Giving Thanks and Making Plans

I would be remiss this Thanksgiving weekend if I didn’t give thanks to everyone who has supported my work, and who continue to follow me here. It’s been a fun and sometimes challenging ride over the past few decades.

If you follow this website, you know by now that, I will no longer be offering custom made hats after the end of this year. I am still finishing some “half-done” hats and will probably have some gallery returns in January, which I plan to post to Facebook. I plan to downgrade this site in December.

Some of you have been asking “What’s Next?”

Among my planned print projects is a retrospective of my work. Every hat has a story, as do those of you who now own them. So…. if you would like to share a photo of your hat and a few lines of your personal story, I will consider adding those to this book. You can send those to me at aphoenixhat at gmail. That project is a couple years away.

My next textile project is a very limited line of artisanal clothing, cut from mostly 1900s patterns, but with a twist, and featuring motifs from my more popular hats:

—Walking skirts inspired by those of the Eduardian era. A skirt with my “Wright at Home” applique at the waist. A ‘Fire Duchess” skirt with my Dumpster Fire flame motif along the hem.

—A Model T Duster coat with embroidered panels on the back. A frock coat in pieced wools. Jackets with ravens and crows, and a peacock inspired by the door at the Palmer House in Chicago, a design I have never successfully scaled down for a hat.

I hope to roll out the first pieces in the next few months. Follow me on Facebook and be among the first to see them!