Artists Make Hats

Posted & filed under artists, hats, mad skillz.

Do you know the art of Arizona-based painter Carolyn Schmitz, whose paintings include a series of animals wearing gorgeous natural hats? Go check her out. It’s hard to choose, but I might love the bear with the bluejay on its head best of all.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may have caught on that I like wearing cool stuff on my head. In that spirit, I want to share the Etsy shop ElsewhenMillinery, whose proprietor, Wendy, recently made me a beautiful green hat.

I have an upcoming social event that requires a hat. (If there are good pictures, I promise to share them, because, weather depending, it’s going to be a photo-worthy event!) I decided to treat myself to exactly the hat I wanted, which meant finding a skilled artist who could make it for me. Look how it turned out.

I love it. Here’s a photo that shows the pretty shape and fine details…

 I chose a green linen fabric because I wanted a hat I can wear anytime that will always match my ring. The buttons are a nice touch.

To my surprise and delight, when it arrived, I discovered that the inside was lined with a thesaurus-themed fabric that contained entries for words like “memory,” “amusement,” and “inspire.” I spend half my life in the thesaurus, and these words are so appropriate for my intentions for this hat, and, just, LOVE.

Check out Wendy’s shop. She usually works in more neutral colors, so don’t worry if grass green isn’t your thing :). She also has hat patterns for sale, so if you’re interested in making your own hats, definitely take a look.

Of course, this reminds me of another incredible hat by another artist — the hat my mother knitted me, hiding my book titles inside — which you can see here. I’ll be wearing that hat soon too, on a grand snowy adventure, which I will blog about sometime in the coming days. Yes, I am cloaking the blog in mystery :o). But I promise, everything (at least, everything hat-related) will be revealed.

Happy hats, everyone!