Leanne in Fedora

About

Hello, I am Leanne Fredrick and I have a passion for millinery.

In addition to being a wife and mother, I am a blogger, podcaster, and milliner. I love learning how things work and knowing how to make them. The “Maker” in me loves learning how to do things, lots of things. This ranges from sewing, cars, computers, living eco-friendly, food, and softgoods for the home. I also enjoy outdoor pursuits such as cycling, skiing and traveling.

Leanne in greek fisherman hat
Catalina Island, California early 1990’s – I love this Greek Fisherman hat. I wore it a lot and still do occasionally!

I am from California, USA but followed a life goal of living abroad, and now reside in London, UK.

sombrero
Spring Break trip to Mexico with college friend. Gotta love the massive sombrero.

I have always enjoyed Hats. Being from casual Silicon Valley and Coastal California, fashion hats have not been much on trend. However, through my teens & twenties my hats were primarily fashion focused. When I travelled I would buy a hat of the local culture. However, I did not buy the massive sombrero, that was just being silly with a friend.

white felt fashion
White felt hat paired with a holiday winter white outfit in late 1980’s

 

Princess Diana 1985
Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985, now you can see that my white hat wasn’t totally outrageous. Although, I do think Diana’s couture wardrobe is definitely more polished.

 

Then in my thirties much of my life was family focused and the hats were more functional, but I did fit in a few large brimmed straw hats for special events.

white straw wed rehearsal 1999-
Swept off my feet but kept hold of my large brimmed white and natural straw hat. My wedding rehearsal in 1999.

 

family hiking hats
The family moto – Put on a hat or wear sunscreen. The general preference was for a hat. All the kids, grandpa and the dog ready for a hike around Pinecrest Lake, CA ~ 2004

I am now in a glorious sweet spot. I live in London, England and have become part of an amazing millinery community. The best part is the people, but the second best part is that I can learn about, make and wear all kinds of hats.

In addition to hats, I enjoy various outdoor pursuits (biking & skiing) and traveling (everywhere, but mostly Europe these days) with my friends and family so you will see elements of these crop up in my blog & podcast and blog posts.

Join my international journey with hats and about millinery, as I learn about styles, history, techniques and influential people as I live in the hat friendly, city of London, England.

If you have questions email me Leanne@hattin-around.com

Leanne Fredrick headshot orange

11 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi Leanne,

    Nice blog
    I’ve just started a blog in january!!
    Are you going to the London Hat week this year?
    are you attending some workshops?

    greetings

    Terry

    1. Terry,
      Yes, I will be at London Hat Week. From your blog, it looks like you have a full schedule, but it doesn’t look like we doing the same events. I will be moderating the Milliner’s Question Time on Saturday night and running the Free Roundtable talk on Monday at 1 pm. I am also attending the opening evening on Thursday, a panama hat tour and if it works with my schedule, I would like to do the Hat Walk. I strongly recommend the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the V&A.I went a week ago on Sunday. Fantastic! If you’ve never been to the V&A the Cafe is lovely, food is good and reasonably priced also.

      I hope you have a good time, and would love to meet you. Should our paths cross, please introduce yourself.

  2. Hello Leanne,
    just discovered your lovely site. Looking forward to exploring it thoroughly. You might be interested in History on Your Head……a large collection made over some 50 years, of an astonishing array of headgear. Busy researching at least 4 more ‘stories’ at the moment. Don’t think the ideas will ever run out !
    Best wishes Frances Dernier

  3. Just discovered your Blog and am enjoying it. One of the matriarch’s of my church bequeathed all of her hats to me. Lovely Mrs. Landrum wore a stunning hat each and every Sunday. I’ve been going to this same church all my life. Today, I am wearing a black 100% wool hat by Henry Pollak. The stamp in the crown has a “coat of arms” type of emblem within it reads Superbe Felt and below that Henry Pollak inc New York. The front of the hat has a pair of 3 leaves beaded with tube beads and the leaves are filled-in with silver colored sequins. How exciting to discover another person who loves hats as much as I !

  4. Leanne,

    I too just discovered your blog via a link on MadHattersSociety on Facebook to your interview with Jane Smith. Loved listening to your chat with her – fascinating! I lived in Norwich for 11+ years and now have moved back to the US. You are in a perfect sweet spot for hats. I’m not sure Americans want to look interesting. But perhaps, I’m not looking in the right spots. Lastly, is it possible you can add a ‘subscribe’ thing to your website? I want to keep up with your millinery adventures and have a tendency to get distracted.

    All the best,
    Juliane

    1. Juliane, Thank you for your comment. You are right, I need to get a subscribe thing set up. I should have done it ages ago. Your kind and gentle reminder is appreciated. I glanced at your website and love your hand felted hats. I’ve only done a couple hand felt alpaca hats but it was a rewarding tactile experience that I look forward to doing again.

  5. I just discovered your blog when googling on how to block a dent in a trilby! How opportune you’ve done it just before me. Love your blog, and I’m not too far from London, so many thanks for the tips on shops!

    1. Susan,
      I just took a look at your blog also. It seems that we are following a similar path, although my hatting journey kicked into full swing in 2012 just after coming to London. I was also taking a class at Morley last term, with Karen Shannon, on Fridays. I suspect our paths shall and probably already have… cross again. Cheers, Leanne

  6. Hi Leanne! I found you blog while trying to research a vintage Henry Pollak hat that my grandma owned. It appears to be a bit more “blinged-out” than most, with several jeweled flower-type adornments. Would love to send you a pic!

    1. Hi Vicky, I would love to see a picture of your Grandma’s bejeweled hat. Because Henry Pollack company was a wholesale felt hood company there is a huge variety of hats with his company stamp in them and not as many with the milliners branding. Please feel free to send me a photo of the hat at my e-mail Leanne@hattin-around.com.
      Kind regards, Leanne

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