Miniature hats, mountain views, and a hint of steampunk

This week I got to spend a wonderful day with my friend Lucy, launching her millinery modelling career and having a long overdue catch-up.

A lot of my previous photoshoots have remained close to home, or my model's homes, to allow for costume changes to suit different hats. And by close, I mean in the front or back garden!

But I have been itching for better backgrounds. And there are so many wonderful locations nearby. We remained at the one lookout on this day, and still had a diverse set of backdrops to make use of.

I love how Lucy looks like a stylin' lady pirate-adventurer who has skipped off her boat and high-tailed it into the bush to escape the law, or something.

As well as the miniature tricorne, Lucy also modelled a miniature top hat. Both share a slightly steampunky look, in my mind, with a nod to the 18th century in the tricorne, and the 19th in the top hat.

Photos like this make me pause and think, "Do I really live here?" Gosh I'm a lucky girl!

As well as mini hats, this photoshoot came with a mini meltdown too. We organised it less than a week in advance, and I set myself the task of trying to finish a whole bunch of partially-complete hats.

Naturally that didn't happen, and despite the calming tones of my beloved husband saying that everything would be alright in the end, because it always is, I stressed out. In the end I finished a few, which I'll be sharing in subsequent posts. To make more of the day, I also borrowed some, like these two miniature hats, from the Blackheath Hub, where they a currently for sale.

So it did, after all, turn out alright in the end.

As well as acknowledging that my husband is a wise, wise man, I need to work on getting stress-out issue under control. Unfortunately, it adds up to more than just stress, because it is almost always followed by me coming down with a cold. And these days, I can't just lie in bed until it's over!

Adapting my life and business to parenthood is taking some time and experimentation. The process seems to just involve me scaling my work back more and more and still finding it to be too much.

The millinery and the blog are not going anywhere, because I value what it gives me far too much. But the shape of things, or at least the speed, will be changing all the time until I reach an arrangement that is sustainable for me and my family.

One thing is for sure, when I do get to do a lovely photoshoot like this, I'm going to milk it for all the blog time it is worth! So luckily for you, you get to keep seeing this lady's beautiful face for a while.

And now for my favourite photo of the entire day...

Thank you all for your comments, which make writing the blog an extra-rewarding experience! I do apologise for not commenting as much on your blogs as I used to, but I am still reading them and enjoying them.