Is this healthy, one might ask?

It's a way of life for Amy Hamilton, founder of Granville Millinery Company. Amy’s hat design
is an ongoing mix and match process that begins in her imagination, makes its way to a satin
covered "storyboard" on which she assembles colors and textures and materials, then takes
shape on one of the wooden hat forms that line the walls of her studio.

Once Amy conceives a basic idea for a new design, she chooses a wool or natural straw from
among a wide selection of weaves and textures. She then dyes it in a spectrum of colors so
that she can (see how each accents this creation.)

Next, she selects from among her more than one hundred antique molds, stretches the
material over it and steams it to give it shape. She dries and hand-trims the hat at this point.

Then come the details: Silk leaves with hand-wrapped stems, satin ribbon gleaned from the
mercantile section of Provence, velvet roses, beads and feathers – vintage finds from her
mother, an antique dealer in Vermont – or sometimes, a simple bow.

Ultimately, Amy’s hats will rest on the heads of lucky ladies—ladies making memorable
appearances at weddings and holiday parties, letting loose on beach weekends or cheering
from the sidelines of a soccer field. Dressed up or dressed down, they all wear a knowing
smirk behind their slightly cocked brims: they remembered their hats.