I would like to write a little about how I started making fascinators. Many years ago, when I was a young woman living in Portland Oregon, after taking some millinery courses, I made hats for my friends and for myself because we all wanted hats that matched our suits and dresses.
Forward many years, after retiring from my job as an Occupational Therapy Assistant I wanted something new and creative to do. I had spent over twenty years designing and making patterns for cloth dolls and various crafts, everything from ribbon embroidery to fragrance crafting and cloth dolls. I sold my designs to magazines such as: Better Homes and Gardens, Crafts and Things and Soft Dolls and Animals. I did this as a part time occupation simply because I love designing and experimenting. When I retired I decided I wanted to make hats again, not regular boring hats, but cute little hats that could be worn for Lunch, Tea or as a Cocktail hat, more a decoration than a hat, I was calling them hatlets because they weren't quite hats.
While searching the Internet for materials I found that in England, they were wearing the type hat I was making but they were calling them "Fascinators", OK, I will call my little hats "Fascinators". I set up a website www.arlenesoriginaldesigns.com and then an Etsy site www.etsy.com/shop/thefascinatormaven and since then I have had the pleasure of selling my fascinators all over the world. I was very impressed when I sold one in Paris, France. Please take a look at my websites and drop me a line, I would love to hear from you.
Here are a couple of the new styles I designed for this Summer. You can see more at
www.arlenesoriginaldesigns.com
www.etsy.com/shop/thefascinatormaven
