Gallery Show & Upcoming Presentation

Hats I designed are in the current exhibit at Proteus Gowanus, a gallery in Brooklyn recently named one of the "10 Galleries to visit in Brooklyn and Queens" by The New York Times (16 April, 2015).

Had a conversation with show's curator, Courtney Jordan, when she made a studio visit. She had been to many artist's spaces in preparation for the exhibit. Her perspective on how artists' approach their studio practice was interesting and affirming.

The gallery's press release for the exhibit's opening is below. (It happens to feature my hats!)  Was unable to attend the opening, however, I will be giving a presentation at the gallery. The date and time will be announced soon....

I would love to see you there!


Hats by Sarah Kate Beaumont // Verysweetlife



Please join us for 

Gowanus Marketplace


May 9th - July 11th



Opening Reception: Saturday, May 9th, 6 – 9 pm
 


The final exhibition of our yearlong COMMERCE theme, Gowanus Marketplace circles back to our beloved Gowanus Canal,  highlighting the uniquely creative, collaborative commerce that has sprung up along the canal’s murky waters.  The exhibition explores the intersection of contemporary artistry and industry along the canal by presenting artist-made functional objects as objets d’art in a re-imagined Old World marketplace.


We invite you to come support these local artists and artisans. The marketplace includes ceramics, retrofitted sleds and lamps, soap, knives, furniture, hats, robots, pickles, terrariums, coffee and more!

 Gowanus Marketplace Participants include:


Amanda Moffat Pottery; Brooklyn Robot Foundry; Chris Hackett; Ehrhardt’s Tempest; Haskieville Apparel; Jake Wright // Stockpile Designs; Lite Brite Neon Studio; May Luk; Melissa Dadourian; MQuan; Pete Raho // Gowanus Furniture Co; Phuong  Nguyen; Pickle Shack // Brooklyn Brine; Sarah Kate Beaumont // Verysweetlife; Soapwalla Inc; Stone Street Coffee; Textile Arts Center // Emma Cleveland + Natalie Phillips; Tony Stanzione; Twig Terrariums

Gallery Hours
Thursday & Friday, 3–6 pm
Saturday & Sunday, 12–6 pm
  Proteus Gowanus | 543 Union Street, #1C | Brooklyn, NY 11215

In a Breeze

Western Hat, Prairie Dress, 2014
Photograph: Robert Lucy



Along came a breeze...

The hat began with a western shape, however, I chose to give it an ultra-wide brim. The only downside to such a generous brim is its tendency to lift in a breeze. It also is impossible to wear on a crowded subway train! That may be why cowboy hats traditionally have radically upturned brims; they are aerodynamic. (Referring to the wind dilemma rather than the crowded subway scenario. Rare is the western hat on the R train.)

The dress is aerodynamic! Have made it in a variety of lightweight fabrics including silk and cotton, varying the sleeve length and its fullness. This dress forms part of what has essentially become a summer uniform.

Fell in love with western hats on a family visit to a working ranch in Wyoming when I was 9 yrs old. Found equally appealing: wide belts with prominent buckles, shirts fastened with metal rimmed opal snaps in lieu of buttons, riding horseback on an open plain to round up cattle and square dancing.

Urban Prairie

Fedora, Prairie Dress, 2014. 
Photo: Robert Lucy

To find a style of one's own... 






















Made the fedora a few years ago. I'm also wearing it in the profile on the right. Though it looks faintly blue here it is decidedly dove grey. It has been a canopy in light rain and collected snowflakes on its brim in winter. A well made hat lasts! There is a wonderful story about a man's affection for his hat in I Thought My Father Was God And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project, titled "A Felt Fedora".

The dress' fabric is printed with a quaint butterfly motif. The material is so light it sways with every footstep and floats in a gentle breeze like a curtain billowing across a windowsill.

The photograph above was taken by Robert Lucy, an artist who is both an exquisite photographer and a painter.
Fabric detail: butterfly pattern.
Washed, lined dried...
yet to be ironed

Rain Hat for Summer Storms

(Rain hat: cotton with satin lining, 2010)
A commercial in the 1980's for Gorton's fish sticks featured a fisherman at sea wearing a large yellow rain hat. The image became iconic. This could be the modern urban equivalent in sleek cotton duck. To keep the rain off the brim is wider in the back and slopes gracefully. 



(Lining) 
Fuchsia satin lining will lift spirits on grey, stormy days at high sea or on subway rides.

(Gorton's fisherman)

Artisanal Millinery

(Hat: Wool felt with band, 2010)
These hats are made with so much attention to detail they ought to be called artisanal. The wool felt, here in a rich marine blue, is softly brushed, with a round crown and a brim able to maintain its flexible shape. Designed to be understated and classic.