Ohh, Boy!

The past few months have been crazy busy for me, with one craft show after another and a plethora of custom orders flying from every direction. On top of that, I managed to fit a birthday in there somewhere!


Things have gotten even busier now. In addition to being for sale on Etsy, through custom order and Clove Salon in Midtown, Ministry of Tiny Hats is now available at brand new Athens, Georgia, boutique Ohh, Boy! Fellow Atlantan and good friend Christy Chaffin also joins the Ohh, Boy! fold. Her beautifully detailed, pop cultural pieces are on display and available now for purchase.

Run by creative ladies Kimberly Drew, Cassie Bernard, Amy Whisenhunt and Ani Tucker, Ohh, Boy! is an exercise in imaginative collaboration. Stocked to the brim with kitschy vintage wares, fancy frocks, and original arts and crafts, this unique space is cozily tucked into a warm warehouse space on Barber Street called the DOC Building, a spot designed by local design collective, Young Athenians.


So if you're in Athens any time soon, please stop by Ohh, Boy! Support your local art and business community. And pick up a tiny hat while you're at!

chomped & stomped!

It's that time of year again: festival frenzy! Fall is always awash with one big event after another, and this season will be no exception. Last weekend marked the big kickoff for me, as I participated in Cabbagetown's annual fall chili cookoff and craft fair, Chomp & Stomp. Seeing as I don't know the first thing about making chili - only shoving it down my gullet - I was a part of the crafting portion of the event. I did, however, consume my weight in chili samples. In case you were wondering, Ria's Bluebird knocked the rest of the weaklings out of the park.

the setup

This year's Chomp & Stomp proved even more fruitful then the last. My new line of MOTH headpieces were my biggest seller, so you can bet there'll be a lot more where that came from in two weeks at Indie Craft Experience. And as has been the norm of late, I also have a multitude of custom orders on my plate, which explains my lack of updates. I promise to try to get better about that!

two adorable, happy MOTH customers, Renee & Sam (photo by Jason Travis)

Again, thanks to everyone who came out Saturday and supported tiny hats! I hope to see you all again November 21 at Ambient + Studio for Winter I.C.E!

And a special thanks goes out to Dave Striepe for all the undying moral and emotional support he gave inside of Booth 55.

And now, for something completely different...

It's easy to get stuck in a creative rut, even when your craft is something as outlandish as tiny hats. Despite a seemingly endless pool of ridiculous inspiration from which to draw, in the past few months, my efforts have been dry, dull and tedious, to say the least. Rather than give in to the tiny hat block before me, I decided to branch out a little bit.

For the past month or so, I've been trying my hand at vintage-inspired headpieces. This new line, called MOTH (a softer acronym for Ministry of Tiny Hats) is an exercise in restraint for someone like me, who finds it difficult to stop at just one color scheme, idea or mood. (I tend to be a little all over the place, which can be good for creativity but bad for business.)



In autumnal reds, yellows, browns and blues, these fabric head adornments are more versatile than your standard miniature hat, and certainly more wearable for the down-low fashion follower. These will be available starting next week at Clove in Midtown Atlanta, and eventually, on Etsy. Earlier this week, MOTH made its official debut at the W Hotel's DRINKSHOP bar for Clove's Fall Preview show, Har-Vest.

Look for more images of Clove's entire fall collection, coming soon from excellent Atlanta photog, Jeff Wolk.

On an unrelated note, Ministry of Tiny Hats is now on Twitter! Please follow me there!

and the tiny hat allegiance presses on...

More and more everyday, tiny hats become a part of the mainstream consciousness. Comment if you're a MOTH fan and spread the word!

In the meantime, take a look at some of my most recent tiny hat work, and let it inspire you to get your very tiny hat.part of a new Flora/Fauna collection I've been working on

One half of a custom tiny ballcap order

Marie Antoinette feathered boater & Flora/Fauna headpiece,
given to Anna and Skye as going away presents

In an effort to communicate with you readers more often, what would you like to see on my site? I am not 100% on board with the blog aspect, but like to keep you all informed about tiny hat goings-on. Would you like more updates? A regular site? A better layout?

Faithful fans, it is you I do this for. Gimme a shout.

Until then I remain your humble tiny hat servant.

xoxo
Amy Taylor
Mini Milliner

tiny hats in the news!

It's been a while, folks! So long, in fact, that my return is marked by a TV appearance! This morning on Fox 5's Good Morning Atlanta, I was given the unique opportunity to plug Ministry of Tiny Hats at Clove salon.gallery.boutique, where my hats are currently being sold. My friends Jessie (ConGello) and Brandon Crawford were also on hand to promote their collaborative line of cosmetic bags, which are sold at Clove as well. You can check out the the segment below! In fact, please do!





I was so honored to participate in Fox 5's Road Warrior series, and it's all thanks to the hard-working people at Clove -- in particular, General Manager Coco Cootsillas. You're a saint!

I'll be unveiling new tiny hats at Clove this fall, so be on the lookout! For those looking to make the tiny hat plunge, please inquire within (ministryoftinyhats@gmail.com) about custom orders and current stock! I love you all! Thank you for supporting Ministry of Tiny Hats, as always!

xoxo
Amy Taylor
Mini Milliner

ETSY SALE

clearing out the shop for fall! please don't miss these end-of-season deals!

tiny cabarengels

I never turn down the opportunity to make a custom order. There's little that excites me more than transforming someone's high-falutin fantasy into a wearable product. In fact, each time someone asks if I'm willing to take on a project, even with little time, I make it a top priority. Because really, there's nothing I love more than a tiny hat challenge.

My friend Ashley recently asked me to make five matching, but not identical, top hats and pillboxes for a joint birthday party in her hometown of New Orleans -- a tall tiny hat order but one I was raring to tackle. A little bit Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel and a little Liza!, the party featured Ashley and four lady friends as throwback cocktail waitresses, decked to the hilt in over-the-top cabaret ensembles, fishnets and towering metallic heels. My black & silver chapeaus were just the cherry on top. Each one emblazoned with two J's -- initials of the birthday honorees -- the hats embody all my Busby-Berkley dreams, and as a set, are perhaps one of my favorite custom orders to date.

Ashley and her friends, of course, are unbelievably adorable themselves, which certainly helps the immaculate vision come through. As a constant tiny hat supporter, I salute Ashley in her efforts to recreate the timeless glamour of a cinematic classic (as well as its jazzy offspring). I only hope I can continue to deliver the goods.



xoxo
amy taylor
mini milliner