Atelier Hezmerelde

The new adventures of an aspiring, self-taught bespoke millinery designer, following in the footsteps of my great-granny, Mary "Mernie" Blair, owner of the 1950s Vancouver boutique Emerald Hats

[hezmerelde]

Design conceptualizing & materials shopping has begun for this year's Deighton Cup hat! More lead time means a more intricate design with more hand-embellishment... so stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes pictures (including plenty featuring studio assistant Baylor the Beagle).

[hezmerelde]

Make that THREE commissions...

The latest one (received last night) is for a piece that will make its debut just 2 weeks from now, at Vancouver's Diner en Blanc, and the design process has already begun. This one is going to be tons of fun!

UPDATE: since the client's DEB ticket fell through, the timeline and colour scheme for this commission have thankfully been extended, which allows for more design consultation, shopping with the client and more time to gather materials and experiment with them in the atelier. We're hoping this ends up being her new signature piece, and now there's plenty of time to execute all of our just-crazy-enough-to-work ideas.

[hezmerelde]

Less than 24 hours after this little hobby business was launched...

@Hez Your hat was awesome. Hiring you to make mine next year. 💋

— Vancouver Events Gal (@catherinebarr)

July 29, 2014

...That's now the SECOND commission I've received for next year's Deighton Cup, and it's rather an important one. My swagger dagger seems to have found its mark!

It's all quite thrilling, and even a little emotional. I didn't realize how much I needed to do this for my own satisfaction and personal growth, and wherever she is, I bet my great-granny Mernie is saying thanks to all of you for caring about hats again, and making it possible for me to create fun and fierce things for an audience that genuinely appreciates them. So, now the hard work and skill development really begin in earnest, and then it's onward and upward. EXCELSIOR!

PS: Atelier Hezmerelde is now on Twitter as @Hezmerelde

[cvxn]

Basking in the reflected elegance of fellow beaglelover and style maven Steven Schelling in the #VIP tent at yesterday’s wildly stylish Deighton Cup)

[hezmerelde]

Very happy with how the final piece turned out, and it even survived a day at the races!

[cvxn]

Bought a #hat form, but I had to try #felting my own, because #hatmaking blood runs in my veins.

[hezmerelde]

As I promised, I'll post lots of experiments and plenty of failures here. This was an early design idea for the Ecuestrella that ended up being scrapped in favour of a pre-formed base, but I haven't given up on felting by any means (it just wasn't working for this particular hat in the short time I had to construct it). 

[cvxn]

When the #hatdesign turned out just like your #sketch, that’s a good feeling. #babysteps

[hezmerelde]

The "Ecuestrella" (rear view at top), so named because of the Spanish-style equestrian influences. Also inspired by classic Victorian riding hats and the neutral black/white/brown colour scheme of my roommate's beagle. Made using a basic "yodeller" preformed black hat base, a woven crown of pipe cleaners curled to form a nest for the towering jolt of 4 pheasant feathers, filled in with a few sprays of black tulle, then garnished with a luxurious swag of grosgrain and satin ribbons of alternating lengths (including a black and white striped one) and a glamorous swath of black veil wrapped around and tied at the back. This was the third hat I have made, completed over the course of about 48 hours, and worn by me to the 2014 Deighton Cup.

The rest of the outfit is all vintage from the neck down, including the most voluminous 1950s tulle crinoline skirt and ruffled top, accessorized with an 80s suede bag, a double strapped leather belt/cummerbund, a copper necklace from Africa (given to me in high school by a friend's mom) and the cutest handmade copper-coloured pumps by Arnold Churgin.

[hezmerelde]

The "Ammander" headpiece (shown here not yet completed), created in metallic green sinamay backed with ribbon, with a massive spray of green and white netting at the back and green and silver sequined accents on the "tiara". Colour scheme reflects the client's beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the horns (and the name of the hat) reflect her boss commander attitude. This was made from scratch (no base was used) over the course of a month, originally just for her bachelorette night in June of 2012, but she loved it so much she wore it at the wedding reception and keeps it in her bedroom to this day. ;-)

[hezmerelde]

Where it all began for me.,, my first creation.

The "Middleton", a fascinator I created for a Royal Wedding viewing party held at my cousin's in April of 2011. This was truly the first hat I have ever made, which took me about 90 minutes from design to completion. Made from looped, wrapped and folded metallic green sinamay and assorted feathers... including organic, free-range and local peacock feathers, ethically sourced from the zoo where my other cousin works. 

[hezmerelde]

Welcome to the new adventures of an aspiring, self-taught millinery designer, following in the footsteps of my great-granny, Mary "Mernie" Blair [the one seated in the framed photo above], owner of the 1950s Vancouver boutique Emerald Hats, whose storefront was in an arcade of shops called 'The Village Green' at 2537 Granville Street (a few doors up from the famous Aristocratic lunch counter where my mother said she used to go when she worked summers at the shop for pocket money). The cute little teal blue beret hanging on the bottom far right is the only hat of great-granny's that I personally inherited, but the hat box top was a serendipitous discovery in the basement of an old house I lived in... it turned out my roommate's grandmother had made yearly shopping trips to Vancouver from the prairies and would only buy her hats at my great-granny's boutique. 

This is as much an exploration of this family tradition and the business my great-grandmother owned and operated in the 40s and 50s. My great-granny, granny and my mother are all gone now, but I have some stories and photos to help me paint a clearer picture of the ancestor that inspires me. Mother always said that Mernie made hats for the Queen Mother*, so if that's true, there are obviously some big shoes to fill... but luckily hats come easier to me than making shoes.

I'm still just barely starting out, so expect a lot of experiments and documenting of my process, including plenty of failures. Contact me here, especially if you know of (or have any of) my great-granny's work!

[*Unconfirmed, but nonetheless awesome factoid I hope will prove to be true]