New Year Rose 新年玫瑰, 2016.2. Red cotton fascinator base from Fujian; dusty pink sinamay shush trim from London; red plain veiling from London; pink ostrich feather from London; purple and orange silk ribbon from New York; vintage silver leaf earring from Morgan O'Hara's collection.

Blooming in the cold winter, the red rose brings bright hope to the new year. “May the beauty of the flower never fade away, so the best time could be with me forever.” Now it belongs to Ms. Zhang En from Shanghai. 

寒冬里依然开放的红色玫瑰，给新年带来灿烂的希望。“愿那红颜常好勿凋谢，好教我留住芳华。” 现在属于上海的张恩女士。

Pine Cone 松果, 2016.1. Black cotton fascinator base from Fujian; floral pattern ribbon from Brooklyn; yellow plain veiling from London; ivory feather from London; hazelnuts from New Haven, pine leaf from Boston.

The inspiration for this hat came from my encounter with a floral and pine patterned fabric in a fabric store in Brooklyn. Hazelnuts from my sister’s trip to New Haven suburb, pine branches from Boston, and pine cones on the fabric, they together form a harmonious conversation, as well as their own version of Three Friends of Winter.

在布鲁克林布料店偶然发现的一款花卉和松树的布料成为这顶帽子的灵感来源。姐姐在纽黑文郊游时采摘来的榛仁，以及在波士顿拾得的松枝和布料上的松果一起对话，是另一种版本的“岁寒三友”。

Flower of the Day 今日之花, 2016. Hand painted fascinator base; vintage daisy from an Iranian bookstore in Boston; 1920s vintage tulip brooch from Helene Hipstadt's mother; ivory dot crin from London.

“Things change like stars alter their tracks; flowers blossom and wither. The life cycle then repeats itself, nothing ever collapses. A morning glory lasts only for a day; although it maintains the same beauty every morning, today’s flower is no longer the one of yesterday.” --  from Mushishi. Now it belongs to Kelsey King, who orders the hat for a Kentucky derby party in New York, with her old friends from Kentucky. 

“物转星移，花开花落，周而复始，生生不息。朝颜花时仅一日，今夕已非昨日，然今日花颜依旧。” - 《虫师》 这顶帽子现在属于纽约的Kelsey King。一年一度的肯塔基赛马会之际，她总会和来自肯塔基家乡，现在生活在纽约的朋友重聚，一起戴上新帽子，这顶是她为2016年聚会专门挑选的。

Gilt Cat 镀金猫, 2015. Black sinamay teardrop fascinator base from London; black pearl veil from London; black bird feather from New York; ivory ostrich feather from London; vintage Signed JJ 1988 Gold Tone Art Deco Regal Cat Pin Brooch from Park Ridge; shining yarn from New York.

Miss Zuo from Nanjing asked me to design two custom hats, with a cat theme. She has a lovely garfield cat, and is the founder of custom press-on nail brand Meownail. She expects the two hats to reflect different characters of cat: smart, cute, playful, independent, and even a little bit sexy. For the first hat, I use a vintage gold plated cat brooch with an art deco style, which reminds me of Gustav Klimt’s cats --- playful, yet elegant.

南京的左小姐请我定制两顶帽子，主题是猫。她拥有一只可爱的加菲猫，还创办了一个叫Meownail的定制美甲品牌。两顶帽子，需要体现猫的不同气质，机灵、可爱、傲娇、独立、小性感。第一顶帽子找来一枚装饰艺术风格的古董镀金猫胸针，它让我想到古斯塔夫.克里姆特的猫，优雅又有点小傲娇。

Valentine Cat 情人猫, 2016. Vintage sinamay hat from Nebraska; ivory shining yarn from Brooklyn; blue silk ribbon from Brooklyn; vintage valentine brooch from Brooklyn; vintage purple star flower from an Iranian bookstore in Boston; hazelnuts from New Haven.

Miss Zuo from Nanjing asked me to design two custom hats, with a cat theme. She has a lovely garfield cat, and is the founder of custom press-on nail brand Meownail. She expects the two hats to reflect different characters of cat: smart, cute, playful, independent, and even a little bit sexy. I used a white vintage hat base for the second hat, decorated with champagne organza and a vintage brooch, which features lovers on the moon. Hazelnuts came from my sister’s fall excursion in New Haven. This hat resembles a gentle yet witty cat.

南京的左小姐请我定制两顶帽子，主题是猫。她拥有一只可爱的加菲猫，还创办了一个叫Meownail的定制美甲品牌。两顶帽子，需要体现猫的不同气质，机灵、可爱、傲娇、独立、小性感。第二顶帽子找来一顶白色的古董帽，有香槟色的网纱，并配上一枚情人与月亮的金色胸针，榛仁来自于住在纽黑文的姐姐，是她秋游时采摘来的，这是一只温柔俏皮的猫。

CHERRY SERENDIPITY 樱缘

Cherry Serendipity 樱缘, 2015. Hand painted cotton fascinator base from Fujian; pink crin from London; dusty sinamay shush trim from London; cherry blossom glass necklace from Shanghai.

In New York City, cherry trees suddenly blossomed in December this year. Maybe the flowers mistook the warm wind for a message from the spring, so that they would be ready to embrace the new season. Cherry blossoms appear in my tea ceremony class, on my way to work, and in the paintings of Mengsha, a friend I have never met in person. So I decide to paint cherry blossoms on this hat and decorate it with a heartshaped pendant. One day, the hat fell off and the pendant accidentally revealed the pink flowers hidden inside. They turned out to be cherry blossoms too! Cherry blossoms are ubiquitous even in the winter. “Cherry Serendipity” now belongs to Mengsha from Beijing/Wuxi, as a gift to her.

12月的纽约，忽然樱花盛开。大约花儿误会了暖风捎来的信息，提前换上新颜，预备迎接春天。樱花在茶道课上，樱花在上班路上，樱花在素未谋面的濛莎姑娘的画里，于是决定画一顶樱花的帽子，加上新收集的心形吊坠。因为帽子不甚滑落，吊坠开了，里面的粉色花儿显露出来，原来也是樱花！樱花在冬天里也无处不在。“樱缘”现属于北京/无锡的王濛莎，是赠予她的礼物。

First Sun Ray 晨光, 2015. Hand painted cotton fascinator base; dusty pink emu feather bunch from London; ivory shining yarn from Brooklyn; ivory ostrich feather from London; silver leave fabric from New York.

The first sun ray that comes through the glass panel is actually not completely golden. After close observation, one can tell that it transits from pink to orange, and finally disappears into a pure transparency. So I made this hat to keep the intangible colors of the light. Now "First Sun Ray" belongs to Ms. Lin in Shenzhen. It is a gift from Frank to Ms. Lin.

穿过玻璃照进房间的第一束光，并不是纯粹的金色。仔细分辨，有粉到橙不同的过渡，直到消失为纯粹的透明。于是做了这顶帽子，想留住无形的光的色彩。现属于深圳的林小姐，是杨先生送给林小姐的礼物。

Walk to New York 走路去纽约, 2015. Vintage sinamay hat from Nebraska; ivory ostrich feather from London; black spot crin from London; vintage heartshape necklace from Hansi Liao.

Yingye brought me a black vintage hat from Nebraska for alteration. The two times I met with her were both in New York; she always chooses New York City as a connecting point before heading back to China, so that she can stop and meet with friends. After a few years’ stay in New York, it’s unavoidable that I have to fly thousands of miles to visit friends and families back in China. It only takes a day to fly across continents and oceans, and to travel by air is justified since time is so precious. Having been to too many cities on a fast pace, I have no idea how long I will stay in a particular place. One day, in a taxi in Beijing, the radio was playing  Tao Ching-Ying‘s Walking to New York, the song suddenly struck my heart that I wanted to walk to New York, to look at all the views I have missed. Walk to New York, and let all the emotions settle themselves as time goes by.

映烨从美国中部的Nebraska捎来一顶黑色的古董帽让我改造。和映烨两次见面都是在纽约，她每次回国都想选择这里作为中转之地，停下来会会朋友。出国几年后，要见老朋友和家人都要飞，几千公里的距离一天就到。飞的原因莫过于，时间太少。走得快了走得多了，自己都不知道在一个地方能停留多久，于是有一天在北京的出租车上无意中又听到陶晶莹的那首《走路回纽约》，愕然随即感慨：忽然想要走路回纽约。看看这一路我曾经忽略的风景。走路去纽约，也让感情在时间里，有机会沉淀自己。

Silver Plum 银梅, 2015. Silver sinamay teardrop fascinator base from London; blue sinamay teardrop fascinator base from London; plum blossoms from a wornout Han robe; ivory ostrich feather from London; pearl ivory veiling from London.

The first snow of this year has not arrived because of the warm winter, yet I can not wait to go out in the snow and enjoy the plum blossom. I brought a Hanfu with plum blossom pattern from Chengdu to New York, and it’s eventually worn out after accompanying me through seasons of tea ceremonies. So I kept some pieces of fabric to make hats. This hat is custom made for Cherry in New York to match a silver evening dress. She enjoys every seasonal flower and collects furnitures and hats with floral designs.

这个暖冬，迟迟不来第一场雪，等不及要踏雪寻梅。一件梅花汉服从成都带到纽约，陪我经过了好几个春夏秋冬，好几场一期一会的茶会，终于还是破了。于是留下一些布料，做成帽子。这顶是给纽约的Cherry的定制，为了配一件银色的礼服长裙。Cherry很喜欢四季的花，因此收集了各种花卉的家具和帽子。

Baby's Breath 满天星, 2015.12. Hand painted cotton fascinator base; ivory sinamay shush trim from London; ivory diamonte veiling from London; black plain veiling from London; black spot crin from London; vintage botton from Morgan O'Hara's collection; dried baby's breath.

I happened to encounter the nickname for Gypsophila paniculata: baby’s breath. The small white flower is not really eye-catching. They thrive on deserted land, wild field as well as the seaside, and bloom together like snowy fields and clouds in the sky, moving with the wind as gentle breaths. Now it belongs to Zhao Xiaozhu, a New York lawyer and a girl who is mild yet persistent.

无意中发现满天星有个很美的英文名——Baby's Breath，婴儿的呼吸。这种白色的小花并不起眼，在废弃的空地、原野和海边生根开花，而成片生长时如云如雪，如呼吸一样自然而不费力气。无意中发现满天星有个很美的英文名——Baby's Breath，婴儿的呼吸。这种白色的小花并不起眼，在废弃的空地、原野和海边生根开花，而成片生长时如云如雪，如呼吸一样自然而不费力气。现在属于在纽约的律师赵笑竹小姐，一个温柔笃定的女孩。

Golden Feather 金色羽毛, 2016.1. Black cotton fascinator base from Fujian; black mesh from Brooklyn; ivory shining yarn from Brooklyn; purple ostrich feather from London; brown plain veiling from London; a 1920's vintage golden feather ear clip from Helene's collection; vintage holly berry from Morgan O'Hara's collection.

My Boston grandmother Helene gave this vintage golden feather ear clip to me as a gift. Inherited from her mother, the 1920s vintage jewlery is a classic Art Deco piece, which echos with Robbie Robertson's old song Golden Feather:

"I gave my love a golden feather. I gave my love a heart of stone. And when you find a golden feather, it means you'll never lose your way back home."

Now it belongs to architecture historian Helene Lipstadt from Boston. 

我的波士顿外婆Helene从自己母亲留下的首饰中找出这只金色的耳夹赠送于我，1920年代的装饰艺术风格，优雅而精致，让我想起Robbie Robertson的老歌《金色羽毛》：

“我赠予我所爱一片金色羽毛，我赠予我所爱石之心。当你找到一片金色羽毛，你将永不会忘记回家之路。”

现在属于波士顿的建筑史学者Helene Lipstadt.

Retrospect 回首, 2016. 1. Teardrop black cotton fascinator base from Fujian; hand painted blue silk cut; a 1920's gilt pearl ear clip from Helene Lipstadt's mother; vintage bee pin from "Galaxy Hill" estate in South Woodstock, as a gift from Helene Lipstadt;  vintage holly berry from Morgan O'Hara's collection; black mesh from Brooklyn; sea shells from Quincy as a gift from Wuxi; black pearl veiling from London.

One day I got a letter from Tianyu, a designer who lives in Beijing. She got to know about Caochangdi Art District in Beijing four years ago from my article, and at that time, she didn't expect that she would work and live in Caochangdi some day. After studying abroad and living in several American cities, she returned to Beijing and works for an architecture firm in Caochangdi called “Trace”. Tianyu said: “The past half year in Caochangdi is the most fulfilling time I have ever experienced in my life, filled with joys and confusions of growing up; it's an exploration both inwardly and outwardly. The self, space, design, and beauty, they are pure vitalities as well as solitary wills.” So she came to me for a custom hat to commemorate this special period of time. The process of making this hat has become a moment for me to look at things in retrospect. So I used pearls from a necklace I carried all the way from Caochangdi to New York to have a dialogue with Tianyu across time and space. The 1920s pearl earrings and bee brooch from my Boston grandma Helene, seashell found in Quincy seaside, they together paint a natural scene, reflecting my memory of Caochangdi: prospering wildly in a balance between nature and artificial reality.

有一天，我收到一封来信，来自现居北京的设计师天愉。四年前，她从我的文章中知道了草场地，之后辗转美国的几个城市，最终回到北京，在草场地的迹·建筑事务所工作。天愉说：“过去半年在草场地的日子是我经历过的最饱满的一段人生，充满成长的欣喜和困惑，是向内又向外的探寻——自我、空间、设计、美，是纯粹的生命力，是孤独的意志。”因此，她找我定制一顶帽子，希望留住这一段光影，并作为自己本命年的纪念。为天愉做帽子的过程，也成为我回顾往事的契机。因此找来了我从草场地带来纽约的项链上的珍珠，与她做一次跨越时空的对话。波士顿外婆Helene赠予我的，1920年代的珍珠耳环和蜜蜂胸针，和来自悟熙的Quincy海边的贝壳组成了自然的景象，是我对草场地的印象，在自然和人造的平衡野蛮生长。

Wendy 温蒂, 2016. 1. Teardrop black cotton fascinator base from Fujian; black dot veiling from London; black mesh from Brooklyn; ivory silk ribbon from New York; cornflower blue feather from London; handmade earring from Beijing, a gift from artist Ma Qiusha.

This hat is custom designed for Miss Cao Zhen who currently lives in Zurich. A rose made from ivory ribbon blossoms in the darkness, revealing a handmade jewelry from Beijing as the eye of the flower, which echoes with her memories of studying, living and working in this metropolis. Named Wendy, this hat pairs with the hat Peter Pan that I made for her girlfriend a year ago, and they share similar feather decorations. Wendy and Peter Pan are among my favorite fairytale characters when I was young, and now I still dream about flying to the neverland. May they stay young and innocent in their heart.

给现居苏黎世的曹瑱小姐定制的礼帽。象牙色丝带做成的玫瑰在黑色中绽放，花蕊是一枚来自北京的手工珠宝，带有她在北京长期学习、工作和生活的回忆。这顶帽子叫温蒂，和一年前曹小姐为女友定制的帽子彼得潘是一对，因此特意加上了相配的羽毛。彼得潘和温蒂是我年少时最爱的童话人物之一，至今仍然保有飞向永无乡的梦。愿她们内心永葆孩童的天真。

Memory of Sea 海的记忆, 2016. Teardrop black cotton fascinator base from Fujian; Monet's Pond fabric from a broken umbrella; hand painted cornflower blue feather from London; hand painted aqua sinamay fabric from London; sea shells from Quincy as a gift from Wuxi; Swarovski crystal chain from New York; crystal earring from Morgan O'Hara's collection.

This hat is custom designed for Miss Zhang Shuang who currently resides in Hong Kong. I have not seen her for seven years, however, the memory of her in my mind always echos with the sound of the sea. We used to be competitors in the 2008 SK Business Competition, and good companions on a sailboat in Cheju Island in Korea. After years of traveling and living abroad, she finally settles down in Hong Kong, a city along the sea. Thus I collected sea shells from another side of the ocean to respond to the sea in Hong Kong. The busy nightlife of Victoria Harbour reveals its glamour through this sparkling crystal chain, and may she have a sweet dream with memories of the sea.

给现居香港的张爽小姐定制的礼帽。和爽七年不见，在脑海中把握对她的记忆，总能听到海的声音。我们曾在SK商业竞赛上同场竞技，也在济州岛的帆船上衣袂飞扬。旅居了很多国家的爽现在终于在香港住下，也是一个有海的城市。找来海峡另一边的贝壳，和香港的海相呼应，水晶装饰像是维多利亚港繁华的夜，愿她能在对海的记忆中做个好梦。

Whisper of Heart 侧耳倾听, 2016. Handpainted blue cotton teardrop fascinator base; ivory plain crin from London; conches and shells from Wuxi; cornflower blue ostrich feather from London; polka dot ribbon from New York.

When you listen carefully, the sea speaks to you from a conch. These shells and conches that Wuxi collected from Quincy, Massachusetts took a long journey to arrive in my hand. "Whisper of Heart" was donated to a charity sale in Long Island to support Officer Peter Liang.

“Listen to the sea, and memories of winds from far away stars.”  - Whisper of the Heart, by Studio Ghibli

当你仔细聆听，海螺中有整片海的声音。悟熙从马萨诸塞州昆西海边捡来的贝壳，几经周转到我手中。“侧耳倾听”捐赠给纽约长岛的慈善义卖，为华裔警官梁彼得筹集善款。

“听听海的声音，以及遥远星球吹来的风的记忆。” - 吉卜力工作室《侧耳倾听》

Shells in Monet's Pond 莫奈池塘之贝, 2016. Black sinamay shush trim from London; conches and shells from Quincy in Boston; handmade leather cut; vintage daisy from an Iranian vintage bookstore in Boston; fabrics from a broken Monet's Pond umbrella; ivory ostrich feather from London; a vintage fish brooch from Hansi.

Like little music notes, shells floating in a pond of waterlilies; they dance with Monet’s melody, singing  joyous songs. This custom hat is made for Miss. Wei in New York.

浮于荷塘之贝，像一个个小小音符，在莫奈的琴弦上，奏出轻快的乐章。这顶是给纽约的玮华的定制。