Studio visit: modern milliner Trish Hirschkorn
Trish Hirschkorn never thought she’d find herself making fancy hats and absolutely loving it. With a background in sports and medicine, crafts were something she discovered later in life, almost out of necessity and has now become a real labour of love. While living in Saudi Arabia and finding her leisure activities limited by cultural restraints, she turned to creativity as an outlet. Trish is now becoming well-known for making the kinds of hats you might associate with British royalty, but that she says anyone can (and should!) wear. She has had a few lucky breaks along the way to cement her true calling as a hat-maker such as stumbling onto a real hat rack at Salvation Army for $20, and winning a free custom website. Millinery is still a side project as she continues to work full-time as an occupational therapist, but it keeps her creative juices flowing and has recently taken off with the launch of her new e-commerce site. Trish keeps honing her skills and developing herself into a true milliner who makes beautiful, sculptural, wearable art.
I visited her home studio on a chilly spring day and sipped sparkling lime water while we bonded over a shared love of beautiful fabrics and hunting for said fabrics in thrift stores. Trish loves to find those perfect silks, leathers and wools to stash away for future inspiration. In fact she has a cupboard-full that are just waiting to be chosen to be remade into next one-of-a-kind hat. She works out of her living room in the evenings and weekends, mingling home life with crafting. Trish is one classy lady with a bubbling laugh and contagious enthusiasm who makes you feel like you should wear a cocktail hat too. I tried on a few and just may have to treat myself to the perfect one soon... Check out her website or make to one of her shows, you may just find yourself sporting one of her fabulous hats and feeling like a duchess!
How did you start making hats?
I learned how to wet felt a couple of months prior to moving to NB. I was unemployed for several months after the move, and decided to buy the book "Simply Felt" by Christine White. I loved the projects in it, and played around with different kinds of felting. Looking at the book's resources, I noted that her shop is in Massachusetts and that I was a days' drive from Easthampton. So, I registered for a 1-day course and went on an adventure. They have an old movie theatre for a shop ONLY for felting supplies. I was in heaven. While there I bought a few things I thought I might want, including supplies for what later would help me make hats. Once home I did a lot of looking online for various projects and figured out how to use a ball to felt. After a LOT of experimentation, success and disasters, I figured out a way to get a thin felt that fuses silk to wool, and create the base for hats. Hats also work well with my schedule. Once working full-time, I could complete parts of them during my weekday evenings. Bigger projects like clothing take 3 intensive days of felting, which I cannot afford (in time). Hats are also important for Canadians in the winter, for protection from the cold and to encourage people to get outside. Why not look stylish AND comfortable? :)
Have you always been creative?
Likely, but I didn't tap into it until my mid 30's. I am 6'1" so was raised with sports. I played university Volleyball and rowing, but then decided to focus on a career. Once I moved to the Middle East to work as an occupational therapist, I needed a creative outlet, and found working with my hands (and right side of my brain) very fulfilling.
How did you learn your craft?
I started with that first one-day course in Massachussetts to learn how to make scarves. I then did a 3-day course on scarves. From there it was a lot of experimentation to figure out my own way to make what I wanted. In the last 3-4 years my focus has shifted from felting to millinery (hat making). I now own several blocks for shaping felt, and have most recently taken a course in millinery at the Lina Stein Millinery school in Ireland. My goal is to bridge the gap between felt maker and milliner.
Tell me about your method and materials:
I primarily use the Beth Beede method of felting on a ball. 99.9% of the time I use upcycled silk from clothing to fuse to merino wool. In the last year I've started to use leather whenever I can, again from upcycled clothing. I love thrift shopping, and often can be found "harvesting" local shops for materials. What is your favourite thing to make?
Gosh, hats for sure. For me it depends on my mood. Sometimes the print on the silk lends itself to a design idea before the hat is made, sometimes it is determined after it is made.
Where do you get your inspiration?
From the fabrics I upcycle, and vintage pieces. I am drawn to the 20's, as it is really flattering and sensible for Canadian winters.
What does a typical day look like?
Come home from work as an occupational therapist, eat with my husband, play with my dog. Work for 2 hrs on a few hats at a time, plop in front of the tv by 9pm. On weekends, I'll often put 4-6 hours creating hats during the day.
Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I want to keep making unique pieces, and going to annual art/craft shows. I just opened an online boutique, so I will have to keep up with online demands. I don't think I would do this full-time, since at this point it is still a leisure pursuit that I love. Having it be my main source of income would take away some of the pleasure I get from creating. Life for me is a balance, and I hope to be able to maintain that for years to come.
Find out more about Trish below: