Milliner ?

I like the word milliner far better than hatter. How did this word come about? According to Wikipedia, it originates from the 1600s and refers to some coming from Milan , a city which was famous for fancy goods, now meaning someone who make and sells ladies hats.

Picture of a millinery shop in Bruges folk museum. Look at all the different hat blocks!
I have been attempting a little millinery over the last few weeks and I love it. There are so many options I have barely scratched the surface . I like the two dimension into three dimensional aspects and I know I have a lot to learn. I have been rescuing old unfinished hats and making new.
My rescues were both previous attempts to make a hat with a sculptured surface and in neither case had I really got a grip with the amount of felt surface needed to do this successfully.
My first attempt has been turned into a beanie style with a slight military flavor.

My second sculpted into some hills and valleys with addition of beads.

Starting from scratch and a like bit wiser I made the beauty below, merino with silk threads incorporated . This is more like it in terms of sculpture , but there could still be more!

I do like the little stalk and the spiral

And for a complete contrast I made a bowler, not black of course but still bowler shape. When it came to making the brim I was not sure a first how to do it . Eventually I thought about pinning it round the cable piping you can buy here in the Netherlands. A bit of a brainwave.

Now I just need to find someone to model them for me, as this white lady does not smile.

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