Kentucky Derby 2017

Hands down, the Kentucky Derby is the busiest time of year here at JCM but also the most exciting! I love making custom pieces and challenging myself to create hats that enhance clients fashion choices while staying true to my design esthetic.

I thought it could be fun to share some pictures and behind the scenes from the lead up to Derby Day or as I like to think of it, the kick off the American Horse Racing Season (it's a long road to Breeder's Cup in November)! 

First we started out doing a fun collaboration with Lou What Wear, a fashion blog based in Louisville. I sent Danielle some hats and she mixed them with her fashion sensibilities to create a series of posts that really enhanced the hats and generated some beautiful photos which you can see below. She also did a nice interview with me that you can read here. 

Next up I did another collaboration with San Antonio Fashion Blogger and Stylist Kimberly Frick. I have followed Kimberly on social media for a while and inspired by her bright and playful style, I created a special, limited edition collection. We were both excited by the pieces and decided to hold an Instagram contest where we gave away a fascinator for Derby! See Kimberly modeling her hat as well as out Instagram winner, Ashley Grace Johnson of  Texas Fashion Spot in her fascinator on Derby Day below!

The best part of the madness is always seeing clients dressed and ready to go on Derby Day! Wether it is a Derby Party or direct from the track for the Kentucky Oaks or the Kentucky Derby the pictures never disappoint and I love seeing the complete outfits! A huge thank you to everyone who sent me pictures, they really do make me smile!

This year I spent Derby Day at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa where I had the pleasure of assisting women decorate hats for a Kentucky Derby themed party. It was a really fun event that was beautifully decorated with all best "Run for the Roses" details!   

Time to start thinking about next year...

Moneygami Hat

Jill with Leslie Gladstone from Angel's Foster Family Network as pictured in Giving Back Magazine

There really is nothing better than having someone arrive at your door with an envelope full of money and a request that you make them a hat, out of that money!

I look forward to making a "money hat" for the Gold Diggers Association every year for their annual Hats Off Luncheon in San Diego. In the past I have made flowers and butterflies out of the cash but this year I decided to use the money as the actual hat which made for a fun challenge. 

Scroll through the pictures below to see the process and all of the elements we used to make this moneygami piece as well as the finished product being modeled by a member of the Gold Diggers for the event.

This year I also had the pleasure of attending the event and judging the hats made by the different charities. It was amazing to see some of the showgirl style pieces that were made and even more fun to watch the models present them on the runway!

JCMillinery + YELP

Truth be told, I love hosting parties. The prep and the planning, the details and jushing, it's kind of a happy place for me. So when Yelp North County called and asked if I would like to collaborate with them on a special girls night out in my shop to celebrate the opening of the Del Mar Racetrack (otherwise know as the official start to hat season), I was totally in! 

First, we decided to break the event into two nights so we could create a more intimate setting and give each elite Yelper a chance to work with me and create a fun, feathered headband as a keepsake. Secondly, we called some of my favorite local vendors and asked them if they would like to join in the fun (which thankfully they did)! Last but not least, we called in a photographer to capture all the magic. 

Scroll through the pictures and see how we transformed the Solana Beach JCM shop and parking lot into a fabulous event space. I love how much fun all of these amazing women had playing dress up for the evening, and I think it is safe to say we all had a blast celebrating the racing season here in the Cedros Design District. 

A huge THANK YOU to our friends at Camera Camper for providing the most amazing photo booth experience ever, (I mean oh so SoCal and oh so fabulous), Lockwood Table for providing delectable nibbles for the evening, Bang Pop Shop for blowing my mind with the most couture cake pops ever (I mean those cake pops are wearing fascinators) and of course to the amazing team at Yelp for bringing the whole thing to life! 

Behind the Scenes with KPBS

If you have spent 5 minutes chatting with me in the shop, you know I love nothing more than to talk about millinery, it's place in fashion and how passionate I am about being able to do something I love. So you can only imagine how excited I was when the lovely Maya Trabulsi, a reporter for KPBS called me and asked if she could do a story about me and my shop (the answer of course is that I was over the moon)!

Maya had lived in London and developed her own fascination with hats so it was really fun for me to spend time with someone who walked in the door, armed with a vast knowledge and appreciation for the craft. We spent the morning chatting about hats, how they are made, my background and what brought me to millinery. One of the most fun parts for me was personifying all of the noises that go on in my studio on a daily basis since they were not just shooting footage but recording for the radio as well, (seriously cool)!

The original piece aired back in July right before Opening Day at Del Mar Racetrack but it is re-airing nationally this Saturday, September 12th on PBS's Spectrum (check you local listings for the channel and air time). Better yet you can view it on-line here but if you do that you miss the amazing teaser that Maya put together which was my favorite part of the piece!

This was such a memorable experience for me. I have done tv before but it has always been live, in studio news segments. This was the first time I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it as a spectator with my family and friends. It truly has been a milestone for me and my career and as always I am thrilled to have a platform to educate people on how amazing millinery is and what it means to me as an artist!

Update: On June 11, 2016, Maya Trabulsi won an Emmy Award for her work this piece, congratulation Maya!

Here are a few behind the scenes pictures from the shoot: