By Mabi Azefor Fominyen
I once received a young and talented male hat designer as guest on the Cameroon TV breakfast show 'Hello'. He weaved a hat on-set and I was marvelled by the art!
I love wearing hats and have always wanted to design them. I couldn't figure out how to.
Recently I decided to investigate the art of millinery. I read a story about a reknown hat designer Patricia Underwoods and how she got into the art. Her story inspired me especially when she said: "A hat should not call attention to itself. It should flatter the face and relate to clothing...you have the material, the sewing machine and the mirror at hand...think of making a hat as an adventure, make one that suits you....".
Why not give it a try, I thought!
So I went to the market, bought a few items and accessories I imagined would make the hat beautiful, got home and started working on something.My idea was to come up with a, nice but simple piece. I checked in the mirror every now and then to see what it looked like.
Hey! Behold I did it! Oh yes I made a red hat !My sister Lynda couldn't believe it when she got me on the webcam as we chated and I was showing off what i just designed.
"You did that!?" she wondered.
Oh yes I did.
After making the hat I thought now that's interesting . The following day I was off to the market again to get more material so I could give it another try. See what I have been able to design since my debut in hat-making...
I am about to enroll in a milliners' course at a fashion Institute to perfect the art!
I'll see what my talent, my love for arts & craft, plus sewing would lead me into!
