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Millinery Meet Up

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After a six year hiatus due to Covid disruptions, Millinery Meet Up is BACK and we will be gathering together for a week of hat-making classes and friendships old and new! The important dates to remember are:

MMU: September 21 - 26, 2024

Registration opens: January 6, 2024 at 12 pm EST

Millinery Meet Up began in 2014 as a biennial conference held at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. Milliners of all skill levels are able to spend 5 full days together, immersed in learning from esteemed instructors who come from all around the globe. In addition to classes,  there are optional activities in the evenings, communal meals in the dining hall, a hat competition, and everyone's favorite ~ a Millinery Marketplace! If you are a milliner working in the USA, you know what a RARE opportunity it is to be able to shop for supplies in person. So far, the confirmed vendors are Hat Blocks Australia and B Unique Millinery with more TBA soon!

 

Hat blocks at the MMU Millinery Marketplace USA
Hat blocks for sale at MMU 2018

Yes, Millinery Meet Up is so amazing that it will have attendees from as far away as Australia! Darryll and Renee from HBA, Brenda and Doug from B Unique, plus one of the six instructors.

 

Millinery Instructors
Faculty for MMU 2024

I am incredibly honored to be among the instructors. Clockwise from top left:

Biliana Borissova (Spain)

Edwina Ibbotson (UK)

Laura Del Villaggio (USA)

Mela Hoyt-Heyden (USA)

Jane Taylor (UK)

Phillip Rhodes (AUS)

Bios may be found on the MMU website here.

Each instructor will be teaching 5 classes, including:

One 2-day course

Two 1-day courses

Two 3 hr mini courses

Puzzle block 1-day class at MMU
Samples for my 1-day class on Puzzle Blocks. I'll be bringing blocks to share!

Classes will only be offered once each, on a specific day. If registration is similar to previous years, classes will sell out quickly (within a few minutes of 12 pm EST on January 6th). My suggestion is to create a spreadsheet and get organized ahead of time. Perhaps something like this:

Sat & Sun

2-day class

Mon

1-day class 

Tues

1-day class

Wed AM

Mini class

Wed PM

Mini class
1st choice
2nd choice
3rd choice
No matter what your schedule, I guarantee you will have fun and learn something new. There is no "one way" to make a hat, curl a feather, drape a veil... Milliners are creative problem-solvers and we have lots of experience-based knowledge under our hats that we are willing to share!😉 

 

As far as accommodations, staying on campus is the easiest. Arrowmont is in the center of Gatlinburg but feels separate and serene, removed from the tourist activity even during the height of the fall foliage season. The dining hall serves delicious meals three times a day and as a vegan, I can attest to the variety of options available for those with dietary restrictions.
Arrowmont dining hall
The Arrowmont campus includes a dining hall, dorms, gallery space, auditorium, library
PLUS studio classrooms 
Millinery Meet Up is the result of a decade of hat love and dedication to millinery education in the USA. Founded by Jan Wutkowski and Diane Shagott and currently owned and organized by Andrea Blohm and Patrycja Grzesznik, it is truly a one-of-a-kind event and well worth the investment of time, travel and tuition.
Patrycja says, "We started working on MMU in 2018 and we hope that 6 years later we will actually be able to finally have the event in person. There have been many false starts, disappointments and pivots. Both Andrea and I had amazing experiences as students at MMU and we are very eager to recreate that magic for new and returning students."
Laura Del Villaggio and Jan Wutkowski MMU 2016
Jan Wutkowski and I at the closing night party, MMU 2016. Dress theme was Decades.
Please add a comment to this post if you have any questions about my classes, student experience or if you're planning to attend. I really hope to see you there!
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