Carrie arrived as a referral .  When I was making the appointment for the design consult , I wrote down the last name for reference and had a vaguely familiar feeling.  Carrie arrived for her design consult and we went through the whole process.  Carrie looked familiar but I think these days that I am starting to see familiar faces when really it is probably unlikely, so I really didn’t think too much more about it.   It was only at the end of the appointment that Carrie mentioned her florist, Blooming Box Co that I realised that she had a wheatbelt contact (my last residence).   I then twigged as to why she looked familiar – I asked if her parents’ names were Rob and Julie which she replied yes with a little bit of a  curious expression.   Turns out that Carrie had grown up on the farm next door  to our own family farm and her mother had taught my son at the local school- the reason that she appeared familiar is that there is a strong resemblance to her parents.  It turned out that she had chosen a wheatbelt photographer ( Iris Photography) , florist and milliner for her day – all totally unplanned….

Carrie chose a non traditional wedding dress colour of a beautiful deep blue for her day from the Lisa Ho collection.  Creating a white or ivory headpiece would have provided a little too much contrast with this colour and especially over dark hair.

Carrie was looking for a vintage style headpiece that was minimal in style as she had chosen a sleek hairstyle for her day.   The Peta headpiece with a skimmer veil was Carrie’s final choice.   We overcame the contrast problem by using a silver dupion silk to make the headpiece that when combined with the dress, threw a slight bluish tinge.   Her choice of earrings helped pick up the silver and diamantes of the headpiece.  The veiling was tinted to a soft silver to tone with the headpiece.

Carrie wearing vintage style Peta Headpiece

I love how Margaret of Blooming Box Co has added silver to the bridal bouquet to tie all the themes together.
Thank you Carrie for sending through this photo of your day – I love seeing the finished outfit all come together and it is great to hear a bride describe her wedding day as Carrie did in her comment to me below.

“Just a note to report that our wedding went off without a hitch and we had a blast! Thanks for a wonderful job on the hairpiece, it received a lot of compliments on the day. Attached is a picture for your scrapbook!”

Very few of the students have had any previous experience before arriving, and I always love to see the amazing creations that are made on the day.  I am not always the teacher, but often the student, as I will always learn something new from the skills of the students.

This is Jacinta’s lovely freeform sinamay hat – a work still in progress she says, but is has “great bones” to work with.  Here are her comments

Hi Fiona

How are you today?I would like to thank you for a fabulous and informant day last Tuesday!! I had so much fun and I still can’t wait to make more hats

I have attached a photo for you of the one I was making!! ( not decorated as yet – thinking of putting one statement feather) but I thought I would send you how far I have done so far

Thank you again and hopefully talk/see you soon

Jacinta

Jacinta's free form sinamay hat

The wiring of this hat would have been difficult due to all the bends, so congrats on getting that done and your binding is sewn on beautifully as well.

I thought it might be time to add some of my previous class images sent to me as well just so you can see what can be achieved from a one day class.

I think that Bunbury has the most concentration of milliners now as I have now taught over 5 people from there.  Cher took out the millinery prize last year after completing the Jan 11 class.

Hello Fiona

 Last year my friend and I Sallyanne did a course with you, we are from Bunbury. 

 Well thanks to your teaching we have managed to produce some great designs which were worn by many at the Bunbury Cup yesterday and one of the shoe stores in town is stocking them.  We are getting many compliments on the quality of the pieces we produce so we have remembered your ‘short cut is a long cut rule’!  One of Sallyannes pieces won the ‘wow’ factor ensemble in the fashions on the field.

If you have the time I just started a facebook page with some designs that we have done   www.facebook.com/tulipheadwear.

Now that I am master of my own web page universe, I cannot use the excuse of waiting for the web designer to do ( insert any excuse that I have used here) .  Students from previous classes have sent in their completed class pieces and I am now proud to show their first and fantastic millinery efforts.  Below for your enjoyment, (and to remind me again how proud I am of these pieces too)  are some of the finished (or near finished) pieces from previous classes.  I will soon post some of the ongoing photos of pieces from previous students as they develop their business and hat styles.  I love to see the students developing work and their passion for millinery.

Helen's completed hat from class

Cher's finished class hat

Vicki's Melbourne Cup Hat

Maria's hat for young daughter

 

  

Marian's little topper

Felt Hat

I thank all the latest (and past) students for their enthusiasm – it makes passing on all the skills that other milliners have so generously taught me in the past so enjoyable.  As exhausting as the classes are, they are so much fun.

I have posted just a few emails that I have received from previous students after their class  for you to see just how addictive millinery can be.

Hi Fiona,

Just wanted to reiterate how wonderful yesterday was. You are a true inspiration let alone an amazing artist & teacher. I had trouble sleeping last night as I was just laying awake thinking of hats & designs/trimmings!! I am sorry to have left a bit early but really needed to get back home before being too tired to drive for an hour!

Thank you once again – I will be emailing you with the subject for other classes!!!

Lisa

 

Morning Fiona,

I would just like to take the time to personally thank you for all of your efforts and teachings on Saturdays “Crinoline Workshop”. Personally I got so much out of the day. Almost therapeutic… It is not often that I actually do something for myself, so I think that this is one of the reasons why I enjoyed the day so much more.

I was so drained by the time I finally got home. My daughter made me a coffee and I sat outside with my new couture hat pinned in place, sipping my coffee!!!

Would you believe, I went to show off my hat to a friend, and one of her friends were there. This woman wanted to buy my hat for race day!!! She said that she’d been looking but found all the local hats were too much of the same… But I said no, as it was my first hat and the fact that I was not willing to part with it yet and the fact that I still needed it to refer to when I make my next one.

I’m glad that I chose to get a bit of extra material, as I am already planning in my mind of the next hat I will create.

Again Fiona, I loved the day, it was a highlight that I will cherish for some time. And if you happen to run any further workshops in Kal or even Perth,  please let me know in advance, so I can look at getting to the workshop.

Jane

 

Hi Fiona

I just wanted to say thank you for all the knowledge that you parted with yesterday and your invaluable teaching.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it has given me great motivation.  I continued hand sewing today and it is starting to come together.

I was most pleased to learn more than I have at uni and of course as you say the learning will never stop.  I was absolutely exhausted when I got home last night, so I cannot imagine how tired you must have been.  I used to teach scrapbooking and it is so draining and I only did it for a 4 hour period so nothing like the 12 hours you did.  Big thank you for this.

Once again many thanks.

Ashley

 

Fiona – hi, hope you are recovering OK from yesterday!!  Just wanted to say on behalf of Maureen, Maria and myself a big thank you for all your teaching yesterday and making it such an enjoyable day – we all got something different out of it  – it far exceeded our expectations.

So from the three of us – hats off to Fiona!!

Mary

 

Thanks Fiona for a relaxed and informative day. I am inspired to keep working on hats for myself and to keep creating. Your style of class really helped me to relax and learn and I know Elaine felt the same.

Thank you

Vereka

 

good morning Fiona

a note to say  THANK YOU  for a fabulous, inspiring day.

I was soooooooo enthralled all day I didnt even stop to check the Manly Rugby scores – didnt even think of them until we were driving home.  Unheard of !!!!!

was a truly great day, thank you soooooo much.  Learnt heaps and even more inspired.

Again, thank you
Elaine

 

Hi Fiona

Just wanted to say a MASSIVE MASSIVE thanks for the workshop yesterday. I had so much fun and learnt heaps…I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

On a personal note I think you are a brilliant teacher, so enthusiastic it’s infectious and very very patient with us all and as for sharing the tricks of the trade… well I know most people don’t so I count myself lucky. I can safely say I won’t need to buy a race day hat again – unless it’s to take apart and re-style!!

Thanks again. Hels xxx

 

---

 

One such bride was Vanessa, who by the way ladies,  has one of the most unforgettable wedding dates of the 11/11/2011.   There is never going to be an excuse good enough for this groom to forget an anniversary date.

Vanessa’s wedding was held at the Bell Tower near the Swan River in Perth which provides a beautiful backdrop.   I went to a cocktail party there once and then thought how wonderful it would be a  for a small wedding.

Bell Tower

Vanessa wanted to wear her hair down and mentioned that her dress had very little embellishment.  This meant that her hair accessory could be a real statement piece and with her dark hair providing the contrast, diamante “bling” was the perfect place to start.

Vanessa chose a visor birdcage veil to compliment her look.  The veil was made of American veiling which has a thicker thread, larger diamond pattern and no border on the bottom in comparison to the veils made from Russian veiling.

Vanessa

The headpiece was designed from a combination of two separate diamante pieces.  Vanessa really liked the “Bedazzle” diamante piece to be used as the feature piece  because of its irregularity and of course the “bedazzling” look of it.

Bedazzle piece with bridal tulle to the rear

The other diamante piece that was used to make the curled extensions over the crown and sides came from the Roma piece.   I used some of the swirls to wrap over the crown and the larger features completed the ends.   A string of single diamantes was then used to cover the wire frame at the rear.

Roma

Vanessa’s dress for the day was was  absolutely gorgeous and the fit of the dress was perfect.         I loved the cut of the dress which was all vintage hollywood glamour styling – elegant and classic.

The statement headpiece meant that other jewellery was really not necessary except for the addition of small earrings and the detail at the waist and shoulders.

The photographer for the day was Ze Photography who has managed to capture the couple’s sense of fun.  Vanessa’s make-up artist was Ali Price Makeup.

Vanessa’s lipstick is absolutely perfect (even at enlargement, there is a perfect pout) for all the shots. I avoid red lipstick as it tends to end up all over the face rather than where I should be wearing it. I wish I could master this perfection.

Update :  Vanessa just sent in this info for girls looking for this colour lippy for their day.

In case anyone asks, my lipstick was a colour called brick by a company called Lipsense. Its completely kiss proof and lasts up to 20 hours with very little reapplication required. Its the same brand used by Christina Agulira who is famous for her bold lippies!!!

The proud Father of the Bride

I love this next photo as I think it shows the pride of a father as he is walking his little girl down the aisle, realising that she is entering the next phase of her life.

Look at the beautiful city backdrop from this venue .

Bell Tower backdrop view

Fantastic views over the river too.

Great to see that there were not too many boats on the river this day to distract the guests.

The Happy Couple

The last two photos are personal photos sent in and I have added them just to show the couple’s sense of fun.

Relaxing after the formalities

Vanessa, thank you for letting me share your day.   I really enjoyed making this piece and the fun we had during the design process.

I arrived back from my holidays in early Feb (very relaxed and feeling pretty zen after being greedy and having pretty frequent massages) to an extraordinary amount of brides needing headpieces for the last two weeks of Feb and early March.  YIKES……

It seems that more brides are choosing not to have veils or headpieces early on, but when they do their final fitting, they discover that “something” is missing.  Subsequently I have these last minute pieces to squeeze into my workbook.

So for all those on the waiting list who were expecting February classes, thank you for your patience  and allowing me to clear all the last minute orders.

I have a vacancy at the moment the Tues 20th March class, and the Sunday 25th March class, so if you are interested, email me to see if the position is still available.  Other days may become available once I hear back from a few more on the list.

I will be running more advanced classes shortly to pass on the wonderful knowledge shared by the Tutors that I met at the International Millinery Forum.  Stay Tuned….

Jessica on her wedding day

She had purchased some extra lace that was to be used as a shoulder strap for her bridal dress, but she changed her mind once it arrived.  The lace was a beautiful guipure lace design with heavy beading and beautiful swarovski crystals of all shapes – just perfect for re-designing into a headpiece.

Guipure lace is a perfect fabric for turning into headpieces as it is quite heavy so can hold its shape well.  It also has the advantage of being strong enough to cut pieces out of the design and re-position them into a new shape.  Once they are joined and wired, it is very difficult to see the joins in the piece.   It is also a wonderful backdrop to embellish with  pearls and crystals for that extra bit of flash and bling.  It is so versatile as it can make a small subtle headpiece, all the way through to a full crown vintage lace cap as it can be shaped very easily.

Jessica wanted some of the drop crystals to be placed towards the front so that she could have the movement of them visable from the front.  The piece was originally designed to be worn with a different hairdo, but in her own words :-

“I decided to wear my hair up in the end and loved it because it showed my headpiece off more!  Thank you. I LOVED it! I had more comments on my headpiece than my dress!”

Thank you Jessica for sharing your photos- I had a lot of fun doing this piece so am so glad that you loved it on your day.

Jessica on her wedding day

I had promised to myself that I would take lots of photos of the outfits so I could post them here, but for some reason, I found it difficult to just face up to the girls and ask if I could take their pictures.  Thank you to all the girls that were kind enough to let me take photos of them and apologies to all the ones that I let slip away before finding my braveheart to ask for your pictures.  Maybe next year….

Jayson Brunsdon was the compere for the day (where was Basil?) and although new to the job, provided some great commentary on the outfits (especially his own creations).  He was particularly taken with one competitor’s handbag styled as a french mantle clock.  Maybe we will see this accessory with his collection on next year’s catwalk.

I will leave the newspapers to show you the winners and runner ups as I am sure their photography will do far more justice to the outfits than my little point and click camera.

These are a few of the girls that I eventually was brave enough to snap on the day.  I started to get names to go with the pictures but as things became a little more hectic, I realised that I was making too many mistakes with image numbers and names – another blonde moment.

For your fashion enjoyment, here are some of the ladies snapped at the event.

Perth Heat Myer Fashion on Field 2011

  Danielle – Pretty in Pink

Perth Heat Myer Fashion on Field 2011

Stephanie

Perth Myer Fashion on Field entrants 2011

Perth Myer Fashion on Field 2011 entrants

The partners of these two lovely ladies (Amy and Ruhamah) deserve a special mention for their fashion style also as they both looked fantastic in colour co-ordinated suits and hats.  (Even Jason commented)

Perth Myer Fashion on Field 2011entrant

This entrant (Emma I Think)  “just whipped up her own hat” as her first millinery attempt – well done.

To all the girls who entered, thank you for all the hard work that I know went into putting your outfits together this year – It made yesterday’s event a pleasure to watch

What a beautiful way to bring your family close to you when they are on the other side of the world.

Claire’s wedding brief to me was to be like “Midsummer’s Night Dream”.  Her bridesmaids were going to be wearing small flower garlands (also made in England) so she wanted something to carry on the theme.

Claire wanted flexibility on the day so a garland design that was not a complete ring was finally decided upon so that she could position it better on the day.

The headpiece was made from hand tooled silk leaves with combinations of silver beaded lace.  Small wire twists of pearls and crystals were intertwined between the lace and leaves. The split front feature and the curled right hand side meant that there would be features seen from all angles in the photos.

Claire’s veil was very soft and whimsical.  The garland was designed so that Claire could choose to wear her veil under or over the top of the garland.

The photographer, Nic Duncan has caught the magic of the beautiful setting and the love and laughter of the couple and their friends and family.  The good news is that she is happy to travel to other areas of WA outside of her beautiful Denmark if you love her photography as much as I do.  Just check out her holiday snaps just to see how they really can (and we all wish we could)  be taken.

Claire was lucky enough to get two weddings – one in Australia and one in England.  I hope the second day was as  beautiful as this day.  All the best Claire and Pedro.

To all my customers that I have been promising that a client gallery is on the way, thank you also for your patience.  I have appreciated all the beautiful photos of seeing how all your outfits came together for the occasions that they were designed for.

I am currently in the midst of what I call “Melbourne Cup Madness”.  This is the time of the year when I am busy completing all the bridal orders for the Spring Brides, plus trying to design the new season’s range.  Sometimes I can’t seem to get ahead on either…..Often I am forgetting to even take photos of the new designs before they walk out the door. What I call a my “Blonde moments”.

The Perth Racing season ( my favourite time of  the year- champagne and hats-what a great combination) is about to start. The Burswood Opening Day at Ascot is on Saturday 15th October.  Myers will be running their Fashion on Field event on the day.  I love watching this event to see all the beautiful combinations that Perth women put together. For once, I have managed to find an outfit before the last minute , but I can guarantee that I will still be putting the last stitch on my hat as my partner  yells at me that the taxi is not going to wait any longer.

If you are considering entering and would like something unique created for the day, I would love to help – (who can resist playing dress ups at anytime in their life).   Just ring or email me for a design appointment that suits.

In Hattitude,

Fiona