gearing up for the eve

Dust off those party hats, its New Year's Eve!

I hope that everyone is getting ready for a festive evening. I had grand aspirations of hand making cool party hats for tonight but it didn't get done. We'll have to settle for the classic glitter tiaras and paper cones. There is something to be said for the oldies. Wishing everyone a safe and joy-filled eve. See you in 2010!

hand-made from the heart

It feels good to sit down at my computer after a nice week long vacation. After much eating, traveling, and merry making today is back to the schedule (blogging, emailing, yoga, cleaning). It was a wonderful year for hand-made gifts, and I'm proud to share the latest emilliner design- a men's felt fedora (soon to be on etsy). My first men's hat in over a year went to my wonderful dad who is one of my biggest supporters. Nathan also received one along with a custom pillow (made from a great tee-shirt from isotope on etsy).

On the receiving end, I was lucky to get three very special homemade gifts. My father (who went to design school in Chicago) drew a very sweet picture of our new home.

Nathan (inspired I think by my snow blog) created a lovely print commemorating our Chicago days.

My mother, one of my earliest crafty teachers, made me two sets of winter hats and mittens. Check out the especially warm felted mittens and vintage inspired knit kerchief. She's so talented!

Nathan and I have been wondering what our special Christmas tradition will be and I think we've come up with a good one.

Etsy Spotlight: tiny toadstool

Today's fantastic etsy seller dadaya is sure to bring a bit of cheer into your life. With her line tiny toadstool she magically combines four of my loves: hats, felt, embroidery and color! Her tiny berets are pieces of art- soft and organic with wonderful patterns and texture. She also offers fabulous mittens and has an online vintage clothing store. I love the way that she styles her photos, and one can feel the joy of creative fashion in her shots. I just can't say enough about her work so please check it out for yourself!

Christmas Projects

I'm frantically finishing up a few little Christmas sewing projects. Love this old advertisement, and it fits perfectly for today's inspirational pic. Wish I had time to make a few more hats between now and the big day!

Milliner Monday: Bes-Ben

Today's milliner duo holds a special place in my heart. A couple of years back I stumbled upon millinery gold at the Chicago History Museum. On display was a little hat topped with miniature pillows. It was love at first sight.

Dubbed “Chicago's Mad Hatter” Benjamin Green-Field paired with his sister Bess to create the millinery label Bes-Ben and opened a store in 1919. Bes-Ben's whimsical creations were worn by the wealthy and famous including such ladies as Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich. The hats would often feature multiple “miniatures” of things including dogs, owls, cigarettes, palm trees and lobsters to name a few. He created a hat topped with real razor blades for Heda Hopper to wear to the film premiere of “The Razor's Edge.” In deference to WWII and rationing, hats were created from kitchen utensils, napkin rings and sponges.

The exclusive hats were priced from $37- $1000 and sold well even during the depression. Famously every summer Bes-Ben would clean house of old inventory with a special $5 sale. Starting at 2am Mr. Green-Field would toss the sale hats out to a waiting crowd. In the 1960s demand for the hats declined, but today they remain highly collectible. In recent times one Bes-Ben hat sold to a collector for over $18,000.

I was delighted to find that my very own Indianapolis is home to many special Bes-Ben pieces. The Indianapolis Museum or Art houses the following treasures:

"horses" hat

"bullfighters" hat

"hats" hat

"dogs" hat

"swans" hat

and one of my personal favorites: "corn" hat

Bes-Ben hats are sure to put a smile on my face and remind me why I love hats. I hope you love them too!

Etsy Spotlight: spinthread

Today's Etsy Spotlight is one of my favorite sellers. Since my first cross-stitch lesson as a child, I've always loved to embroider. It runs in the family, and my grandmother's house always had those pictures or pillows of fruit and flowers made from heavy wool stitches. The technical term is "crewel work"- to create a slightly raised stitched design using wool thread or yarn. Spinthread's collection Maranon is evocative of this traditional technique but her perspective is so fresh and modern. The geometric patterns of her designs are graphic and clean yet soft from the cotton thread. They invite you to run your fingers over the surface. The colors are fantastic, and I especially enjoy the process photos of the work on flickr.

She also makes a mean pom pom and has a few headpieces as well.

Cheers to Spinthread for creating such unique fashion with traditional methods.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

While I can't complain about its effect on the heating bill, this warmer December weather has left me feeling a little snow deprived. I've also been missing my Chicago gang so I've pulled out an oldie for today's hat inspiration pics of the day. Way back to 2007. Fun in Hyde Park with Soule, Fraser and Nathan (sporting his new Philip Treacy cap). Here's to more snowy adventures in 2010!