Millinery market research and a notice regarding my parasol textbook

[labricoleuse]

Enough people have asked about it that I've been giving some serious thought to offering some short single-style hat classes for the community.

These would be more basic, straightforward classes than the advanced level of instruction in my graduate class, and would probably be aimed more toward those wishing to make hats to wear in their everyday lives, rather than historical or stagewear millinery. They would be classes for students who already had basic sewing skills (hand and machine), and though advanced stitchers would produce couture results, beginners would also be welcome and would be able to produce nice, wearable hats.

Today, i spoke with some folks at a local venue who are interested in hosting such a thing, so i'm beginning to turn some wheels on this. I hope to start out by offering 2 or 3 classes in partnership with this local venue (TBA, nothing's set yet), and if they are successful, run them as long as there is demand, with a potential to add additional classes if there is interest. These would be short evening or weekend classes, offered perhaps quarterly or twice yearly. Nothing huge, i'm certainly not planning to make bank on it or anything. Really, my goal is to get more people in my community interested in hat-making and hat-wearing.

Please indulge me and help me out with my little "market research" poll. If you have friends-lists comprised of folks who might be my target student-base--DIY fashion enthusiasts, skilled home-sewing practitioners, wearable-artists, etc.--i would very much appreciate if you could send them to this poll. I want to make sure if i do this that i offer the classes that people out there want to take, not the classes i think they ought to take (if that makes sense).



[Poll #1272549]

If you've taken a short weekend or one-week hatmaking workshop, i would love to hear details on the context of the workshop (i.e., "bridal veil making at an adult ed center"), what you particularly appreciated about it and what you wished had been different. And, if you have any alternate suggestions or anything else to add, please do comment!

Thank you all SO much in advance for the feedback on this. I am very excited about potentially expanding my teaching repertoire in new ways.



Also, i wanted to post a heads-up about a (minimal) drop in price on my parasol book, Sticks In Petticoats: Parasol Manufacture for the Modern Costumer. Lulu.com sent out an email to their authors this past week concerning the restructuring of their pricing setup. The changes will shake down in such a way that prices on shorter textbooks will actually drop a few cents. The new pricing structure goes into effect October 25th, so if you've been thinking of getting a copy and you do so now, don't be shocked when the price lowers at the end of the month. (So, that's a roundabout way of saying that if you care about saving like, a DIME or whatever, wait til November to order i reckon.) :D

Comments

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I collect techniques; I know how to do more things than I actually do. I just enjoy learning from an expert. The one hat class I took was a one-day (10-5, I think) intensive on how to make the sort of gathered-tulle-over-wire-frame hat popular on and off around 1900-1920.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I already have some basic buckram and wire hat making under my belt. Given the choice of "have enough time to finish something" vs. "go really fast, have it half done", I think that spacing the class format to allow time to work on something outside of class is a good one.

[missjanette.livejournal.com]

I want to learn how to make packable hats that don't look packable, per se. For example, that awesome hat w the ribbon inset or a fabric top hat with removable boning or a collapsing frame.

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

On the materials/fees issue - my preference for a beginners class would be to have everything be all inclusive, so that I would not have to worry about finding appropriate supplies, buying the wrong things, etc. For a non-beginners class - say the second in a series and up - I'd probably be more into getting my own stuff and having more control.

Same basic principle with the learning style question, as well.

[anabeig.livejournal.com]

I am a little late to the party, I know. But I do have some input...

First off, could it be a combination of supplies list and bring your own? I would be fine with brining "2 yards of quilting cotton" but am not sure I would be able to find more specialized materials or tools (we have only generic craft stores here)

Second, I beg you, if you go through with this, to do a weekend series. For the simple reason that I live in Cville, VA, and would not be able to come during the week (that whole "work" thing), but a weekend is extremely feasable (esp since I grew up in Durham and still have friends in the area).

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

Weekends are definitely easier for me to fit into my own schedule as well! And, thanks for the input on supplies too!

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

I've ben interested in hats since I read "Tibet" a story about Small ears a fellow who exchanged hats as a form of friendship.

I've been experimenting with variations of hats
I can make with cloth - the thought is to make
small slow cloth(like jude's embroidered treasure pieces)
"http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/" she incorporate things like Kantha stitch and embroidery and crazy quilting.
into something wearable that breaks the wind & covers ears be cause its been so cold.

my hats are a bit more basic/primitive than most couture I've seen. folk wear I guess is the proper term. I've sewn hat brims for Dayton's at MU industries so I know comercial sewing
but mostly I've been playing..

I've made cloth bowls but folks just turn em into hats
so I think hats are just whats needed up here.

I think later I'll switch to lite weight brimmed things
for summer. and a sewing machine...

I've done costume maintenece(sp) for the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis -fixing Oliver's hat brim every night and sets and historical costumes for several plays, I love seeing what you've been doing. Its like walking back in time....
its an "if only I had" path