Winter 2021
Today’s Wizards
BY Nikole Tursi
It was London Hat Week, my first month in London, April 2019. At that moment I didn’t know I was going to stay living in the UK, so I felt the need to make the most of each day in the Hat’s Capital. And everything was of course, hat-related. Hat talks, hat walks, hat exhibitions, hat friends, hat tea parties! I got lost in London corners finding amazing places, inspiration everywhere. Even in shops that had nothing to do with hats, but where I could find a lot of millinery potential.
Yet there was a clear idea in my mind, that whatever happened, I had to visit the workshops/studios of my favourite milliners. Get to meet them and their work in person. It was now or never!! So I got in touch with the ones that I have been admiring from afar (Argentina), and I was fortunate because most of them were available and very open to receive me.
How to describe this experience? … Fascinating!
Each hatter turns his workshop into its parallel universe. Every milliner with its own imprint and style. Their favourite tools, different types of equipment and hat blocks collections, making their universes, an extension of their personality. The various ways of working make a huge difference from workshop to workshop. But what always remained was the way in which all of them spoke about their profession. The beating passion flooded each of their creative spaces.
Upon leaving each of these studios, my excitement and inspiration were immeasurable. I couldn't stop dreaming of one day having my own little universe in London.
There is something magnetic about hatters. A feeling of passion is shared, which transcends with that competition that exists in most careers. On the contrary, we share our creativity with others.
To me, becoming a milliner meant breaking the boundaries between my dreams and reality.
The creative process is magical in itself. Whatever you can dream up as a design can be implemented when it comes to millinery. You just have to figure out how, and here is when the fun part starts!
Therefore, from my point of view, milliners became Wizards. To be able to transform raw, meaningless materials into unique and fascinating pieces, getting people to admire the results of your creations; without even understanding how you got to achieve those effects…
Art attack! I cannot speak for everyone, but I’m positive that this must happen to pretty much all the milliners: Every day I find the possibility of making hats with any material that comes across my way. The eye can look through and beyond the material, so I find myself the chance of making hats any time! Every new piece brings a new adventure into the exploration of new materials, processes and results. Every single one of them is a new challenge, a chance to learn something new or to discover a better technique.
We, the milliners, appreciate the slow beauty of craft, as a labour of love, and we embed ourselves within our creations. Sometimes, when you centre on a piece while bringing it to life, there is a connection developed between the milliner and the piece; they become a map; and every time you go back to each piece you can remember everything about that moment you were creating it. It's like a portal. Each piece has a story behind it, making them transcendental.
Whilst we are sculpting these beautiful objects of lasting value, we are doing magic with our hands. Enchanting wearers, who will fall under a magic spell every time they dress their heads with our talents.