Stepping Back in Time in KÖLN

When visiting Köln (Cologne, Germany), I happened upon this amazing vintage inspired Hat Maker, Jürgen Eifler.  My jaw dropped, my forhead stuck to the window, as I gazed lovingly through the windows of the shop.  I was smitten. In love.  Could I move in?  Can I live here?  This was everything I wanted.  Look at the blocks! The materials! The Decor!  Perfect.  See for yourself.

As you can see. Amazing. Vintage. Working. Wow.  

Visiting Moods, New York City

And saying Hi to Swatch!

Last year while I was still living in Germany, I spent a month in New York over the summer. One of the most important things I do on my City trips is take a visit to MOODS.  A New York fashion institution, Moods has been around since 1991, and supplies an amazing assortment of fabric and haberdashery to designers, aspiring designers, students, businesses and even the participants of Project Runway.  And me.

I took along Florence and we made a day of gawking over the gorgeous fabrics.  Running into Swatch, the famous French bull dog, is always fun, but having him perched atop the stairs was classic. 

Springtime in Seville: Rediscovering an Old Love

Enjoying a break in Seville, Spain

Last spring while traveling through the beautiful city of Seville, Spain, I discovered a shop full of the most amazing hats I'd ever seen.  I knocked on the door, and inquired within.  What, where, how!  I wanted to know more.  It turns out the shop, was more of a studio space, where she made and ran her business of making hats.  Hats for custom order and for the spanish runways.  The Milliner was Patricia Buffuna.  

I've always been a hat girl. Ever since I was little. But it never occurred to me that I could make hats.  It still didn't at that time. But, it wasn't long before I took my skills as an artist and seamstress, and applied them as a Milliner.