The Crucible's 7th Annual Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction

Starting to work on a special, one-of-a-kind hat to donate for The Crucible's 7th Annual Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction. I'm delighted to help support this amazing arts organization.

From their website:

The Crucible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts education organization that fosters a collaboration of arts, industry, and community.  Through training in the fine and industrial arts, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials, and innovative design, while serving as an accessible arts venue for the general public in the Bay Area. Known for one-of-a-kind industrial arts education programs, The Crucible is also highly regarded for its innovative performances.

From metal fabrication, blacksmithing, neon, glass blowing, ceramics, welding, kinetics, and fire dancing, The Crucible provides cutting-edge arts education programs to 5,000 adult and youth students annually.  Our instructors have extensive experience and a passion for what they teach.  Our industrial art classes are designed to attract novices as well as experienced artists and craftspeople to a noncompetitive environment where people with diverse interests and backgrounds can work together and learn from one another.

 For more information about classes and events at The Crucible, see their website.

Simplicity Pattern Photo

Theresa LaQuey is a very talented custom clothier who specializes in Art Deco and vintage-inspired evening wear and wedding dresses. We first met years ago when I hired her to help out with my 1930s-style wedding dress, and I was impressed with her combination of impeccable style, top-notch sewing skills, and attention to detail. In addition to her sewing business serving individual clients, Theresa is also a skilled pattern designer and produces her own name-brand line of patterns for the Simplicity Pattern Company.

I was super thrilled when Theresa recently asked me to provide hats for the photo shoot for her most recent design for Simplicity. Theresa chose a cherry Una mini top hat and an Yvette top hat to compliment the steampunk-Victorian theme of the clothes. Here's the image of the pattern envelope. Love how the photos turned out.

Men's Hats: In Progress

Now that the Dandy fashion show is over, I'm rarin' to go on more men's hats. So many ideas. This is a totally janky quick photo, but I've figured out how to make my own pugarees (folded fabric bands) for straw hats, using gorgeous Italian silk tie fabrics. The feather trim is Lavender Turkey. Better photos in a few weeks after more samples are completed.

Drake in Video

I've written several posts on the subject of hat blocks and the total brilliance of my block maker, Guy Morse Brown Hat Blocks. Not only do they offer the best quality hat blocks around, but the owners Owen and Catherine Morse Brown also super nice people, and supportive of hobby hat makers and professional milliners by offering information and instruction through their newsletter, HATalk, and their series of educational ebooks and DVDs.

They recently made a short video to promote a subscription offer for HATalk, and I was thrilled to see Catherine in it wearing a Drake fedora! Over the years, Catherine and Owen have purchased several hats from me for themselves, which I take as a huge compliment considering how many hats they must see everyday. Here's the video.

Dandylicious Fashion Show & Menswear

The Dandylicious menswear fashion show at the DeYoung Museum went well last night. It was a really fun challenge to make lots and lots of men's hats in a short time, and to see so many of my hats on heads onstage together was a thrill. Working with Dark Garden is always a treat, and it was great to have Duchess Clothier there as well.

I've been wanting to improve and expand on my men's line for some time now, and it's great to feel like it's coming together. I have several new styles in the works (a couple of fedoras, and a kind of fedora / homburg hybrid) to go with new versions of the Drake fedora and Neville bowler, and I'm almost done with the design process- for each style, choosing colors, materials, trim, surface treatments, etc. With four new styles, with at least two to three colorways each in felt and straw, that's a lot to organize.

A shipment of new blocks is due to arrive from my block maker in the UK in a few weeks, which will expand my size range in each of the new styles. I'll have at least a few sizes available on hand for every style, and can order more blocks in additional sizes when needed.

A huge box of felts in lots of new colors just arrived, with more on the way next week. And I've got a big pile of Panama straws here just waiting to be hats. Lots of samples to block. Wish me luck. Photos of the new styles will come out in a few weeks.

New Feathers Soon

Just heard that many of the birds at the aviary where I buy my special feathers are soon going to molt.... Waiting in anticipation. I'm especially looking forward to some new fancy turkey feathers for my men's line.

Progress

Just took some new full size hats to ADS Hats (felt & straw for men & women), including several one-of-a-kind pieces and a brand new style. Photos of all the new styles I have in the works should be coming out in dribs and drabs over the next few weeks.

More hats to be delivered to all of my San Francisco retailers next week.