Thought for a lifetime

Einstein made the very important observation that " Imagination is more important than knowledge ".

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wanted: Hat Model

My current hat obsession is resulting in the creation of numerous hats…
several of which I actually like!
And although I have hat blocks I realized to successfully photograph my hats to sell on etsy
 ( lemonntwist is my shop name ) 
a hat model was required.

a weird hat head not even for sale! 
I looked online and even ugly hat heads were over $300 !!! 
Or else pathetic wig styrofoam things.

one of many crammed full antique stores

So I headed to the antique mecca of Orange County; 
the Orange Circle in ( where else ) the city of Orange.
Numerous antique/vintage/retro/stores are scattered amongst hip trendy gastro pubs and restaurants.
It's been easily 15 years since I've been to the Circle and it has really changed into a happening destination.

these weird whicker heads were everywhere but, none were for sale

Well, the hunt was on an I saw lots and lots of hats and lots and lots of hat heads but, none of the hat heads were for sale; only for display. 
The store keepers kept saying it was really difficult to even find a hat head, much less a cool vintage one.




But, I soldiered on to store after store trying hard not to be distracted by cool vintage hats.
I didn't even peek at the prices because I was on a mission…
find a hat head!

so cute!

Great hat, great head…for display only

Sweet torture! 
The perfect hat head but, of course it was not for sale. 
I even made the shop keeper take it off the top of the shelves to make sure.


And then my luck changed! 
This is the first hat head I found for sale and even though it had no personality and was pretty ugly I seriously thought about it. If it hadn't been $169 I might have bought it!


Then I stumbled upon this odd dismembered mannequin. 
The earrings were permanent and the piece was just a little too creepy. 
I definitely would not want to come upon it in my studio in the dark...


Then I finally found a real contender. 
The only negatives were that it was very modern looking, the head circumference was a little small and I thought she had a really snotty look on her face. 
Remember I was seeing lots of really lovely hat heads ( for display only ) so I hoped for something better. 


And then I found my perfect hat model. 
She's not in perfect shape but, she is in perfect spirit!
Shop keeper says she's from the 1950s and she needs a little TLC…


This is my sweet Irene and she was a super sweet deal at $60. 
My hats already look better :) 

And if I hear a bump in the night she won't freak me out...