Speaking of Hats....

Topsy Turvy Designs

I'm not a wearer of hats, however I love to view elaborate hats of days goneby and also fabulous theatrical creations that are contemporary. Hats, especially fantasy and whimsy based ones can be wonderful embellishments for one of a kind dolls. And sometimes a hat can inspire a whole costume for a sculpt.

Last night I was searching Etsy for Marie Antoinette type hats (we all know how elaborate they should be) and I came across a delightful artisan, Kim Brown-Dye of Topsy Turvy Design. She is quite a popular seller on Etsy and I'm sure many of you are very familiar with her incredible designs. She is new to me though and I'm thrilled to have "found" her.

Kim creates everything from small fascinators, to embellished Victorian style top hats, to elaborate tricorn fantasies. Here is just a small selection of some of her hats:

And one of my favorites - I love all the embellishment on this one, Seafaring Pirate Hat:

If you are working on a piece that needs just that extra little touch, or love unique hats, visit Kim's shop (at the moment there are 3 pages of items). And, if you want to "meet" Kim, check out this video that Etsy did on her.

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In my search last night, and still on the topic of hats, I stumbled across some weird and imaginative ones on Very Bored. Not sure if they are inspiring or just laughable, but here is an example of one of the hats on this site, from the sublime above, to the ridiculous:

Enjoy your Wednesday and see what inspires you!

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UPDATE: I notified Kim that I had posted a blog about her wonderful hats, and she just left a comment. For those of you who don't read the comments, Kim apparently used to make hats for ball jointed dolls...Check them out here - wonderful!