Looking back, I’m not sure exactly where September went, although I had lots of different small projects going, including bridal orders, teaching (and taking) classes at Stitch Lab, a “Hello Birdie!” hat collaboration for a silent auction, and ramp-up to a costume design project, which was cast in mid-September.
At Stitch Lab, I taught my second round of the Buckram Series in which students learn how to pattern and build a buckram and wire frame pillbox AND also how to block buckram to make a cocktail hat or fascinator base. I love this class because it is so labor-intensive (3 full Saturdays in a row) and rewarding. Buckram is a wonderful millinery foundation material that is incredibly versatile. Somehow I failed to take photos of the hats made by my students (perhaps they’re on the Lab camera rather than my personal one???) but here’s a shot of two buckram frame hats that I made earlier this year for an art exhibit:
Mini Top Hat and Heart-shaped Pillbox, both in red silk taffeta
I did take photos for the next class, Felt Cloche, which I taught on Sept 17 and 24. Kat, Nancy, and Maggie were delightful students and we all had fun blocking and trimming, whilst wishing for cooler weather to arrive so that the new hats could be worn!
Fur felt hoods blocked on balsa forms
Kat in her charcoal grey cloche with hand-dyed silk ribbon and vintage buckle
I had the pleasure of taking a 4-class series from the talented Kathleen McTee (pic’d above) in Screen Printing, which was a textile technique that I hadn’t played with much since undergrad Surface Design classes. She is a wonderful instructor and I love how accessible she makes the art of making and using silk screens. I had hoped to experiment with screening designs onto unblocked hoods and capelines, and was thrilled with my results. I’ll definitely be incorporating some hand silk screened motifs into Milli Starr’s spring 2010 collection.
Sample silk screen on parasisol straw
I also made bigger screens for t-shirts, wall prints, etc, of which my favorite is this one, taken from an image of Isabella Blow. She was an incomparable fashion eccentric and muse. And hat lover, of course.
Silk screen of Isabella Blow
Finally, I accepted an invitation to collaborate on an “art hat” for the 6th Annual “Hello Birdie!” event benefitting Uplift Austin. While I often donate a hat or headpiece to a good cause, this was the first time I have ever collaborated with another artist, and while it was a great learning experience, I would definitely approach a joint-production differently in the future.
I worked with artist Curlin Reed Sulivan to design a birdhouse-inspired hat for their silent auction. We decided upon a design and a color - chartreuse - then I blocked the hat, wired and finished it, and stitched on all of the trims, including a darling flower girl and bird which were needle-felted by Curlin. Here she is modeling the finished hat:
"A Little Birdie Told Me..." by Milli Starr & Pippingtooth Studios
Cute, huh? Curlin creates all sorts of Flower Girls including greeting cards, shadow boxes, vases, even embroidery kits. You can shop her darling art online at Pippingtooth Studio.
I can’t believe I am actually joining the blogosphere. For those of you who know me, it’s immediately apparent that I am “old school” and shun most modern technology, fads, and social phenomenon like MySpace and Facebook. I wear mostly vintage; don’t have a television, an iPhone, or even a microwave. I am never happier than when practicing my profession, the nearly-lost art of traditional millinery. I make hats, headpieces, bridal veils, and fascinators. Gorgeous adornments made by hand, using a collection of antique wooden hat blocks, a vintage Jiffy millinery steamer, and a 1920’s hat stretcher.