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!

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!

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

Sensible girl

I'm not just a girl; I am the most cliche, blubbering, textbook example of a girl there is. My mannerisms, style and interests belie any belief I have that women are just as capable of wearing the pants as men are; my unquenchable quest for beauty in every moment betrays the journalistic rationality I so thoroughly steeped myself in during college.

This girly-girl mentality goes a long way in explaining my undying love for period pieces and the decadent lives they portray. I've always been a bit of a traitor to my generation, emotionally and sartorially speaking. I'd rather spend my days languishing underneath an enormous willow tree reading trite poetry while daydreaming about the man of my dreams than type worthless words on a computer screen, but alas, I am not Jane Austen. I only wish I was.

During a routine home screening of Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility -- to this day one of my all-time-favorite cinematic offerings -- I began crafting a collection of tiny hats that I have lovingly dubbed "19th century cottage couture." Though my colors are certainly brighter and lighter (keeping with that soft focus, pretty pastel look I'm obsessed with right now) than what Lee used in his classic Austen adaptation, there is definitely an air of antiquated sophistication to these hats that has yet to be seen in my other work. Subtle touches here and there recall specific pieces from the movie; the ebony plumes on my black and cream pillbox echo those on Lucy Steele's onyx chapeau. The sheer striped linen, soft lace and floral accents featured elsewhere echo the overall mood of this gauzy, ethereal film, one that continues to provide me with fresh inspiration in varying forms every single time I see it. Needless to say, I'm super pleased with the results of my new collection, and I have the Dashwoods to the thank for that.

Please keep an eye out for these new looks at Clove Salon Gallery & Boutique in Midtown Atlanta, where these and other selections are now on sale! More where that came from will, of course, be available at I.C.E. May 30-31.



xoxo
Amy