It’s called Pinkham Millinery. The owner Dayna Pinkham studied under the late John Eaton in Seattle. She’s a talented and inspired woman. (More of her story you can find on the web and also on her website.)
I first discovered her store by simply walking by it. It was old world. Charming. It was like stepping back in time. All of her hats are custom made. She measures your head, finds out what you want, and custom designs and builds a hat for your unique head.
She crafts using high quality felts and imported straw. The ribbons she uses are imported. The hats are amazing. I wanted one, but I am not prepared just yet for the cost. So I wistfully gawked, and I planned for the future.
But I really lucked out. REALLY LUCKED OUT. I was in Buffalo Exchange a week and a half later searching for a summer straw hat when I discovered a white straw hat with a little black tag that said Pinkham Millinery. I couldn’t believe my fortune! Fifteen dollars! I did glance around furtively to see if perhaps someone would come over and say, “Oops, we mislabeled that!” And then display it behind the counter. BUT NO! It was ignored and squashed. It looked ruined, but I was hoping that Dayna Pinkham could reblock it and restore it to it’s former glory.
I took the crumpled hat to her, and she evaluated it. She guessed it had been made about seven years prior. She said she thought she could save it, so I left it in her care and scheduled my return two weeks later.
And it was beautiful. She did a fantastic job and installed a little elastic cord since the hat was slightly too big for me (that’s why custom hats are so amazing!) I cannot wait until I can order a custom hat for myself-I’m thinking felt for the winter.
After:
What do you think? Do I look glamorous?
You can follow Pinkham Millinery on Facebook here.
I grew up with a mother who loved antiques. For a time, she even ran a large Antique Warehouse on Apache and McClintock in Tempe, Arizona called Cheap Antiques. It was huge: one of those buildings filled with different vendors and rooms. It was unlike any other I’ve been in since though. The back section of the warehouse was a workspace for certain employees to refurnish the some antiques. I used to watch in awe as they dipped heavy pieces into an industrial sized tub to remove all the varnish. It smelled like stripper, oil, and wood shavings back there. I loved it.
It’s been a long time since then; my mother has long since changed careers, but I did inherit a couple of large chairs that wouldn’t quite fit into her house the way she wanted. I lugged them all the way up here to Portland. (Thanks David! I know they were heavy!)
One of the chairs in particular has always been ugly. The fabric on it, I just don’t even know how to describe it. Colorful?
I have provided evidence with a “vintage” photo of me and my cat taking a nap on it. As you can tell, it is comfortable. Definitely worth saving. MAKEOVER MONTAGE! (Just kidding, although if I already had photos of the after…sorry you will have to wait. JUST.LIKE.ME.
I took it to my local reupholster-er. These folks are legit. Alexander Baghdanov is the third generation in his family to practice this business. His wife Lyubov runs the front desk, and his children work in the shop as well. They have beautiful accents and are wonderfully friendly.
Part of what they do is give the furniture a little love. I look forward to seeing how they salvage what my mother’s pug pack did to this arm.
Alexander Bagdanov
There are A MILLION FABRIC SAMPLES. It was so hard to decide. But I finally did. EEEEEEEE!
I hope to have the “after” photos in another week or so!
Spent time with some of my best friends on Saint Patrick’s Day watching them get tattoos at Martian Art’s Tattoo Studio on Hawthorne Street. The lighting in the shop was lovely, and I managed to get some dramatic shots. (See the full set on flickr)
I met Corbin sometime in the past few years in my time at Liberty Market. He’s a regular customer whenever he’s in town. You can often catch him on his laptop or having a meeting over coffee. He makes me laugh, and he challenges me as a friend. Also, he has fabulous hair.
Jamie: Tell us a little about yourself. Corbin: Arizona native. Can’t get enough coffee, carbs and expensive silk scarves. I’m a fashion writer (The New York Times, Newsweek/The Daily Beast and an editor at the New York Observer’s SCENE Magazine). In addition, I’m working on two books at the moment. I’m an advocate for long dinner parties, pricey perfume and late-in-the-hour consumption of ice cream. Overall nice guy with a soft-spot for outcasts, misfits and troublemakers.
Jamie: I’m curious about your fashion history. Were you a toddler born with all the right tastes who demanded to dress yourself or was this something that more slowly developed? Corbin: I’m really fortunate to have a ultra-stylish mother and grandmother. I was always concerned about what I was wearing, but I wouldn’t consider it fashionable or stylish. I had a uniform; oxford shirt, bow-tie and vest.
Jamie: What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever worn? Corbin: I’ve worn a lot of outrageous items (long fur coats, capes and caftans) to suburban-spots outside of the anything-goes-streets of New York City and haven’t felt embarrassed, rather a tad overdressed. Perhaps I blushed a bit when I ran into a very important editor-in-chief in the hallway of a hotel in L.A while wearing gym clothes.
Jamie: Gym clothes are one of those necessary evils, aren’t they? What advice do you have for the average suburban American? What to wear? What not to wear? Corbin: I suppose gym clothes are a necessary evil– after all the gym is hell. The best advice I can give is that once you’re done with your spin class, go home and change. No one wants to see you in sweaty-spandex at the market, really there are no good excuses. I’m in LOVE with the fitness gear from Nike. It’s the gym, not a the Oscars– just keep it basic, modest and clean.
Jamie: Have you ever met Stacy and Clinton? Corbin: I’m sorry, who? Doesn’t ring a bell.
I’ve known Craig about the same number of years as my husband. They worked together on a computer animated movie. When I began to hang around David, all the animators called me Yoko! Haha! Nowadays, Craig lives across the street from us. Craig is a generous person who likes to laugh and drink good beer.
JM: Tell us a little about yourself
CG: okay! i’ll try {=o) i’m thirty three – the youngest of three boys. pastor’s kids, mom and dad raised us in the church. grew up in a little (1.7 square miles) town in missouri until my family up-and-moved to phoenix the year karate kid part II came out.
i have a lot of teachers in my life: my dad, as well as being a pastor, is a high school teacher, my mom and brother are teachers, and several members of my extended family are teachers and preachers. on top of that, the place i’ve worked for the past ten plus years is filled with teachers – that’s what i get for trying to get out of school as fast as possible i guess.
when i was a kid i wanted to make cartoons. as a teenager that sorta morphed into comic books but by the time i was supposed to be applying for colleges, i was too late to get into comic book school, so i defaulted back to cartoons. {=o) i did get to work on some cartoons in the early aughts with some great people, and hope to work on cartoons again one day.
i tend to stay up late. i put things off. i like movies, characters, cartoons and stories. i like the internet. i’m good at google. i’m pretty good at video games.
i like to eat! and although, not picky, i do tend to get bored pretty easily. so one of the things i like to do is find new places to eat – things i’ve never tried or heard of. i also tend to plan entire vacations around food! oh, by the way, i love to travel!
JM: Where have you traveled? What has been your favorite place? Can you share a favorite travel photo?
CG: well, when i was 16 i had the amazing opportunity to spend a few weeks in europe through the people to people student ambassadors program. we got to go to italy, austria, and hungary – a week in each country. the best part about that trip was being able to spend time with families in their homes. that’s something you really can’t experience most of the time when you go on trips and visit other cultures. more recently, i’ve been trying to do a big trip every year. so for the past few years i’ve been able to go to thailand, vietnam, and hawaii. it’s so hard to pick a favorite place!! but i’m going to say mui né, vietnam. it was just such a beautiful and simple place. the people were very kind … and the food was amazing! {=o)
JM: Can you share some drawings?
CG: sure!
a drawing of batman with my brushpen
a weird crustacean girl i kinda watercolored
a pretty stylized drawing of wonder woman
and a logo for a scooter club some friends of mine are in {=o)
JM:Nice! I really love the wonder woman one!
You are really into obscure bands; what are some of your favorites?
CG:
mariachi el bronx – a punk band (the bronx) that has a great traditional-style mariachi side project
kid koala – the most creative turntablist i’ve ever heard
