Trunk show at The Millinery Guild LA 11/10-11

So looking forward to my upcoming trunk show at The Millinery Guild in Los Angeles! We'll be open from 11am-6pm on Saturday, November 10th and Sunday, November 11th. Here's the store location and info:
7767 Beverly Boulevard, between North Ogden Drive and North Genesee Avenue. 
Here's a map.
213-985-4784

If you're in the area, come on by. This trip will be an extremely short one, so I won't have time for other client appointments. I hope to see you at the shop, feel free to drop in.

If you haven't been there yet, The Millinery Guild is a gorgeous shop full of beautiful, handmade hats and some fun, locally-made art as well. The owner, Susan 'Montez' Murphy, has kindly offered to let me have the sale there, and will be carrying a few House of Nines pieces through the winter at least. Read more about the shop on Daily Candy, here.

For the show, I'll be bringing a wide range of hats- mens' and womens', old favorites and brand new styles, many of which aren't anywhere online yet! I'll also have some special, one-of-a-kind pieces in tow- these rarely make it online, so now's your chance to see them. Most of the hats will be available for immediate purchase, but I can also take custom orders while I'm there if you have something different in mind. Depending on how much display space there is, I might need to hold some things back until Sunday, so you might want to drop by both days if you want to see the full range.

If you've been thinking about buying a full size hat from House of Nines, even if you haven't made up your mind which one yet, this is a good chance come by to get your head measured. I take several head measurements that tell both the size and proportions of your head, to ensure a good and accurate fit. I'll keep your measurements on file for the future, which will make ordering online easier for you later.

Wish me luck this weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing all you Southern California peeps soon!

New Retailer: Iron Dog Antiques

A lovely new retailer is now carrying House of Nines Design hats- Iron Dog Antiques in Fremont, California.

It's owned and operated by a sweet, energetic mother-and-daughter team whom I've come to think of as 'The Dynamic Duo'. They travel the world looking for unique and beautiful things to offer (Mom is in Italy right now, on the hunt for treasures), and have already ordered a number of House of Nines Design hats, some of which are in the shop already- check out the 'Una' in the center of a store display in the photo below. The rest will be there within a few days. In addition to a mix of my standard styles, they've also purchased exclusive pieces designed especially for Iron Dog that you won't find anywhere else.

When I asked them for some information to share with you about their business, here's what they had to say: 'We are a true mix, from fabulous to funky with a strong Art Deco overtone. We are primarily antiques, however, we do carry some new if it is well done or heirloom quality. We love to support and feature local & Bay Area artists that have a vintage feel to their work. We would be considered mid to high end, but do pride ourselves on finding unique and special goodies at a price point for all budgets. We are located in the eternally sweet and historic district of Niles in Fremont. Niles is a wonderful destination for an afternoon of strolling antiques shops and fun specialty shops. We are located in the center of town directly across from the Niles town Plaza.'

I'm excited to have my work featured in such a fun, eclectic store and to be working with such nice people. If you're in the Bay Area I hope you'll have the chance to visit them soon. And if you're on Facebook, check out their page here.

Customer Photos: Megan

The good stuff just keeps rolling in.

Here's another super customer, Megan, who has I-don't-even-know-how-many House of Nines Design hats at this point. She has an eye for one-of-a-kind and custom pieces, and uses them to accessorize her wardrobe in a way that's really fun. And she's been buying hats of mine since the beginning of my business, so looking through her collection is fun for me, like seeing old friends from years ago.

Here's Megan in a one-of-a-kind 'Belle Epoch' mini top hat in black fur felt with black and white striped ribbon trim and a big cockade. She was using this one as her Facebook profile photo for a while, and I was very flattered.

 

 

Photo: 2011 Oscar Cwajbaum http://oscarc.net/

 

Photo: 2011 Oscar Cwajbaum http://oscarc.net/

Top hats at the Aquarium? I'm all for it.  I think these were taken at San Francisco's Aquarium of the Bay, where I recently did some research for aquatic-inspired hats for Spring / Summer 2013 (stay tuned).

 

Photo: Robert Bradshaw robertbradshawphotography.com 

 

Photo: Robert Bradshaw robertbradshawphotography.com 

Here's another 'Belle Epoch' from Megan's collection. This was a one-of-kind item as well, because I only had two of these antique mother of pearl buckles used to provide a knot for the bow, and I plan to use the other one on a totally different hat. (But, I still have just a few pieces left of this vintage, very limited vibrant purple long-nap fur felt if anyone is interested.) She's further customized it on her own by swapping in feathers from a red 'Una' top hat. 

 

Photo: 2011 Oscar Cwajbaum http://oscarc.net/

A close-up of Megan in her 'Una'.

 Photo: Robert Bradshaw robertbradshawphotography.com 

 

 Photo: Robert Bradshaw robertbradshawphotography.com 

Ok. So, in the following photo, Megan is not wearing one of my hats. It was mixed in with the photos she sent me, and when I realized it was her, I was so humored that I had to share it. This is Megan in Wesley Crusher drag, standing proudly in front of Our Fair City, the future home of the United Federation of Planets. It made my day.

 Photo: Robert Bradshaw robertbradshawphotography.com 

When I let Megan know how happy the last photo made my inner geek, she sent me the following photo of Wesley Crusher meeting Wil Wheaton, and it made my MONTH. Judging by Wil's reaction, it did the same for him. Assuming that this face of Wil's means "Brilliant!" (what else?) I'm feeling the same way about her.

Many thanks to Megan for sharing these super great photos. Have some of your own? Send them in!

Customer Photos: More Jo

Love these great photos recently received from Joanna in Australia.

Joanna is a fantastic regular customer of House of Nines, I've literally lost count of how many custom hats she has commissioned over the years.  This custom 'Wellington' is her most recent purchase.

The style may be more familiar to you in its animal print form, which looks like this:

Jo requested black long-nap felt instead of the animal print, but the ribbon trim is the same. As you can see in the photo below, instead of stripped hackle feathers, we went with curled peacock swords. Jo said the photos were taken on a windy day so the feathers were being blown around a bit. And we added a birdcage veiling over the eyes. I have hundreds and hundreds of bolts of rare antique silk veiling in stock, and this is one of my personal favorites, it's got a geometric pattern but is so delicate.

Jo usually prefers to go with custom designs instead of choosing a ready-to-wear style, and it's always a lot of fun working on something special for her.

Thanks again for all your amazing customer photos! Keep 'em coming!

Mens Fall / Winter 2012

Photos of the first wave of new House of Nines Design men's line for 2012 are done! The second (smaller) batch of styles will be released in a few weeks, but here is the main event:

Combining a handsome front pinch and long center-dent crown with a stingy curled brim, the 'Clive' is a jaunty hybrid of a classic homburg and the ever-popular fedora. It doesn't get any sharper than this! Trimmed in a graphic bow finished with silk stitching and a ribbon-bound edge. Available in black or taupe.

 

 

The 'Blake' is House of Nines Design's take on a classic fedora. The deep tear-drop shaped dent and hand-shaped pinch at the front makes for a substantial, organic look.  Trimmed with fancy turkey feathers and hand-folded ribbon arrow motifs. Available in charcoal gray with steel blue trim, or black with copper brown trim.

 

 

   

 

The 'Kingston' was inspired by styles popular with Brazilian Bossa Nova and Jamaican Ska musicians of the early 1960s, and again during the Mod revival of the 1980s. Ever classic, the mod look has seen a resurgence in popularity again in high fashion during the last decade. The 'Kingston' is a stylized fedora with a slightly conical profile, high rounded front pinches, and a tight teardrop-shaped dent. It has a stingy, sanded-edge brim and is trimmed with a graphic, folded bow. Available in black, or navy blue with a steel blue band.

 

All House of Nines Design hats are lovingly made by hand to order, one at a time, at our studio in San Francisco, California. We use only the best quality materials. Mens hats are silk-lined and fitted with full-grain Roan leather sweatbands. Custom sizing and styles available. Additional colors and trim options upon request.

Google Mail Fail

I have just discovered that, unbeknownst to me, for almost a year I have been having a problem with my Google account which was sending email received through my blog to a weird, hidden email that wasn't being forwarded to my email browser. What a mess. I have since fixed the problem, so this 'ghost' email address is no longer accessible through my blog. If you still have that address (triciaroushtemp@gmail.com), please discard it as I will not be checking it going forward. The correct address to reach me is tricia@houseofninesdesign.com, please use this to contact me going forward and I should get your messages just fine.

End of Season Clearance

It's time to make some space for brand new styles.

Two dozen House of Nines Design hats are now 25-75% off at Dark Garden in San Francisco. Includes many popular & one-of-a-kind styles.

I've also put a number of things on sale on my Etsy shop.

Get them while you can! Each style I've put on sale is down to just one or sometimes two items left, and when they're gone, they're gone.