By any other name would smell as sweet..." Shakespeare mentions Saint Valentine in "Hamlet", where Ophelia sings:
"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine. Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes, And dupp'd the chamber-door; Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more."
This week's annual celebration of affection is celebrated the world over with chocolates, cards and flowers. In my search for the history of Valentine's Day, I found several. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine."
This week I would like to introduce you to Kim Brown-Dye. She is an amazing talent with a rare and beautiful craft. Her models and photos are as lovely as her chapeaus!! You can find her Etsy store at http://www.topsyturvydesign.etsy.com/. Unlike my usual modus operandi, I'm going to just let Kim tell you her story in her own words.
"My name is Kim Brown-Dye. I am milliner and sometimes costumier who hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently Oakland, California. I became a milliner somewhat by accident. In college, I studied theatrical design, but was primarily a puppet, mask & prop artisan. In the summer of 2000, I took on an internship in Southern California as a puppet maker. As fate would have it, one of the interns dropped out of the program & I was handed the task of building (from scratch) 3 hats in 3 days for a production of Amadeus - complete panick. My mentor at the time gave me a copy of Denise Dreher's "From the Neck Up," a milliners bible, & my love for the craft was born. The rest, as they say, is history."
That's it for this week. I hope that you loved Kim's work and presentation as much as I do. Please stop by her store at http://www.topsyturvydesign.com/. If you're in love, remind your lover. Aloha!!
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Credits are as follows:
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Mini Victorian Mourning Tricorn
666 Photography
Model: Kayleigh
L. Escarpolette Corset
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Seafaring Pirate Tricorn
Darla Teagarden Photography
Model: Beaux Deadly
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18th Century Mob Cap Hat In Silk
Photos by Topsy Turvy Design
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Marie Antoinette Inspired Tricorn Hat
Photos by Topsy Turvy Design
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