A FEDORA LOUNGE FOLLOWER and daily wearer of hats, NEIL WATT is an enthusiast with an impressive knowledge around men’s hat manufacturing and sartorial elegance. Neil has an extensive collection of 20th century men’s hats he has acquired over the last few decades. He knows the brands, where the companies were manufacturing and the [...]

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I have had the pleasure lately of working with the dapper salon juggler, Mr Gorski. He came  seeking my  help with his hat and cigar juggling routine. He needed to shed some weight from his existing straw boater hat as balancing it on a cigar in his mouth was making his jaw and neck ache [...]

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Since my last blog post in August 2010 I have been swamped with headwear commissions….. too busy to blog. My apologies. The work has been exciting and varied, From catwalk to theatre and film. The last 10 months have been spent creating headwear for Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby. I am now back working in my [...]

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While visiting the Honk Kong Academy of the Performing Arts earlier this year, I was invited to meet Mr Chan, a leading maker in Hong Kong of traditional Chinese Opera costumes and headwear.   Having made many elaborate headpieces over the years, I was aware that my approach has been from a western tradition, a [...]

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PARRAMATARIKI On a cold June evening,  I caught  a sunset  ferry from Circular Quay to Parramatta in Sydney to the opening of PARRAMATARIKI – Stories from Across the Sea, a flax weaving installation at the Parramatta Artists Studios. Two weaving artists, Maureen Lander and Keren Ruki had been commissioned by the Parramatta Council to conduct [...]

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Hats: An Anthology By Stephen Jones has been on exhibit at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane since 27th March. This exhibition was first shown in March 2009 at the V&A Museum in London. Tony Elwood, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery showed great forsight in bringing this exhibition exclusively to Brisbane in Australia. It [...]

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HAT TAT SALE I am hosting a sale of milliners tat this weekend. Alex Panozzo and Tess Schofield are parting with their tat. For sale are Braids,tassels, veiling,ribbons,buckles,buttons,flowers, Assorted felt and straw hoods,felt and straw pieces (idealfor trims), straw braid, collapsible hat boxes and assorted sundry items. Cash sales only. SAT 24TH- SUN 25TH APRIL [...]

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You can download the invite here

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Variations in head shapes exist amongst peoples of the world. In my work as a bespoke hat maker I have found some general variations exist  in head shape. Asian heads tend to be round with fullness at the temples. African heads are elongated like Neferatiti. Anglo Australian heads tend to be oval. When making hats [...]

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This depends who you are. For the wearer it must be comfortable and feel right. For the viewer it must suit the wearer in shape and style, complementing the personality. For me as a hat maker the hat must have a great shape. Nothing is more exciting than walking down the street and marvelling at [...]

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