A week or so ago I went on a Millinery pilgrimage to Luton with my milliner friend Amy. A trip I have been meaning to go on for about six years. Luton’s heritage is steeped in hat manufacturing and even the local football team is called ‘The Hatters’ .
Like much of Britain’s manufacturing industries, overseas competitors have taken the bulk of the work. However, the companies in Luton that provide quality goods and services are flourishing.
My first stop was Boon & Lane the block makers. They make hand carved wooden molds to any specifications. They also make metal cast blocks for mass production. Their workshop was amazing. As far as the eye could see were casts of hat shapes made in plaster. The dust created from this covered every surface. Steve Lane kindly showed us the tools they use for the job and the furnace that melts the metal ore. Everything is made by hand and with a skill that takes years and years to master. So when you buy a bespoke hat, not only is it hand made but the block its self is hand crafted too. Each season they design a new range of shapes which you can view in their show room. A milliner can commission their own design which they know no one else will have. See pictures at the bottom of this page.
Next was Ruegger F Ltd a millinery supplier to the trade, supplying raw materials: straw hoods, feather mounts, feather flowers, sinnimay fabric, braids and trimmings. He shared the building with a hat manufacturer. And again there was floor to ceiling with hats and boxes of materials ready to be sent out. We bought some bits and pieces for ourselves and went on the the next shop.
Just down the road was our third destination, Randall Ribbons. Again another supplier of materials, feathers, netting, hat pins etc but with the addition of selling pre-blocked hat shapes. This means you don’t have to buy your own block to have the shape. The milliner can simply trim and decorate it to their own requirements. Amy and myself had fun trying on some funky creations!
Last of the day (as most companies shut at 4pm) was Baxter hart and Abraham
They sell materials, straw hoods, straw stiffener, elastics, petersham ribbons in every shade and hat boxes.
There were a few more places we didn’t have time to see but it was great to finally see the places and people behind the websites. I buy all of my supplies from the UK and will continue to support the British millinery industry as the expertise of the people I met have been handed down for generations.
