Sorry to do this to you yet again, but I’ve moved ye olde blogge.  Please come and visit me over here.  And set your bookmarks to http://terrygraziano.typepad.com/blog/

Thanks!

OXXO

Terry

Look – it’s snowing!

In between filling holiday orders, I whipped up a cozy new style: the Fine & Dandy.  I think it’s what would result if a newsboy, a slouch hat, a crusher and a beret all got together and had a love-child. 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

fine & dandy in black italian wool

fine & dandy in black italian wool

fine & dandy in black italian wool

fine & dandy in black italian wool

The fabric is super soft & plush, and super warm to boot!  Available here.  There are some new Capricious, Fedorable, Sweetheart & Confidante hats in the shop too.

I hope that everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving and that you are enjoying this lovely season!

autumn texture

It’s Thanksgiving eve and I must say that my heart is overflowing with gratitude.  I’ve learned so much in the past year, and experienced so much patience, kindness and support, that I feel like the most fortunate gal in the world!  I can only hope that I gave as good as I got, and this next year I hope to do even better.  Tomorrow I’ll spend some time updating my gratitude list, and brainstorming ways to pass along the goodness.  Besides that, we’ll be having a quiet day, cooking at home, making holiday cards, and going for our first skate of the year.  

If you are looking for a little holiday diversion, may I suggest TED Talks?  I just love this site and have been so inspired by so many of the speakers.  Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, they always deliver. Yesterday I watched the ever-entertaining Isaac Mizrahi talk about fashion, passion and creativity. Hilarious and definitely worth watching!

I’ve been lucky enough to have several kind mentions about my work in blog-land this week, including one from the incredibly talented Mrs. French over at Bliss, and a blush-inducing review from the lovely Celia over at Sicka Than Average.  Enormous thanks to both of them!  And please know that I am eternally grateful to all of you who have taken the time to stop by and read, comment, view my work and support my little business.

I hope your holiday is everything you wish for and more!

St. Catherine of Alexandria

Today, November 25th, is the Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of milliners! Originally the patron saint of young unmarried women, Catherine was adopted by milliners because so many young women worked as hat makers. These women became known as “Catherinettes”.  La Fete des Catherinettes is traditionally a day that the French fashion world celebrates hats and hat makers with festive parties.  The Catherinettes wear elaborate hats designed for the occasion in Ste. Catherine’s colors: yellow (symbolizing faith) and green (symbolizing knowledge or wisdom).  Today there will be some flamboyant hat wearing and lots of tipsy parading through the streets of Paris, especially in the 2nd arrondissement, where the procession ends at the statue of Saint Catherine.  (There are several hilarious/silly scenes depicting the fete in the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward comedy A New Kind of Love.  Actually, the entire movie is pretty silly but I love it especially for those scenes!)

pour les Catherinettes

In honor of my patron saint and to help spread some hat love, I am offering free shipping to anywhere in the US and $10 off international shipping for all purchases made today in my etsy shop!  

Please wear a hat today and drink a toast to all of your favorite milliners!

Two beautiful movies:

My Best Friend (French, 2006)

The Italian (Russian, 2005)

I hope your weekend is a lovely one!

Good morning and welcome to my studio!  My studio is the spare bedroom of our two-bedroom apartment where I live with my husband in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, NYC.  It is in the back of the apartment, with two windows overlooking the “courtyard” (a nice way of saying that I can look into my neighbors’ apartments across the entranceway – I always wave!).  It’s small, (about 10′ x 12′), quiet, warm and gets a bit of sunlight for a few hours a day – my little slice of heaven.

The door with the “hats” decal on it is the entrance door; the other two doors are to two shallow closets, which are perfect for me.  In the left one hangs all of my patterns, and in the right closet are shelves with bolts of fabric.  The decals are left over from a tradeshow that I did a while ago – I found them recently during a clearout and thought I’d put them to good use.  The shelves in between the closets house lots of my reference books, as well as stacks of tissue paper and hatboxes for packaging finished hats.  Behind the “hats” door is my little packing area with a small table, and stacks of shipping boxes.  

A bit of my work table in the foreground, and my iron which sits on an ironing board just in front of it.  This is where I do all of my pattern drafting and fabric cutting.  I use all the mirrors when I’m designing and need to check a hat from different angles on myself.  In the corner are more bolts of fabric and rolls of pattern paper and oaktag; fancy hat and wig carriers; and on the shelves are vintage hat blocks and display heads. 

My little workhorse of a sewing machine where I sit for many hours.  From that vantage point I can gaze out the window, or watch a movie on my computer while I do my handsewing.  To the right in the picture are shelves with lots of supplies; and in the corner is my little photo snapping area.  The boxes stacked up on top of the shelves contain my inventory and samples – the stars are post-its that list what’s in each box.  The photo strip hanging between the windows, just over my sewing machine, is of my grandmother and my father in about 1930 when he was about 3 years old, taken in a photo booth in Atlantic City.  My grandmother is elegant as always, wearing a beautiful cloche.  I love that they watch over me as I work. Here’s a close-up:

The last picture is my desk and inspiration board above it.  The desk is just a frosted glass tabletop that I got on clearance at Ikea for $9.99, and it sits atop two red file cabinets.  Perfect size and height.  My inspiration board is separated into four sections, one for a calendar, and then a section each for spring/summer, fall, and winter/holiday.  I used to change out the whole thing regularly, but then was always coming across things or ideas that I wanted to hold on to and explore for a different season than what I was currently working on, so I broke it up this way.  It also helps me to see themes or arcs for the entire year.

I’ve got post-its all around my computer with reminders, positive messages, my UPS guy’s cell #, etc.  The “sassy” sign is a gift from a dear friend and acts as a prop for little gifts and finds that remind me of dear ones and lovely times.  Add a cup of tea, a little music or NPR, and let the fun begin!

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit!  I hope your day is happy and peaceful…

winter

And how are you?  I know it it’s been days and days since I’ve written but I’m here, keepin’ on keepin’ on. Feeling very quiet.  Life seems to have sped up and slowed down, all at the same time.  Does it seem that way to you?  I’ve been sticking pretty close to home, head down, working away.  Experimenting really, with how I work.  It’s a fun adventure and I’m so grateful for the time and space that I have right now.  Money is tight and sales are slow, but that’s to be expected.  It’s fine really and quite freeing, in it’s own way.  The extra time has allowed me to focus on designing and trying things that may lead me somewhere wonderful or nowhere at all. Just joyful creating. And we’re staying in NYC for the time being.  Bruce has decided to not continue with the new job in Vermont.  It just wasn’t the right fit, and though it’s not the best of times to turn down financial security, it’s always the right time to follow your instincts and I’m proud of him for that.  I think we’ll end up in Vermont eventually as we do love it there, but we want to go with full and happy hearts.

So in between working, I’m making holiday cards and gifts and I have a couple of loved ones with birthdays this time of year too.  My friend Mark’s birthday was yesterday, and the image above is from the book I gave him to celebrate.  Mark is a very talented musician and the book was an old children’s songbook, published in 1900.  All the songs are about nature and how to care for it – very au courant – and there are lovely illustrations throughout.  So beautiful, and I think Mark really liked it. 

Beginning tomorrow, I thought I’d share more of my process, both designing and making.  I’ll start with some pictures of my little studio, where I’ve been spending so much time.  Until then, I’ve been making weekly shop updates and there are a few new hats there, including more Fedorables, for which I’ve had some requests.

Be well, stay warm, and thanks for stopping by.

Wow! Since my little break, the Phillies won the World Series, Obama won the White House, the Democrats won the House and Senate, and a big-name editor called me asking for samples.  Yippee!!  I hope everyone had a great fortnight as well.  I must say, I’m just now recovering from all of the excitement!

In the meantime, I’ve done a little updating to the shops, adding a few new hats & fabrics, as well as a new style, the “Confidante”. My idea for Confidante was to create something that would look great any day of the week, and be the perfect hat to take while traveling.  So I designed a combination of a sleek little skullcap and an asymmetrical cloche.  What do you think of her?  Here are a few pictures:

confidante in wool

confidante in wool

confidante in wool

confidante in wool

confidante in wool

available here, here and here

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you!  I’m participating in Indie Fixx’s Holiday Galleria from now through January 5.  There are lots of great designers showcasing beautiful work, so it’s definitely worth checking out for your holiday shopping!

sheep in the cotswolds

Today I’m off to the wilds of Manhattan for supply sourcing and to fill up on art.  A few of my stops will be:

art in odd places

ny art book fair

chanel mobile art

I’ll be taking a little blogging break next week to finish up a couple of projects and complete my holiday collection.  Have a fantastic week!

I always try to accommodate requests for hat samples for photo shoots, etc., and will make styles in custom fabrics/colors that fit whatever someone needs.  I used to get really excited by these requests, thinking that fame and fortune were just around the bend, but I’ve learned to temper that excitement with realism because often the pieces don’t get used, or they do but the photos don’t make it into the spread, etc. etc.  Hats are the last to be added and the first to go.  And usually, after it’s taken at least a week to track down whomever borrowed them to try and get them back, the hats are completely trashed, covered in makeup, balled up and stuffed back into the (now torn) hatboxes.  A very sobering reminder that I am on the absolute bottom of the fashion food chain.

A couple of months back I was contacted at the last minute by a really lovely stylist asking for samples for a photo shoot for the October issue of Nylon Magazine that she was working on.  And this time it was different from the get-go, with such care and respect taken in every step from the initial request to how lovingly the hats were repackaged and returned.  She even requested to keep them for another shoot that she was doing the next day and asked for my approval to use them before she proceeded.  So refreshingly professional!  When the magazine came out, however, I was again disappointed (though not surprised), with not a single image of one of my hats in that issue.  But I like Nylon Magazine, so just for fun, I picked up the November issue and to my surprise, there is a picture!  It’s on the table of contents page, not part of the full spread, and it’s a little dark, but hey, it’s a really cool shot and I’ll take what I can get.  

Here’s a poor copy:

Nylon Magazine November '08, page 18

You probably can’t see it, but in the credits at the lower right I am actually listed.  Can’t tell which hat it is?  Yeah, I had a difficult time as well, but I’m almost positive it’s this one.  Fun right?  Finding that reminded me of one of my favorite affirmations that I haven’t used in a while: ”expect a miracle”.  Now I know this isn’t really a miracle, (well maybe it is a fashion miracle!) so OK I’ll revise the affirmation for today: “expect a surprise”, or as they say in the NY Lottery commercials: “hey, you never know”.