It's taken me a while to work out what to do with the 48,000 vintage hat labels I rescued from the grimey basement of an old hat factory in a small French village, but I like to think that I've given at least some of the labels a new lease of life not to mention a new purpose.
These fabulous vibrantly-coloured embroidered labels date from the 20's through to the 50's and were des igned to be stitched to the inside of French berets. The 55 different designs go from heraldic crests with intricate crowns, castles and miniature soldiers on horseback with evocative names like Beaufort and Alhambra, to cartoon-style portraits of men smoking cigars and women with berets set at jaunty angles.
Like a child in a sweet shop I wanted everything within my reach and by the time I came to my senses I had amassed a stack of boxes full of labels that I simply 'couldn't live without'. I had gorged myself on labels to the point where I needed serious help to shoehorn myself and the boxes into the car. That was then and this is now the result. I've applied the vintage labels to lavender bags, tote bags and I'm working on cushions right now - more of which later.
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