Happy New Year!

It's a brand New Year at Gwendolyne Hats and life is good. After all the fun, festivities and family gatherings we got some rest. Now completely renewed, we're beginning our year with great creativity and invention. We're thankful for the day and excited by what the future has to offer.

People loved our new Winter Collection at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. Our booth was the best ever. We had fun and a wonderful time was had by all. This year the annual competition had a teapot theme. Gwendolyne was thrilled making her beautiful pincushion teapot & Wow! She won 3rd prize. It was such an honour to receive recognition amongst so many fabulous creations by other artists. Our cup runneth over!



You too could have fun creating your own pincushion curio. Sign up for a Spring course at Atelier Gwendolyne. It's a great idea for a gift or a special treat for yourself. Please contact us to enroll.

This charming & informative interview was shot in our booth during the show. Gwendolyne speaks very eloquently about her work & what she believes in. Have a look. It's good to the last shot.



What the world needs now is love sweet love...

That's the only thing that there's just to little of... So this New Year's Eve under the light of the blue moon, that's exactly what we wished for everyone. Love is the great connector that brings meaning to our lives. The more you give the more you get. The more you get the better you feel.

When you love life it loves you back.

Dress up!

It has been a while since my last post. Our Summer seemed to pass by so quickly as we created beautiful hats in the studio and played in the city. Autumn has arrived and winter is just around the corner. Time to cozy up for the cool weather ahead. I always look forward to the Fall. The drop in temperature and smell of the earth are my first signs. The crisp light and brisk air stimulate my senses.

I begin my preparations at home by opening my trunks and pulling out the warmer clothing. It's always exciting to see my clothes again but, what do I need to complete my wardrobe?

Our food choices begin to reflect the juicy full flavors of the harvest and the cooler temperatures make it all taste so good. William and I love this season. Perhaps it's the Cavalcade of color that spurs us on. Mother Natures' fiery display of burning brights and her rich but subtle earth tones inspire my colour sensibilities.



Our Atelier is bustling with activity at this time of year. The Shop is full of abundance. New hats are coming out of the workshop daily. Customers are dropping by to see what’s in store for them. It’s a busy and exciting time of year for Gwendolyne Hats. We work all year round to prepare for this moment. This is when our work truly shines and we look forward to sharing it’s radiance.

It’s always exciting to see the fruits of our labour assembled and in our shop at this time of year. The collection looks fabulous…

Our designs come to life on people and they're always a lot of fun to try on. So we invited a couple of friends over to play Dress Up. We took pictures and created two slide shows to illustrate some of our new collection for you.
Above is a picture of Joey in the Aubrey. The Aubrey is a beautiful patchwork poem of tapestries from around the world. This mid-season design, with a three panel lamb leather top, offers great protection from Fall to Spring. See more hats on Joey click here.

Audrey models our new Clarissa cloche below & one of our cozy hand fringed boucle knit scarves. This Romantic hat, hand-cut from cashmere blend wool, is accented with specialty trims and a vintage button. Its brim can be styled up to highlight your face or down to protect you from the weather. See more hats on Audrey click here.
Gwendolyne hats have personality, they speak to people about warmth, style, individuality, and spirit. They are a great form for expression. A lot goes into each hat. We make all sizes, each one well designed, expertly crafted and unique. Wearing our creations is definitely a feel good experience.

I make beautiful hats for beautiful people. My customers are special human beings that celebrate life. For them beauty radiates from the inside out. A confidant smile is very powerful force. It can change the way you see the world and affect how the world perceives you. I want my customers to be happy in their hat and spread that positive energy forward.


Below you will find a picture of me with my latest fiber art creation titled “Good Vibrations”, for the Textile Museum of Canada’s 12th annual Shadowbox Show and Silent Auction. This amazing show is always a highlight of the season and it just keeps getting better. I highly recommend that you go see it.

I love handwork and over the years I’ve noticed a renewed interest in these traditions. I want to share some of my knowledge in this field.

In the Spring I plan to teach a Fiber Art course in my Atelier. If you are interested please send me an e-mail.

Tah! Tah! . . . ( that's hat spelled backwards)

Tapping the source

Recently an early tobacco card of a Red Breasted Woodpecker caught my eye.
I was captivated by both the painters composition and use of color. I now have the complete set of 30 antique Imperial Tobacco cards (circa 1900). They celebrate illustration in ways that are reminiscent of the past. As an artist I cherish this sensitivity. As a designer I try to bring these ideas into the present.

The Woodpecker is a potent symbol for me, it conjures up the idea of tapping the new energy of Spring. Though it's not always visable to the naked eye, life is emerging everywhere. In fact prior to Easter my girlfriend saw one of these birds in her backyard, here is a photo . William and I love birdwatching, as of late we have had some wonderful experiences. In our garden we have a bird bath. It is the local water pub for the small birds to drink, bathe and have fun in everyday. It's presence is a great addition to our garden. I look forward to those moments again. If you love birds here is a great site
for information.

The last several weeks have been tough as I came down with a debilitating cold. It has been two years since my last cold, it also was around this time of year. At first I didn't slow down and created a fun set of Flower power corduroy patio cushions.

Then I lost my voice. For three days I was silent and drained. I had some body nurturing to do. Rest gave me a moment to regain my strength and ponder my inner self. I had extra time to observe life around me and to reflect upon some trying relationships within my own life. We all carry patterns that at times haunt us.

My break from routine allowed me to examine a life long pattern of questioning my acceptance by others. Our relations with other people are built on believing people understand and love us for who we are. We are fortunate that we get to select our friends, but we do not get to choose everybody in our life. Some people are chosen for us. They are the ones that push our buttons and test our self worth. Their acceptance, or lack thereof , can create comfort or conflict within us. It is the latter that has offered me more insight lately.
I have come to accept that not all people can
celebrate who I am.
We are all on our own journey of self approval and we are all at different stages. To acknowledge this is to release one from the self doubt that resides from our perceived thoughts of others towards us. I believe now that the things people see in others which they have not yet attained for themselves, can create barriers for deeper relationships to grow. By acknowledging this, I can let go of my struggle and tap into my source. I will accept these relationships where they stand, without expecting the emotional change to happen. I know this will bring me a greater peace with these people in my life. Letting go can lead to a new beginning. That is one thing the Spring season offers us, a fresh start!

Now what does all this have to do with HATS? Acceptance of ones appearance is the key to enjoying the most out of life and the key to enjoying the wearing of a hat. We are unable to change our birth right of looks. Our genetics have been given to us without choice. It is only when I accept my face in the mirror am I able to celebrate it. There are many people that visit our shop and say they are not Hat people. I understand deeper what that comment means.

We were gifted last Thursday, to see the Stars on Ice by my brother Jeff and his family. It was an exciting evening out at the Air Canada center. Kurt Browning was a sight to behold. His ability on and off the ice reveals the exceptional talent this individual has. Every performance on the ice was breath taking. I hope one day he visits us at Gwendolyne Hats as he would look amazing in our Tibetan design. Now having seen his live performances that evening, I have officially become another a Kurt Browning fan!

My cold is on its last legs and I am very grateful for the lessons this journey opened me up to. All is well, and I am once again busy creating some new hats for wonderful people.

Happy Homobonus Day!

Yes that says Happy Homobonus Day. I do not belong to any organized religion. In fact I am a strong believer that a person should listen to their inner spirit. It is my guide and it helps me to bring good things into the world.

"Do unto others as you would do unto yourself". I know that I must be accountable for my actions towards others, every day I strive to improve myself in all directions in life. I recognize I can always do more for others and improve myself to be a kinder and more tolerant individual. If we all worked on that, more JOY would be around the world!

Every year my artist friend Anthony gives me a card to celebrate the patron saint of the cloth worker / small business owner. This man was canonized in in 1198, a year following his unexplained death . It was a first in Catholic history; that an ordinary man living a extraordinary life, of goodness and sharing with those around him, was sainted.

He is one of my patron saints. I am a Hat designer / maker, and a small business. You can see my Gwendolyne Hats winter designs and creations of 2006 here

If you are devoted to textile creations best wishes for you on this November 13th lets all say to each other Happy Homobonus day. It will be fun to see the facial looks you get when you greet someone. I also think it is great to celebrate people whenever we can. In this case, learning about a person who lived a little over 800 years ago. A person in his life-time made the world a better place. Today we have new inspirations all around us. We just have to begin one of them ourselves as more just follow. I believe sharing positive energy is like ripples in a pond, they spread out.

Just beginning . . .

This is all exciting and new for me to join this blog site. I am an artist, hat designer, hat maker, milliner and a small business owner, here in Toronto Ontario Canada, adding this blog journal to my life will definitely add some extra spice for me and hopefully for others. I have much to do to get acquainted to all of this. I am just dipping my fingers in to get wet. There is much to share in life!