About & Contact
MAD ABOUT HATS
A hat has many roles... You can hide in it, take shelter in it, stand out in it, create a new look, dress up a casual look, or dress down a fancy look. A hat is a very versatile expression of who you are, and what you want to be, and it tells a story about your mood. Together you create an attitude and tell a story.
It's up to you!
As a hat lover, I have the best of both worlds. I get to wear them and make them. And I love making them! I love working directly with clients, helping to create a hat that fits them, and create their own look. It's about allowing people to express their unique individuality.
I've had a love affair with hats from a very early age. When I was on vacation in Spain, I came upon a milliner's studio and became obsessed with the idea of making hats. Luckily I happened to be living in Hamburg, Germany at the time, so I was close to London! Soon I immersed myself in a Millinery Program at the London School of Fashion, and private lessons with Chlöe Scrivener (who started her career working with the former Queen's Milliner, Philip Somerville and Philip Treacy)
Soon after, I worked as the "American Apprentice" in Hamburg to Germany’s Ulla Machalett, an exceptionally skilled and trained hat maker who owns, runs, and makes all her hats at Rotkäppchen designs in the cool and hip neighborhood of Karolinenviertel, Hamburg. She has and is an invaluable influence on me with her precision, and techniques.
On my return to Brooklyn in 2015 I started my line, Marine & Deerfield. I continue to design and make each hat individually, LOVINGLY, using the traditional millinery and couture techniques I learned in Germany and London. All of my hats are hand-blocked with vintage or specially made blocks using the finest straws and felts collected on my trips to Florence, London, Hamburg, and Prague. Many of the vintage straws and felt hats are shaped completely by hand, which gives the hats a unique, one-of-a-kind look.
Between the years 2016 to 2020, I worked part-time at East Villiage Hats, with the amazing Julia Knox. Another expert Milliner. While the idea of owning my own shop wasn’t something I wanted, with all the responsibilities and financial headaches that come with it, working in a shop was an amazing and desirable experience. There I received more instructions, this time from an English Milliner who was skilled in the American traditions of hat making. I feel blessed to have a background in not only American skills but also English and German. All are very aligned, and yet with subtle differences. In addition to learning more, I was able to work with customers’ directions, not just online, or during one-night pop-ups or trunk shows. Working in a shop, with such a wide range of customers, really helped me understand what works and what doesn’t. Not to mention, how much fun it was to sell hats to, model hats for, make custom hats for, and just meet the celebrities who walked in our door. My favorites? Jered Harris, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Craig, Ron Pearlman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Aaron Paul. To know, but not meet in person, that Jerry Hall purchased a fascinator I made. And of course, the highlight of my career was that Madonna picked my hat for her very own hat, and ended up wearing it on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, and in the accompanying music video.
With all that said, one of the most precious highlights of my training was when Ignatius Creegan, of Ignatius Hats, drove up to Brooklyn NY to train me in my own home on my straw braid machine. This method uses bundles of wheat straw plait that are hand-sewn and then finished with a vintage straw braid machine. He was an expert. The most talented and the best at this technique. I’m forever grateful to him in this life and the next.
If your interested in a hat, have a look at my collections, or Instagram, and if you still can't find what your looking for maybe it's time for a custom hat. Please don't hesitate to contact me. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing the smile on a customer’s face when they find their new hat.
-Suzanne Warfield, Milliner and Hat Maker, Marine & Deerfield