be really careful not to catch the hats, especially veiling, in the zipper as you close it.
I don't recommend stacking hats without padding between them, or packing hats inside of other hats for storage. Instead, pack your hats one at a time into the box with plain white tissue paper (the gift kind, not Kleenex), so the hats are not touching or denting each other. The best thing is to lightly crumple big sheets of tissue paper, separated so you're only handling one sheet at a time. Scrunch the sheets a bit, but don't smash them so much that you lose the natural stiffness of the paper, as that's what will provide support for the hats. You want to make crinkled sheets, not hard, wadded-up balls, which can also damage the hats. Put down an inch or two of tissue at the bottom of the box, then gently pack each hat in with more tissue so the hat is supported on all sides. Place only one sheet in at a time. I try to have about two inches of tissue between each hat, and an inch or so of tissue padding around the entire inside of the box so the hats don't rub against the box. Pack it *lightly*, not tightly. You want the hats to kind of float in there in a cloud of tissue, so they're not getting dented or smashed, and to only use as much tissue as you actually need, so you're not adding extra weight. If you're packing hats for travel, fill the box to the top with crinkled sheets of tissue so the hats won't bang around inside. And the hats should be sitting upright in the box if possible. Think about placing the sturdiest hats toward the bottom, and more fragile hats toward the top, as the ones at the bottom will have the most weight on top of them. Remove feathers if possible before packing them, so the feathers don't get bent and also because the hats will take up less space that way, and as you pack, be sure that any ribbonwork on the hats is being gently supported by tissue, but not getting crushed or folded in weird ways.
House of Nines Design hats are little sculptures, they're fragile and should be handled and stored carefully. Proper packing and storage can help keep your hats in great shape for many years to come. Thanks again to Beth Ann for sending in this great question. If anybody else has questions about hat care, ask away, I'd be happy to offer any advice I can.
Beth Ann has a growing collection of House of Nines Design hats, and wrote in "I love hatboxes, but they take up so much space. What would you recommend for hat storage in a small apartment? A hatstand? Do they still make those?"
Living in a small apartment, myself, I feel Beth Ann's pain.
Displaying hats temporarily on stands or pegs is ok, but I don't recommend storing hats that way for more than a few days at a time. I have stands to use in my studio, but the hats are only on them for a short time before shipping out. The problem with stands is that they usually have a part that protrudes up into the crown of the hat, so the weight of the whole hat is pulling at the top of the hat from the inside. Fabric or knitted hats can take this treatment without a problem, but felt hats are not designed for it. The weight of the hat should rest on the brim, not on the inside of the crown, or the shape can be distorted. Stands with hard pegs are the worst, but even padded stands can cause damage. Mannequin heads are fantastic, in terms of being the right shape for your hat to rest on, but hats can get faded and dusty from being exposed to sunlight and in the open air for a long time.
All House of Nines Design hats that are purchased from me directly (custom work, or from Etsy, etc.) come with a hat box like this:
But, once you buy several hats, the boxes start piling up... The best way to store hats would be in one hat per box, but that's difficult unless you have enough space. I have the same problem. So, I have several large boxes that I store multiple hats in. They are actually lightweight plastic drum cases, that look like this:
Even though the drum cases are large, they take up less total storage space than if each hat is packed in its own box individually. I like the 18x18x18 inch size, but they come in different sizes, and they're stackable. They also travel well, I've taken mine all over by airplane with no problem. You may be able to find them locally at a music instrument store, or maybe used on craigslist, etc. If you'd like to purchase one through me, contact me for pricing info. You could also search online for large cardboard hat boxes.
I also collect vintage hat and wig boxes, like these:
These usually measure about 13x13x13 inches, and I can fit about two full size hats, or three mini top hats, per box (just for reference). They're readily available online through sites that sell vintage stuff, like Etsy and Ebay. They're stackable, and the handles are nice. They're great for car travel, but not for air travel, as they're not strong enough to survive as checked baggage but they're too big for carry-on. You can get some good deals if you search around, I try to never pay more than $20 per vintage wig box. If you get this kind of box, be really careful not to catch the hats, especially veiling, in the zipper as you close it.
I don't recommend stacking hats without padding between them, or packing hats inside of other hats for storage. Instead, pack your hats one at a time into the box with plain white tissue paper (the gift kind, not Kleenex), so the hats are not touching or denting each other. The best thing is to lightly crumple big sheets of tissue paper, separated so you're only handling one sheet at a time. Scrunch the sheets a bit, but don't smash them so much that you lose the natural stiffness of the paper, as that's what will provide support for the hats. You want to make crinkled sheets, not hard, wadded-up balls, which can also damage the hats. Put down an inch or two of tissue at the bottom of the box, then gently pack each hat in with more tissue so the hat is supported on all sides. Place only one sheet in at a time. I try to have about two inches of tissue between each hat, and an inch or so of tissue padding around the entire inside of the box so the hats don't rub against the box. Pack it *lightly*, not tightly. You want the hats to kind of float in there in a cloud of tissue, so they're not getting dented or smashed, and to only use as much tissue as you actually need, so you're not adding extra weight. If you're packing hats for travel, fill the box to the top with crinkled sheets of tissue so the hats won't bang around inside. And the hats should be sitting upright in the box if possible. Think about placing the sturdiest hats toward the bottom, and more fragile hats toward the top, as the ones at the bottom will have the most weight on top of them. Remove feathers if possible before packing them, so the feathers don't get bent and also because the hats will take up less space that way, and as you pack, be sure that any ribbonwork on the hats is being gently supported by tissue, but not getting crushed or folded in weird ways.
House of Nines Design hats are little sculptures, they're fragile and should be handled and stored carefully. Proper packing and storage can help keep your hats in great shape for many years to come. Thanks again to Beth Ann for sending in this great question. If anybody else has questions about hat care, ask away, I'd be happy to offer any advice I can.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Carnival in Venice 2011 Photos
I've just returned from an amazing trip to Carnival in Venice, Italy. It was part adventure with good friends, part pilgrimage (Venice has been a major center of masquerade activity for close to 1,000 years, and Carnival is the mother of all costume parties), part lifelong-dream-fulfillment, and part 10-year wedding anniversary celebration for myself and my husband John. Traveling with close friends who are also costumers, designers and artists made the experience even more special. We started working on our costumes last fall, and during the last few months before our departure for Italy in late February, making outfits was pretty much ALL we did beyond the bare minimum of eating, sleeping, and work. We had a magical, amazing, fantastical time in Venice, and started planning our trip back for Carnival 2012 before we even returned to San Francisco. Venice is truly beautiful and fascinating, and we met so many amazing new friends - it was like summer camp for adult costumers. I can't wait to go back!
Here are a few pictures from our trip. There were too many great shots taken to include them all (thanks to the fine photography of Daniel and Steph). Unless otherwise noted, costume pieces were made by the person wearing them in the photo (or someone else in our group), or pulled from one of our closets (John's heavily-braided jackets were borrowed from another friend). With very few exceptions, all hats pictured were made by House of Nines Design (i.e. me), and all corsets and corset-jackets were made by the geniuses at Dark Garden Corsetry. We had great luck finding fabrics and materials at Burnley and Trowbridge Co., Renaissance Fabrics, Britex Fabrics, and Lacis.
Our household mascot of late has been 18th century painter Joseph Ducreux. Here John strikes a pose that says "Disregard photographers, acquire prosecco."
John got a lot of mileage out of his huge new Kevenhuller tricorn. Over the 10 days of Carnival, I piled more and more stuff and feathers all over my hats. I wanted them to be bigger and crazier everyday.
John in front of Harry's Bar. He normally wouldn't wear such enormous feathers on a bowler, but we figured: why not? It's carnival. Plus, the extra height made him easy to spot as we moved through dense crowds in the streets.
We spent part of almost every afternoon at Florian, the famous cafe that's been sitting pretty on San Marco square since 1720. It has incredible ambiance and history, with mural-painted walls and gorgeous furniture, not to mention being the main hang-out of serious carnival costumers. Here's Daniel lounging amongst the art.
A few days later, I re-shaped the same hat from the last photo into a bicorn, and was very pleased with the foxy results.
When planning what to make for and bring on the trip, as a group we agreed on a set of themes and a basic color palette (red, black, white, yellow and gray) for most of our outfits, so our wardrobes would coordinate but not be identical. That way, we wouldn't be too matchy-matchy, but we could share accessories and use pieces in different combinations to make new outfits. Here's Autumn, rockin' our color palette in a gorgeous 18th century gown at the Hotel Danieli on the Grand Canal.
And Steph in an incredible mantua and fontange. Steph, Autumn and Daniel brought Baroque-style (late 17th century) outfits, but I was surprised that so few other people at carnival tried that period. Maybe we should do more with it next year. (Costume: Past Pleasures Ltd.)
Since it was the first trip to Venice for most of us, we had to take a gondola ride. I was disappointed to find that nobody seemed to be using gondolas for actual transportation very much, it was all just tourists being taken in a big circle like a theme park ride. But it was still pretty great seeing the city from a very different angle. Autumn looked like a beautiful cupcake that day in her pink and white shepherdess dress.
The gondolas are works of art, and pretty romantic despite all the corny tourists. I half-joked about how many lottery tickets I'd buy after we got home, to be able to afford our own private gondolier to transport us around the city next year in style.
Another fun afternoon at Florian. This was my first attempt at a Marchesa Casati outfit (my hero!). As she famously said, 'I want to be a living work of art.' I'll be doing more to channel her next year.
Why was (almost) all food so delicious in Italy? Especially anything dairy or baked. It was uncanny.
With all the Victorian-themed events we attend in San Francisco (Edwardian Ball, Dickens Fair, etc.), a Victorianesque team costume was easy to pull together.
Here are a few pieces of the circus themed team costume we brought, hopefully we'll develop it more for next year.
Another fun thing to do in the afternoons at carnival is to attend one of the many lavish 'chocolates' hosted at fancy hotels around Venice. They have all-you-can-drink hot chocolate (the consistency of thick pudding, and so delicious) with special cookies and pastries. This one was especially fun, the hostess had set up 18th century card games for everyone to play. Our friend Erin met us there in full Gypsy Warrior Princess regalia.
One of the highlights of the trip was a Japanese Manga / 18th century themed party. I love a mash-up, and this one was especially fun to play around with. This was party number two (of three) of the evening, with complete costume changes in between.
Afterward, I sat on our private roof deck and watched the sun come up. There were a lot of late nights!
Another fantastic party we went to had a Turkish theme. We took photos on the roof before going to the party, as the host had requested 'no photography' at the event. Here's Steph, looking picture-perfect as always. She re-purposed the yellow pantaloons from a Victorian-era 'Bloomers' outfit she made for Dickens Fair last year, and built the rest of the outfit around them in gorgeous vintage fabrics.
I was surprised at how comfortable the Turkish pantaloons were to wear. On another day, I changed out the accessories, threw on a marching band jacket, and went out as a Zouve, which was super exciting because I hadn't even realized I had that costume with me till I was putting it all on. Giant pants may be my new go-to piece for next year.
When we initially found out about the theme of this party, we wanted to make outfits similar to a Turkish/French mash-up style that was popular with avant-garde ladies in the late 18th century. It didn't work out for the rest of us, but Autumn carried it off beautifully. Maybe next year we'll have another crack at it.
It's hard to believe, but the guys each wrapped their own turbans in about 10 minutes with little-to-no practice, and only a little help from YouTube. They look *fantastic*.
Needless to say, we're all tired, broke, and happy. And dreaming every minute about more carnival fun in 2012.
Here are a few pictures from our trip. There were too many great shots taken to include them all (thanks to the fine photography of Daniel and Steph). Unless otherwise noted, costume pieces were made by the person wearing them in the photo (or someone else in our group), or pulled from one of our closets (John's heavily-braided jackets were borrowed from another friend). With very few exceptions, all hats pictured were made by House of Nines Design (i.e. me), and all corsets and corset-jackets were made by the geniuses at Dark Garden Corsetry. We had great luck finding fabrics and materials at Burnley and Trowbridge Co., Renaissance Fabrics, Britex Fabrics, and Lacis.
Our household mascot of late has been 18th century painter Joseph Ducreux. Here John strikes a pose that says "Disregard photographers, acquire prosecco."
John got a lot of mileage out of his huge new Kevenhuller tricorn. Over the 10 days of Carnival, I piled more and more stuff and feathers all over my hats. I wanted them to be bigger and crazier everyday.
John in front of Harry's Bar. He normally wouldn't wear such enormous feathers on a bowler, but we figured: why not? It's carnival. Plus, the extra height made him easy to spot as we moved through dense crowds in the streets.
We spent part of almost every afternoon at Florian, the famous cafe that's been sitting pretty on San Marco square since 1720. It has incredible ambiance and history, with mural-painted walls and gorgeous furniture, not to mention being the main hang-out of serious carnival costumers. Here's Daniel lounging amongst the art.
A few days later, I re-shaped the same hat from the last photo into a bicorn, and was very pleased with the foxy results.
When planning what to make for and bring on the trip, as a group we agreed on a set of themes and a basic color palette (red, black, white, yellow and gray) for most of our outfits, so our wardrobes would coordinate but not be identical. That way, we wouldn't be too matchy-matchy, but we could share accessories and use pieces in different combinations to make new outfits. Here's Autumn, rockin' our color palette in a gorgeous 18th century gown at the Hotel Danieli on the Grand Canal.
And Steph in an incredible mantua and fontange. Steph, Autumn and Daniel brought Baroque-style (late 17th century) outfits, but I was surprised that so few other people at carnival tried that period. Maybe we should do more with it next year. (Costume: Past Pleasures Ltd.)
Since it was the first trip to Venice for most of us, we had to take a gondola ride. I was disappointed to find that nobody seemed to be using gondolas for actual transportation very much, it was all just tourists being taken in a big circle like a theme park ride. But it was still pretty great seeing the city from a very different angle. Autumn looked like a beautiful cupcake that day in her pink and white shepherdess dress.
The gondolas are works of art, and pretty romantic despite all the corny tourists. I half-joked about how many lottery tickets I'd buy after we got home, to be able to afford our own private gondolier to transport us around the city next year in style.
Another fun afternoon at Florian. This was my first attempt at a Marchesa Casati outfit (my hero!). As she famously said, 'I want to be a living work of art.' I'll be doing more to channel her next year.
Why was (almost) all food so delicious in Italy? Especially anything dairy or baked. It was uncanny.
With all the Victorian-themed events we attend in San Francisco (Edwardian Ball, Dickens Fair, etc.), a Victorianesque team costume was easy to pull together.
Here are a few pieces of the circus themed team costume we brought, hopefully we'll develop it more for next year.
Another fun thing to do in the afternoons at carnival is to attend one of the many lavish 'chocolates' hosted at fancy hotels around Venice. They have all-you-can-drink hot chocolate (the consistency of thick pudding, and so delicious) with special cookies and pastries. This one was especially fun, the hostess had set up 18th century card games for everyone to play. Our friend Erin met us there in full Gypsy Warrior Princess regalia.
One of the highlights of the trip was a Japanese Manga / 18th century themed party. I love a mash-up, and this one was especially fun to play around with. This was party number two (of three) of the evening, with complete costume changes in between.
Afterward, I sat on our private roof deck and watched the sun come up. There were a lot of late nights!
Another fantastic party we went to had a Turkish theme. We took photos on the roof before going to the party, as the host had requested 'no photography' at the event. Here's Steph, looking picture-perfect as always. She re-purposed the yellow pantaloons from a Victorian-era 'Bloomers' outfit she made for Dickens Fair last year, and built the rest of the outfit around them in gorgeous vintage fabrics.
I was surprised at how comfortable the Turkish pantaloons were to wear. On another day, I changed out the accessories, threw on a marching band jacket, and went out as a Zouve, which was super exciting because I hadn't even realized I had that costume with me till I was putting it all on. Giant pants may be my new go-to piece for next year.
When we initially found out about the theme of this party, we wanted to make outfits similar to a Turkish/French mash-up style that was popular with avant-garde ladies in the late 18th century. It didn't work out for the rest of us, but Autumn carried it off beautifully. Maybe next year we'll have another crack at it.
It's hard to believe, but the guys each wrapped their own turbans in about 10 minutes with little-to-no practice, and only a little help from YouTube. They look *fantastic*.
Needless to say, we're all tired, broke, and happy. And dreaming every minute about more carnival fun in 2012.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
LA Success
Came back a few days ago from a successful trip to LA. The masquerade ball was grand- photos coming soon! Had a fun time with friends, and also got some good work done. Went to California Millinery for supplies- what a gold mine! Anybody crafty could spend days in there, peeking through all the shelves and boxes.
Also, met with the owner and one of the buyers for the Hollywood Hat Lounge. Had a chance to check out the Hollywood location, lots of fun straw hats etc. They also have a shop in Huntington Beach, and are planning to open two more soon, in Santa Monica and Las Vegas. They looked through my hat samples for Fall/Winter 2010-2011, and are putting together an order for some new styles...
Also, met with the owner and one of the buyers for the Hollywood Hat Lounge. Had a chance to check out the Hollywood location, lots of fun straw hats etc. They also have a shop in Huntington Beach, and are planning to open two more soon, in Santa Monica and Las Vegas. They looked through my hat samples for Fall/Winter 2010-2011, and are putting together an order for some new styles...
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