Savoir Faire
The hatmaker
The hatmaker shapes felt or straw cones. The material is initially prepared to make it stiff and to give the hat its structure. It is then passed through a steam box so that the moisture makes it malleable. The hatmaker takes it out and stretches it over its wooden block. The block, made from limewood, generally has two parts, the crown and the brim. Once the material has been applied and stretched on the block, it is dried in an oven at 90 °C.
The milliner
The milliner, using a sketch or an idea, interprets and then creates in full the prototype of a hat. He mainly makes hats from fabric. This may be wool, cotton, silk and sometimes even leather. The milliner is also responsible for finishing and trimming.
The sewer
Real designers, the sewers have made the Maison Michel famous through their sewn straw work, used in particular for creating large wide-brimmed hats. They also make "cut and sewn" hats such as sailor's hat, caps and other cloche hats using patterns.
