Hello! Welcome to Palmer Adams Millinery!
Palmer Adams Millinery is a one-woman show, and I am that one woman, Deborah (Palmer Adams) Renville. I make each of these hats by hand in my home studio located about fifty miles outside of Chicago.
I learned to sew on my mother's Sears Kenmore sewing machine when I was a young girl. In high school I took sewing classes and made many of my clothes during my high school years. It never occurred to me to make hats though.
After my recent retirement after 25 years as a community college English professor, I was craving a creative outlet. I started crocheting again (making hats, scarves, blankets) and sewing again (making skirts, dresses). It was on a recent vacation, however, when I entered a small hat shop filled with gorgeous handcrafted hats that I had my moment -- that "a-ha!" moment when I knew I wanted to become a milliner. The lights went on. The wheels started turning. And the day after I returned home I signed up for my first class with a theatrical milliner in the Boston area.
Right now I am focusing on flat-pattern hats. I love beautiful fabrics and am inspired by the textures and designs of the fabric. My spring and summer makes will most likely be a mix of berets, cloches, buckets, fedoras, news boys, and baker boys. By fall I will be working with both felt and fabric. I have found my art.
I thank you for stopping by, and I invite you to follow Palmer Adams Millinery on social media.