Millinery Projects: December round up

Morning Lovelies, one of my intentions for 2015 is to share more of my own millinery and creative work here, afterall that was one of my original intentions when I started this blog. So I thought I would  start sooner rather than later so here are a few photos of the millinery projects I have been working on lately.

 I started them in early December in an attempt to ease myself into doing some proper millinery rather than just concentrating on the theatre and costume projects that I have been concentrating on over the bulk of 2014. I started with some simple fascinators to get back into the swing of it and practice my blocking and wiring skills on some quick projects. 

 This was the piece I started with, after making 100 pompoms and writing this post  on pompoms used in millinery I decided to make a simple fascinator with a Pompom trim and I think it worked out quite well.

I then tried my hand at this beaded facinator. I was trying to recreate a Art Deco pattern but it didn't really work our as planned so I added these feathers to bring in some extra detail. I like the idea of creating small beaded head pieces or using beaded embroidery as a trim for larger hats but I think I need to develop my embroidery designs and plan out the pattern on the piece before starting it.

 I worked on this feather piece after finishing the feather work on the one above. I was surprised how quickly it came together and really love the colours of the feathers used but I'm not sure the overall shape is quite right. It's definitely one to revisit in the future.

 

After Christmas I moved on to these last two projects. I had ordered myself some lovely Liberty fabric pieces from ebay and really wanted to use them in a more wearable piece so I made this alice band, which I think has worked quite well. I have also been playing with making a more casual cut and sew hat and made this rather cozy one in velvet. It wasn't quite how I had planned but overall I think it was successful

.

 Well now I feel back in the swing of things, millinery wise, I'm planning on starting some bigger millinery projects over the next few months. I'll definitely try and share more of my work with you all as I work through them. Hope everyone is having a great weekend xxx

Inspirational Millinery - Lilly Dache

image courtesy of wiki.com

Today I wanted to share with you some more of the wonderful work created by Lilly Dache. I first came across Lilly's work a few weeks ago and included one of her pieces in my recent inspiration post. As I mentioned then I want to get to know more work from milliners of the past, so thought that there was no better place to start than getting myself better acquainted with the work of Lilly Dache.

image source moviepictures.org

" I made everything with love, affection and excitement"

This was a quote by Lilly Dache  that was used in her New York times obituary when she passed away aged 97 in 1990 and is a sentiment that I intend to take on for myself because I think that it really shines through in her work .

Aged 15 she became a millinery apprentice to a famous Paris Millinery Caroline Reboux, then after moving to New York in the 1920's  she worked at a small millinery shop before taking it over with another colleague. She built up a strong following of customers and eventually became a favorite designer for Hollywood stars such as  Audrey Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich.

original image source unknown- image found via pinterest

Always having an entrepreneurial spirit she also started producing handbags in the 1930's and introduced a range of costume jewelry in the 1950's. Then after her retirement she licensed out her name to a variety of fashion and nightwear lines.

As well as designing for her own labels she also collaborated with Hollywood costume designer Travis Barker to create hats for his on screen costume designs.

image source-metmuseum.org

What I really admire about  Dache's work is the way that the hats feel effortless for the wearer, not casual as such but that style of glamour that feels natural and not stiff or too formal in anyway, hat's like this one above also have a great sense of fun and playfulness which I think is a really important quality in millinery, I like a hat that doesn't take it's self too seriously.  The most impressive thing I feel about Dache's work is that her creations are timeless, many of her designers  would not be out of place in millinery collections of today.

image source :dirtyfabulous.blogspot.co.uk

How can any one resist Carmen Miranda in a Pompom trimmed hat, I think this has to be my favourite example of Llily Dache's work that I have come across so far, just because it feels really good fun and suit's Carmen's style really well, though I suppose it would be considered one of Carmen's more toned down looks compared to some of the wonderfully outlandish creations she is famous for wearing on screen.

I've really found Lilly Dache's work inspiring and looking at her various creations whilst researching for this post has certainly helped me get back into the flow of things with my own millinery work after the Christmas break. Hope everyone is having a great week xxx

 

Happy New year + My word for 2015!

Wow, here we are already two days into the start of 2015, who would believe that it would come round so fast! I hope everyone had a great time of the festive period and feeling excited about things to come over the next 12 months.

I'm gearing up to build on the experiences I had least year working on all the theatre projects I was involved in in 2014, as well as committing myself to work on more of my own millinery designs and creative projects (as well as the usual , eat healthier, drink more water, exercise more, be more organized etc ...)

A few weeks ago I read this post by Michelle Ward on her fab blog at whenigrownupcoach. I’m a big fan  of Michelle’s work and always find her posts and the stories she shares of creative entrepreneurs really inspiring. On the post she discussed what her chosen word for 2015 was and this lead me to pondering what mine would be.

At the beginning of 2014 I read Michelle’s previous post for the word of that year and chose Purposeful to be my word of 2014. In choosing this word I was aiming to embark on each project with intent and full focus, I was yearning to move away from the feeling of doing things just for the sake of it and putting the scary bigger things off because I didn't feel ready for them or that the time wasn't right.

With this mentality I  accomplished a lot, and looking back over the last 12 months has made me feel pretty proud of myself. 

From taking on the role of costume lead in a production of Taming of the Shrew over the summer, going part time in my office job so I could commit to doing more costume and millinery projects and taking on my first lot of paid work in a professional millinery workroom I've taken some pretty big steps towards having a creative career. To be honest it has been pretty tough at times and there has been plenty of moments where I have really questioned whether it would work out, but with my new purposeful mindset I could push through these doubts and give it my all. 

So moving on to 2015 I wanted to give myself a new word for the year, and after a bit of deliberating I decided on the word Present.

 

  At times, recently, I have been feeling like I haven't been focusing enough on the here and now, worrying too much about whether or not my current endeavors will work out rather than enjoying the creative process. I want too move away from focusing on what the next opportunity will be and be more present to appreciate the ones I have at the moment. I want to be more consciously present when interacting with others and enjoy my time with them as it happens, I want to be more present when I am working so I can recognize my achievements and learn from my challenges as I progress through them.

My hope in doing this is that I will appreciate the life I have now in the present more than what will happen tomorrow. After thinking about this for a while it reminded me of a saying we had been taught in school:

I can't wait to see where my word for the year takes me during 2015, what's everyone else intentions and hopes for the year ahead?  Has anyone else picked a word or theme to focus on over 2015, Happy New Year and here's to a super 2015 whatever your working towards xxx