If you have ever been preoccupied with English style and New York trendsetters, you have most definitely experienced at some point fashion's fascination with hats. Some of the world's most iconic women and men have donned unique chapeaus... Sherlock Holmes' signature deerstalker cap, Carrie Bradshaw's outlandish lime green Fascinator and the many elegant looks of Kate Middleton. 

Two musts for any fashionista provide an inquisitor look at the boundless creativity of hat design as indescribable works of art. Hats: An Anthology, the book by British milliner-to-the-stars Stephen Jones has also come to life as the current exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts on view now until February third next year. Both the book and exhibit  reveal the bold fashion statements by designers such as Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Philip Treacy, and Stephen Jones himself alongside remarkable historic pieces and examples of pop culture head wear. The exhibition's inventive installation evokes the life cycle of the hat from the perspective of a milliner, tracing the creative process and sources of inspiration, to a hat's debut in a salon and finally as a crowning expression of an owner's personal style.

"Fashion expresses the private and public aspects of creativity in ways that very few art forms can," says Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM's James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Chief Curator. "This exhibition provides the perfect opportunity to salute fashion..." Architectural, comical or simply utilitarian, these accessories tell stories of life's history, a visual commentary reflecting the times... and the figures they've crowned...

Can you top that? xoxo-Sonya

As a jewelry designer always looking for novel supplies and components, it is frustrating to have a clear idea of what you want yet unable to find the perfect pieces, not even remotely close. This dilemma sparked a quest where creativity meets necessity. Heck, if I can't find it, I'm going to have to make it! Let the learning begin!

Time for more tools...

Wanting to create my own pendants with custom words and phrases for a while, it was time to try another technique - metal stamping. Often confusing it with engraving, I shied away from this craft and purchased words readily available in the market. I'm the first to admit my Intentions line became really boring with the same stuff. Now able to produce fresh prose, this freedom brings new life to the line for I can already imagine the endless possibilities. First, I had to purchase a set of metal punches, solid anvil and lots of different blanks. Everyone has a hammer, right? Stamping is kind of like the three bears... Hitting with the hammer can't be too hard or it will bend the piece; too soft will not create an even impression; but just the right pressure produces an impression that's clear and deep enough to be read. Practice makes perfect and once you get the hang of it, you have a lot of fun!

The more I stamp the more excited I get! So many words, phrases and sayings, each holding a special meaning for the intended recipient. I have a whole book of intentions I plan on producing, but it doesn't end here... Custom names and phrases will be available by order request. As long as it can fit on the pendant, I can stamp out whatever your heart desires... Have a look at some of the possibilities...

You've seen it... This famous print with James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe sitting in a diner. Boulevard of Broken Dreams is actually a parody of the iconic Nighthawks by artist Edward Hopper. This is how many people, just as myself, have tasted Hopper's art without realizing it. Here's the original work:

Right in our backyard, Nyack, New York, is the birthplace of Edward Hopper and boasts his childhood home as a non-profit art center, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971. “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.” Edward Hopper was most recognized for his oil paintings, but was equally proficient as a water-colorist and print maker in etching. Both in his urban and rural scenes, his spare and finely calculated renderings reflected his personal vision of modern American life. Visitors at his home are encouraged to browse the gallery and venture outside for walking tour, map in hand, to experience the local sites evident in many of this artist's works.

Upon our recent visit to the art center, the docent mentioned a current exhibit in Madrid, Spain at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza until September 16. Bringing together the largest and most ambitious selection of works by the US artist ever to be shown in Europe, loans from major museums and institutions in New York, Boston, Andover, and Philadelphia, along with various private collections, Hopper's particular attention to geometrical design and the careful placement of human figures in proper balance with their environment is illustrated. He was a slow and methodical artist, describing how “it takes a long time for an idea to strike. Then I have to think about it for a long time. I don’t start painting until I have it all worked out in my mind. I’m all right when I get to the easel". He often made preparatory sketches to work out his carefully calculated compositions which he and his wife, Josephine, kept in a detailed ledger. Walk through this exhibit with a click to the micro site link and experience the works at displayed "firsthand". Or you can just have a peek at some of his most famous works here...