Heads Up: A Hat Making Symposium for Endangered Crafts - Sun 17th AM Ticket

'The British Hat Guild,' presents a two-day symposium to celebrate Britain’s specialist millinery and hat making techniques that now feature on 'The Red List of Endangered Crafts.' Hosted in the heritage-inspired surroundings of 'The Founders’ Livery Hall,' and in partnership with 'Heritage Crafts' and 'The Worshipful Company of Feltmakers,' the event will bring together makers, historians, designers, and enthusiasts to honour skills deeply rooted in the nation’s cultural and fashion history.

By shining a light on these remarkable skills and the people who practise them, the symposium offers an opportunity to appreciate their enduring relevance and respect the rich legacy they represent within today's British craft and design industry.

Sunday 17th May, 9.45am – 1pm - Session 3

Please note you are purchasing a ticket for all the below talks for Sunday morning, please purchase separate tickets for further sessions.

Please arrive from 9.15am for coffee

Video Introduction by the British Hat Guild Chairman – Stephen Jones

Heritage Crafts in Education  - Sarah Cant, The Kings Foundation and Vesna Pesic, Morley College

• This talk introduces The Chanel & King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship, a new educational opportunity in millinery. It explores the development of the programme’s curriculum in collaboration with fellow tutors and industry partners, highlights the heritage craft skills at its core, and examines how students engage with and benefit from learning these traditional techniques
• Morley College London presents a talk on the role of heritage millinery skills in contemporary education, with a particular focus on the CertHE Creative Practice: Millinery and BA (Hons) Creative Practice: Millinery. The session will explore how the curriculum was developed in collaboration with tutors and industry partners, and how traditional skills can be sustained, deepened and carried into contemporary practice through higher education.

Straw Hat Machines; Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow - Harvy Santos and Claire Strickland 

• In this talk, Claire Strickland and Harvy Santos will be covering a brief history of the 17-Guinea Machine, the various machine set ups, its care & maintenance and their wonderful creations through photos, stories and live demonstrations on the machines. They will also share with you their journey from finding the machine, discovering its functions and experimenting with various materials — plus the introduction of the GJ2-2 straw braid machine which can now be obtained from China!

Bowed-Felt Hatmaking: Rediscovering a Lost British Craft - Rachel Frost

• “Bowed-felt hat making” is a traditional felting process used specifically for hat making, named after the distinctive giant bow that plays a key role in the craft.Join historian and hatmaker Rachel Frost as she recounts her remarkable journey to rediscover this ancient British technique — a craft that had been lost for more than 150 years. Through research, experimentation, and historical investigation, Rachel brings this fascinating piece of Britain’s hat making heritage back to life.

Accessibility

The venue is accessible via a lift. However, we regret that there are currently no accessible toilet facilities available on site. Please contact us in advance if you would like to discuss access requirements at [email protected]

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Host or Publisher 'The British Hat Guild'