Milliners on Etsy

Etsy has a neat feature called Treasury, where you can create a collection of 16 items (from other sellers generally). I've created several for a variety of reasons. Yesterday I made one for hats. Check it out here:

New Year ... New Hat (Etsy treasury)

I believe more in karma than competitiveness. So I don't have a problem giving a shout-out to other milliners. In fact, I enjoy doing it. I love hats — and that includes hats made by other artists. :) This collection is 16 of my many favorite hats on Etsy.

"Milla– what?"

I knew that the words "milliner" and "millinery" were not exactly in the common vernacular. Still, I think I'm a little surprised by how many educated people I need to explain the word to.

I said before that I avoid using "atelier" because I think it sounds too pretentious for what I'm (currently) doing. But I do like the word "milliner." In some ways it sounds more descriptive than "hat-maker." No one is going to confuse a milliner with one of those kiosks at the mall where you can get a design embroidered on a baseball cap. Or even assume that I knit or crochet hats.

It might be time, though, to say "I make hats" when people ask what I do. Otherwise the conversation goes like this...

"What do you do?"
"I have my own millinery business."
"Milla– what?"
"Millinery."
"..."
"It means hat-making."
"Oh. I didn't know that word before."

And any conversation about my hats or my actual work vanishes as the person absorbs the new vocabulary.

But hey ... I did register merely Silverhill Creative as a business name with the state. So I could add any descriptor on that I'd like. Silverhill Creative Hats. Silverhill Creative Headwear. Silverhill Creative Accessories. ... But probably not. :)

I am Silverhill Creative Millinery.

Fascinator (Sold!)

I made this fascinator recently. It was kind of a custom order, so it sold basically immediately. (Yay!) The down-side is that almost nobody got to see it in my shop before it was gone. So here it is:

I call it "Waves." Inspired by the ocean in Maine. :)

Sacred Spaces

Like many milliners, I work from home. In a way, though, I don't consider it working from home. I work from my space — my studio (or "atelier" if I want to use the fancy-schmancy word many milliners use). But, because it's in my house, occasionally it has to give way to other functions.

For more than 2 weeks in the past month, my studio has had to be converted back into its original identity as a guest room. I love my guests. First, our best friend from college; next, my mom. I was glad they were here. But I experienced a new emotion too, feeling kind of cranky and frustrated. I had work I could do outside of that space (and I did). So I wasn't totally stifled, but I felt as though I was. I've been thinking about how selfish and needy I was feeling about "my" room. And it really made me think about how important — even sacred — our creative work spaces can be to us as artists.

I now have my studio back, and I feel so relieved! And part of having the room empty means supplies and tools get scattered everywhere. (Oops!) I have gotten a lot of work done in the past couple days. Glad to have full access to all my creative materials. :)

What would be really great is if I had the money to finish the "bonus room" over the garage to use exclusively as my atelier. A girl can dream ...

Geeking Out

There's lots of vintage stuff on Etsy, and I usually admire it and move on. Today I saw this, though, and I'm practically squealing with geeky delight over it:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/106044744/antique-19th-c-bullion-on-silk-velvet

Click through for more photos.

Maybe it's because of the shoes I made for Sweeney Todd, but I am completely in love with this. The embroidery is gorgeous! And it's in such good condition. I half want to buy it, but I don't think I can justify the expense. So, I thought I'd share the vintage fashion love.