Customer Question: Shipping Safety

For most people it's summer. But for those of us in the fashion industry, which works a season into the future, it seems like fall already and the holidays are just around the corner. I've been finishing samples for our fall/winter collection, making extras of popular styles to have stock on hand, getting packing materials together, etc., all to be ready for the holiday rush which will be here before you know it. Just received this very pertinent question from Facebook fan Traci: 
Can you tell me how on earth do you box and ship these fabulous hats without damaging the feathers?

 

On most House of Nines Design hats, the feathers are easily removable. I travel often with a box or two of headwear, and have a big collection of hats but not a lot of storage space, so over the years I've had to devise ways to pack hats into the smallest possible space without damage.  When designing a hat, I only permanently affix feathers if it's necessary to the design, so that they may be removed for packing separately.

 

Removed feathers can be laid flat in the box with the hat for shipping or travel. The feathers are less likely to be damaged that way than sticking up out of a hat, and not as large of a box is required, so the hat is smaller to store and cheaper to ship. Except for the largest hats (for which there are not gift boxes large enough), I always double-box for maximum safety. I pack each hat carefully in a gift box padded with tissue, and then put that inside a larger shipping box lined with packing peanuts. I've never had a hat damaged in the mail yet, so it seems to be working! (knock wood)

 

Thanks for the question, Traci. 

New for Fall: 'Johnnie' Prototype

As you may have gathered, small top hats are my best-selling style. Over the years, I've collected a few different sizes and shapes of mini top hats, to suit different sizes and shapes of people. I've had the 'Johnnie' style around for a little while but up until now have mostly just used it for custom work. With its shorter height but almost-full-size headsize, it's been universally flattering to the people who've tried it on (unlike some of the other top hats, which tend to look best on a particular type of face). It's coming into ready-to-wear rotation for the fall. Here's a prototype of the new style.

The Crucible's Gala & Auction July 21

A special, one-of-a-kind House of Nines Design hat will be auctioned off during The Crucible's 2012 Fire & Light Soiree on July 21.

'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 their website.


Here's a photo of the hat from their auction catalog.

 Because The Crucible focuses on fire-based art (i.e. art made with or from fire, like blacksmithing, glass making, fire sculpture, etc.), I decided to make a fire-inspired contribution for the auction. Based on the popular 'Sabrina' mini top hat design, this was made with black velour-finish felt, yellow vintage silk veiling over a layer of red hackle feather fringe, and large antique purple rhinestones. I dyed and then twice over-dyed the feathers with different shades of gold and red to give them a luminous, complex, deep color. This is the only hat that will ever be made in this exact style, so if you want it, you'd better go to the event and bid!

Here are lots more photos of all the great stuff that will be on the auction block, from the auction catalog.

Help support arts education in the San Francisco Bay Area by attending the event, which will also include a 3-course dinner, fine wines, performances by electric art collective Omega Recoil with Balinese music by members of Gamelan X and Gamelan Sekar Jaya, and lots more art to look at.
Tickets still available here!

House of Nines 25% off at Dark Garden Rummage Sale 7/15

For one day only! All House of Nines hats in stock at Dark Garden will be on sale for 25% off during their rummage sale on Sunday July 15 from 11am-5pm- this includes hats that were already on sale, for an even deeper discount.

I'll be there personally from 11am-3pm to help you find just the right hat for you. Come on down for great deals on all kinds of good stuff, from hats and lingerie to jewelry and gently used corsets. Don't miss it!

As Seen on Laughing Squid

So happy to have just received a write-up on Laughing Squid!

If you don't know it yet, Laughing Squid is awesome. Read all about it here.

Chase / Living Social Grant Voting Closed

I've recently applied for a grant to help me expand my business. Read an earlier post about it here.

 

Thanks so much for your support, everybody who voted, and those who got the word out by re-posting my requests for help, asking your friends to get involved- it was all super helpful! The public voting is now over, and I got 299 votes! That's 20% more than the minimum needed to be eligible for the grant, and I ended as a very close second- within just a couple of votes- to the top-voted hat maker. The number of extra votes won't determine the judges' final choices, but it certainly can't hurt.

There were well over 40,000 entries in the contest. Looking through the other entries, only a very small percentage  (I estimate 10-20%) received the 250 votes required to be eligible for a grant, and only a very small portion of those broke 300, so I'm feeling very good about the support I received and about my entry's chances. Especially considering that the contest was going on for a full month before I even found out about it, so I only had half of the time many of the other contestants had to put my entry together and promote it to get the needed votes. 

The winners of the twelve $250K grants will be announced by September 15, so I'll post an update as soon as I hear anything. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Even given that only a small percentage of entries reached 250 votes, there are still thousands of eligible entries for the judges to sift through and consider. I know that winning a grant is a long shot, but being part of this contest has done a lot for my business already- I have gotten some press, made new media contacts, and have a whole bunch more followers on Facebook. Looking for places to post about the contest, I discovered a whole new slew of fashion blogs, local fashion magazines and organizations, and a bunch of non-profits and government agencies that offer assistance to small business- I'll be looking further into all of these for help and info. I had already started working on a new business plan just beforehand, but the contest gave me a kick in the pants to finish it up, and I learned all about how to use my plan to seek the funding I'll need to take House of Nines Design to the next level. Most of all, I'm feeling really hopeful about the future, and excited about working toward getting there.

And thanks again for all your support, I really do appreciate it!

What I Learned from Burning Man

The other day, I was talking with my friends at Dark Garden about why I do what I do and why I love what they do, and Kristin asked me to write it all down. So here goes.

Most of you probably know all about Burning Man, but for those who don't, it's an enormous art and costume event held in the Nevada desert every year. It's impossible to sum up, so if you're not yet acquainted, see their website for more info and countless photos.

Burning Man is not for everyone. Accommodations are primitive, and the environmental conditions are harsh, you definitely can die out there if you don't take care of yourself. But, if you're willing to put up with some inconvenience and can handle a desert environment, it's one of the most incredible places on Earth. Another interesting aspect of Burning Man is that it's a gift economy- people bring lots of stuff to give and share with others, but nobody buys or sells anything (well, almost, you can still buy ice and coffee). And coming from the real world, being in a commerce-free environment for even a short time really effects your mindset and the way you interact with others, more than you'd expect.

My husband John and I went to Burning Man a number of times in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In recent years, we haven't gone because we've been focusing on trying to make our everyday lives more full of art and fun. But, I remember it fondly and would love to go again sometime.

I learned several important things about life, that I still use on a daily basis, from my experience at Burning Man.

No Spectators. Participate. Don't go to a show- BE the show. Don't just expect to sit back and be entertained- be entertaining. Don't just be a passive consumer- if you're not adding to the environment, you're taking away from it. If you go to a costume party, dress up. Play along. Pull your own weight. Add to other people's enjoyment, and you'll find that you end up having more fun also.

Don't interfere with other people's experience. Appreciate geekdom without judgement. Try to help out where and when it's needed, but try not to impose your own preferences on others. You like what you like, but it's not for everyone. Me? I love clothing, but I could care less about sports. For other people, it's the opposite, and that's fine. All really interesting people have some really weird thing that they're totally into- bass fishing, repairing old clocks, tesla coils, 1920s Weimar Republic  cabaret music, whatever. I am less interested in the content of their interest than I am in their enthusiasm for whatever that thing is. I like people who geek out on stuff, and when you allow yourself to see what they love from their point of view, it's all cool.

Ditch the mediocre.  The biggest, most important lesson I learned at Burning Man is to appreciate both ends of the experience spectrum. Think about it this way:
- To stay alive, there are a certain number of well-defined things you HAVE to do or to have, just to stay alive. Shelter, basic nutrients, sleep, lots of water. That's the 'required' end of the spectrum.
- Then there is this big range of things that normally take up most of your time, energy, resources, and attention: web surfing without finding anything really interesting, doing other repetitive tasks to try to stave off boredom (unsuccessfully, because they're also kind of boring), working at some unfulfilling job that doesn't really appreciate you, watching not-so-great TV, spending time with people whose company is not all that fun or inspiring for you, etc. etc. etc. Empty distractions. Busy work. Wasted time.
- Then, at the other end of the spectrum are the things that many people consider 'trivial' or unimportant, but which is actually the truly interesting, good stuff. Art. Fashion. Travel. Really, really good food. Whatever it is that you truly enjoy, that makes you feel happy and alive.
I had an epiphany moment at Burning Man when I realized that the middle, mediocre portion of experience was, in that environment, completely missing. And that by taking that away, and slamming the totally necessary up against the completely frivolous, you realize that the completely frivolous IS totally necessary, and that without it, staying alive just isn't worth it. Since then, I've been trying to reduce the mediocre middle from my life as much as possible.

None of us is guaranteed a 'full' lifespan, nature or accident can pull the plug on us at any time without warning. If you're lucky, 40 years from now, what are you going to remember? 5,000 hours spent in front of the Xbox? I doubt it. A trip to Venice? The joy you feel while building a beautiful piece of art? Playing with a happy, hilarious kid? Making out with the person you love? Definitely.

To sum up: Life is short. Do what you love to do. Make it count.