༺ Teacup Chat with Tanith Rowan Designs ༻

The “Teacup Chat” series on Lavender & Twill is a short and sweet spot where we take a glimpse behind the scenes of a brand’s creative process. I am very inspired by all the talent I see building a corner in the world to showcase their work, and also making it available for others to enjoy. So without further ado, let’s get to know some more about the artist behind Tanith Rowan Designs!

As we found out in the previous post, Tanith Rowan Designs is the work of the talented milliner, Tanith. She’s a hardworking mother of two little ones, who still finds time to pursue her dreams and creative interests. She recently released her own hat pattern, which is super cool and I can’t wait to hear more about her creative background and how she got to where she is now.

Hello Tanith, welcome to Teacup Chats! We can’t wait to learn more about you. So let’s jump right in! What first drew you to creating hats, as millinery seems to be sort of a forgotten skill these days?

I've always loved making things and I sort of stumbled onto hats as I was dabbling in historical costuming. I was just playing around at first, but the more I started to learn, the more I really loved the process and wanted to make more hats. The millinery world is quite active in Australia thanks to the races so I was lucky to be able to take a lot of workshops and keep learning all the time.

How do you go about finding the inspiration and the patterns for your creations or do you make them up yourself?

Inspiration is very easy to find! With vintage books, films, magazines and genuine vintage hats, I will never run out of ideas. I love curling up with a book and sketchbook and drawing up possibilities. I've had good training in pattern drafting so when a pattern is required for a hat I start from scratch, but a lot of hat shaping is free form or on blocks. Sometimes the fun is in the challenge of working out how to make the sketch a reality.

How do you figure out techniques to create vintage styled hats ~ is it easy to replicate them by pictures and visual details?

It's usually not tricky to work out how to make a hat look right for a vintage style, but some of them can be very perplexing and I'm left wondering how on Earth they've done it! I read vintage millinery books and magazines to learn more traditional techniques. The ones from the 1940s and on are easy enough to understand as the terminology and materials haven't changed a lot, but they are harder to interpret the further back you go.

{Those with sharp eye might be able to recognise the beginnings of the beautiful straw boater from this post! It’s so fascinating to see the process of creating something like that.}

It’s been very interesting to find out more about your business, but we’d also love to know a little more about the creative mind behind these beautiful pieces.

What is your favourite thing to do beside create your delightful hats?

I love all kinds of making really. I do a bit of sewing for myself and the kids, I'm learning how to knit, and I like cooking and gardening too.

And finally, what are five quirky things about you that not everyone might know about?

1. I wanted to be a zoo keeper and did my school work experience at the zoo

2. Plucking my eyebrows or pulling my hair makes me sneeze (anyone else afflicted with this??)

3. I listen to Christmas music at any time of year (just a little)

4. I genuinely enjoy solving mathematical problems

5. I was once at a meeting where a man in a business suit was hit with faeces (see point 1)

Oh! Christmas music! I totally agree Tanith! Sometimes I just want to sing along to a carol, and  some of my favourite lullabies to sing to my children are carols. I think being in a Christmas choir helped a lot with my love of all Christmas music.

Thank you to Tanith for sharing her time with us, it was wonderful to have the chance to learn more about her and her inspiring creative work! And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out Tanith on Instagram and Etsy.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
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༺ Teacup Chat with Chatterblossom ༻

The “Teacup Chat” series on Lavender & Twill is a short and sweet spot where we take a glimpse behind the scenes of a brand’s creative process. I am very inspired by all the creative talents I see finding a way to showcase their work. I think it’s fantastic to be able to pursue something you love, and have others love it too.

As we found out in the last post on Lavender & Twill, Chatterblossom is a lovely Etsy shop where Jamie hand crafts and sells stunning, one-of-a-kind floral hair pieces and fascinators using mainly reclaimed vintage millinery supply and trimmings.

So without further ado, let’s get to know some more about the artist we have featured here today!

 

Hello Jamie, and welcome to our teacup chat! Thank you for spending sometime with us today so we can get to know little more about you and your business. What first drew you into creating your hair flowers and fascinators?

About 5 years ago, I worked on a small organic farm where we grew vegetables and flowers and I fell in love with all things floral. I made the bouquets for our farmer’s market each week and loved seeing peoples’ faces when they decided to purchase a bouquet I’d made to decorate their home. Cut flowers are amazing, but also a luxury for most people. And we really relish in it when we can have something so fleetingly beautiful around us for even a few days.

When I moved to another home in another state, I missed working with flowers and I wanted a way to work with them again. My love of vintage and flowers intersected when I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. I found a swing dancing community here and many of them wear vintage or vintage inspired clothing and flowers in their hair, so I started making some hair clips to suit their/my needs.

Then I got a tip from a random stranger about a warehouse full of deadstock vintage flowers right in the heart of Raleigh! So I purchased as much as I could and my venture began in earnest!

Is it tricky to restore the vintage millinery flowers? Have you ever had any past the point of no return? What happened to/with them?

Most of the millinery flowers I find or purchase are new old stock or deadstock, which means they’ve never been used. Almost all of my flowers were found in their original boxes with tags, so they just need some freshening up (with steam and shaping, etc.).

I do sometimes purchase or find millinery flowers in worse condition, but I typically try to get pristine examples if possible.

The flowers that have seen better days I’ll usually use in conjunction with flowers in better condition as a cluster, so they get a second life but aren’t necessarily the star of the show. Or I’ll keep them for myself as I don’t typically mind flawed beauties. They’re just as pretty!

 

It’s been very interesting to find out more about your business, but we’d also love to know a little more about the creative mind behind these beautiful pieces. Every vintage lady I know seems to have their own unique style ~ if you were to describe your personal vintage look, how might you do that?

I think the best way to describe my personal style is “fluid” or “chameleon-esque”. I really enjoy trying to wear things that I’ve been personally told I can’t wear or that seem challenging to put together in a way that “works”.

I enjoy wearing hyper-feminine to androgynous to typically masculine looks. I love both light-filled, floral frills and dark, earthy subtleties and mixing them is even more fun. I don’t worry about “period appropriateness” or wearing only one era as a rule, etc. I love mixing and matching to produce something all my own.

What is the one vintage thing you can’t live without (red lipstick, novelty prints, hats, etc)?

This is a very tough question! Because I change my look so often, I want to say…my vintage 1950s butterfly bullet bra. Ha! It is a softer pointed shape and I have never found a more perfect bra. It suits nearly every outfit I wear it with and it makes me stand different in my clothes.

So I guess it is an unseen thing I can’t live without. I’m going to be one sad cookie when that bra dies.

And finally, what are three quirky things about you that not everyone might know about?

- My first job was as a roller-skating drive-in restaurant waitress and they only played music from the 1950s, so maybe the vintage vibe snuck in early.

- I’m extremely introverted but most people would never guess it because I’m a bit “chameleon-esque” in my personality as well and can morph to suit my situation when necessary.

- When I’m not in vintage attire, I’m typically in hole-y sweatpants and raggedy t-shirts.

Haha, I’m so with you on that last one Jamie! It’s nice to be comfortable if you are not dressed up. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of gal myself. ;)

Thank you to Jamie for sharing her time with us, it was wonderful to have the chance to learn more about her and her inspiring creative work! And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out Jamie on Instagram and Etsy. 

But wow… What a collection of flowers! I hope you enjoyed this peek behind the scenes as much as I have. (❛▿❛✿)੭

 

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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