Blossom was snapped up for another wedding out of the ever chic Coco Rose's window last week, and has been replaced by this week's star turn, Hilda (so named because I can totally imagine my Great Grandma wearing this on a summer's day) which is also the new studio's proud first creation! :)

I've also revamped the Collections pages so pretty much everything is online and priced now - don't forget these can serve as starters for ten as well as ready to wear hats, so if anything tickles your fancy you know where to find me. (And you'll get to visit the studio in the flesh, hell I'll eve through in a cuppa for good measure! Yeah!) :)

So much so that it's going to form the backbone of the colour scheme for the rest of the room :) The only trouble is going to be choosing which colours to pick out!

And with that I'll be off to Homebase tomorrow to choose the colours (eek!) and get cracking! the transformation should be complete next time!

Woo! What a weekend! Studio progress in just a moment, but first i'm still riding the wave of a frankly perfect weekend with my besties in Bristol - and after the move and lots of DIY and self assembly furniture challenges, boy did I need it!

Meanwhile, the studio is slowly slowly s-l-o-w-l-y coming together. This week I started on the furniture:

I was so pleased with the result that I'm going to use the colours (or some of them anyway!) to paint this sideboard - love the shape and carving, very much less keen on the dark, dark wood! So, it's sugar soaped to get off all the varnish and ready for sanding to give the surface a key for the primer to stick to...I know it looks worse now but trust me, it's going to be worth it! [Wish me luck!]

And that's it from me this week! Head over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been up to if you've time and need a craft fix. See you in a couple of weeks! x

Wow. Moving is Quite Hard Work huh!?! So the next few blogs are likely to feature more homeware than hats, although of course progress of the new studio will be the star feature! On account of my pun penchant (double sorry. twice) I am delighted to introduce the

I'm in love with my Christmas glue gun. I folded most of these roses two years ago, didn't *quite* get round to adorning the mirror, then packed everything into a box. Bad times. Now they're blissfully blooming on my Granny's old mirror (even better!) Spoiler alert: the mirror is The Boy's concession to Any Girliness in the bedroom but reflects the comprimised colour scheme (which I assure you is less gaudy!) ;)

They'll be more impressive hanging from the ceiling in their hundreds ;)

I'm moving house over the next couple of weeks, so preparations are underway to make our new house our new home, and specifically to make myself the new studio space I've always wanted! The designated bedroom is big enough to leave everything up and out all the time, including the ironing board (ambassador, you're spoiling us!) and hopefully my beloved but logistically neglected knitting machine too! I can't wait!! Needless to say I've got a few origami projects on the go in anticipation (progress pictures to follow once we're in!) In the meantime I'm spending quite a lot of time on Pinterest and Cut Out and Keep (amazing crafty website stuffed absolutely full of fantastically creative ideas - check it out!) As a result, the next few posts are likely to peppered with progress on the home front as well as hatting - hopefully that's an acceptable compromise! ;)

I'm also in the process of overhauling the Collections section to include a boreader overall sample of the hats. I'm experimenting with a straightforward season division with a couple of theme-focused collections on the side to make it easier for potential customers to find what they want - all feedback gratefully received if you've time to pop on and have a gander :)

Sunday 9th was also my first wedding fair of 2014 - they're such a mixing blessing. First and foremost, it's always a treat to spend a day in the company of the frankly fabulous Sue Graley (her website's down at the moment, so check out her photos on Facebook in the meantime, but she has some truly sensation new dresses at the moment - the Gatsby one is my favourite of course!!)) and I honestly don't think i could do it without her! And of course it's always lovely to hear positive feedback from passersby. But, the Sunday scheduling is a tad relentless (combined with The Day Job), and it's hard when people forget that a table isn't a soundproof barrier if there's a particular hat they're not so keen on... #Tricky. Nonetheless, one must remain positive (PMA!) and I caught up with a couple of love lost (and soon to be wed!) school friends, and had a couple of genuinely interested enquiries so I guess on balance I have to keep plugging away for now!

We're at the glamorous Nailcote Hall's event on Sunday 16th in Berkswell, so come and say hello if you're in the area and fancy a bridal browse :)

And with that I'm off back to my Pinterest obsession and to catch up with the Handmade Mondayers' creative home ideas. See you in a couple of weeks (internet connection permitting - ha!) x

_The summer may still seem like a distant dream but with two of my closest friends getting married in August this year, I know only too well that if you're planning a wedding it'll be here before you know it! Super exciting times! And the first round of wedding fair seasons is nearly upon us already - February looks set to be jam packed as I accompany Sue Graley to some of the ever inspiring Perfect Brides shows, so I thought I'd better get a move on with some new stock to showcase at the events!

It's a bit of a balancing act as I'm fast running out of boxes to store non-commissioned pieces, but I woke up thinking about this design one Wednesday morning, and by Thursday evening it existed! I love the simplicity of the curves and the popping spring palette of this perching disc, and the new headband style I've embraced works a treat...it was a bit of a wrestle at first, but it's super stable and so compfy to boot - winner!

I've been really keen to give this fabric a whirl for a while now, and during a procrastinatory sort out this week I rediscovered some feathers in a great matching hue, so without further ado I got cracking!

I'm not really sure how wearable it is for the less hat-confident, but for those who dare, I think it looks best tipped right forward with the plumage nodding at you strut your stuff. Oh, and I LOVE the lime headband :)

Constance: Quilted snake effect fabric mini hat with gold turkey biot plume

Finally, in honour of the fact that IT WASN'T COMPLETELY DARK WHEN I LEFT WORK LAST WEEK (I know. I am Very Excited about this fact!! Come on summer, I'm ready! Or at least Spring anyway...) and because my boyfriend's mum kindly let me mine her old knitting patterns last weekend, I'm treating myself to a non-hat related side project (and associated posts ha) of this super cute patterned cardi! When the Summer is tardy-ly and inevitably dragging its feet, I shall be sporting this happy little number and pretending that it's nearly picnic season. I love it!

And I'm ashamed to admit that I'd forgotten just how therapeutic it is to get your teeth into a knitting project...on which note, I'm off to curl up with a blanket and get those needles clicking. Here's what everyone else is up to at Handmade Monday, and see the rest of you in a couple of weeks! x

As a result, there is a distinct lack of hat related photos this post (I promise I don't  intend to make a habit of this!!) and in lieu of progress, here's what I've been creating over this past fortnight...

Surely the best way to spend a Saturday night whilst boyfriendsare watching football... #sistasdoingitforthemselves! ;)

I'm spending tomorrow in the studio to get myself and the hats ready for a whole month of wedding fairs in February, so at least I should have something more concrete to show you next week! In the meantime, get your crafty fix over at Handmade Harbour whilst blockade myself into the studio with bolts of silk and sinamay. See you in a couple of weeks! :)

It's been a gorgous week off! As promised, here's a record of my pre-Christmas escapades for the latest commission :)

The Handmade Monday Massive are reliably more crafty than me and have been Christmassing it up to the max!

In the meantime, have a super New Year's Eve tomorrow and may your 2014 be happy, healthy and full of hats! :) See you next year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And as a result I have to confess that I've been doing more Christmas shopping / chutney making / glittery nail painting than I have hatting for the past week or so...which makes for a slightly shorter than usual blog post!

(Just to prove that I have been creative this fortnight, if not entirely headwear focussed...) ;)

Roughly based on 'Laced Up #2' (left - similar to Laced Up #1 but with pointed petals), Chris's head piece is in Superneutral sinamay, with more layers of rolled edge petals and some frankly spectacular burnt pheasant curls...

...Except when I ordered the curls, they were the wrong colour (my fault entirely - never assume that when different suppliers use the same name for a product, it means you're buying the same product! Eek!) and my usual supplier has run out of natural coloured curls.

Tricky.

As a result, I'm currently in the process of transforming these freshly sourced cock pheasant tail feathers into couture-y burned curls in the middle. First stop: the freezer to kill any beasties lurking in the fronds!

The wedding is in between Christmas and New Year, so I'll definitely have the results to show you next time! Wish me luck...!

One project which I did finally finish was this beaded wire pin to hold Vivienne's large sun hat brim off her face. The pin (and her other two hats) are currently in transit somewhere between here and Sydney! (Hat Guardians in Chief, Jess and David, are having a rather adventurous and unexpectedly detoured flight - safe travels my loves!) :o/

Before I get cracking on the latest decorations (I'm trying these - amazing!) and the dreaded Present Audit (when you think you've finished shopping but somehow all the presents seem to have shrunk since you last looked in the bags...) I'm swinging by Handmade Monday for an inspiration boost!

And with that, I bid you all a fabulously festive fortnight indeed and I'll see you on the last Monday of 2013!

Merry Christmas you lovely lot! x

Whoa! Deadline central this week! The latest commissions are all boxed up and ready to fly off on their Antipodean Adventures - I'm so excited to see them on and with their outfits (which are frankly amazing - this is a lady knows an awesome dress when she sees it!) Photos hopefully ready early in the New Year!

I also managed to get this 60's inspired / Queen of Hearts vs Diamonds percher into the window of Coco Rose in time for the Warwick Victorian Market last Thursday! It was a close call (a 1.30am-er... thank god for red wine!!) but totally worth it for the passing footfall (and mulled wine on the night ha!)

I'm so pleased with it! It was originally designed to go with a different dress (huge black, white and red square print) which sold before the window was dressed, but luckily I hadn't incoporated any white into the design, and so it happily sat alongside the understudy ;)

I spent another well-overdue Saturday in the company of Rose this weekend, and finally fnished off the Monster Brim, ready for Sue's shop for Christmas!

If you're a bride-to-be, pop in to her open day on Saturday to see her latest gowns and accessories - they're enough to make you want to get married! ;) I for one am in love with her lace shoes - a) no betrothal required and b) I think they'll look great with my new leather(ette) skinny jeans!!

Rose casually told me to find the turban block marked HMQM. It's a beautifully balanced asymmetric block...and HMQM denotes that it was one of Her Majesty the Queen Mother's blocks. Just another day in the life of a Rose Cory student ;)

It sounds antisocial, but I love pottering round a gallery in my own company: it's a real treat! For obvious reasons there was no photography allowed inside the exhibition, and in my usual disarray, I left my moleskin in my bag when I put my bag into the clockroom, but those failures aside - GO AND SEE THE ISABELLA BLOW EXHIBITON at Somerset House. Seriously. It's literally the best show I've ever been to, and when I caught sight of the first Philip Treacy hat (it took me by surprise) I gasped and burst into (rapidly suppressed!!) tears. They're something else. I can't decide whether I'm hugely inspired to aspire, or so overwhlemed that everything seems hopeless! I'm erring on the side to the former ;) The catalogue is my Christmas present - when I own a coffee table, it'll live on it.

And with that it's Handmade Monday o'clock! Have a super couple of weeks and I'll see you a week before Christmas! Argh and yay! :P