I am a milliner. A milliner is someone who makes hats. Using a process based approach, I’ve spent years learning traditional millinery techniques and slowly integrating my artistic background into the designs. I use out of the box materials such as baking pans to find shapes and the inclusion of details that you don’t normally see on hats are integral to my design concepts. Unconventional materials including the insides of a watch, vintage wool, and beads textured from years of hands holding them become a central focus on my hats. My concepts come from my love for the mundane things in life. From grocery shopping to watching the sunrise, I find ways I can make them a little more my own, and my favorite way to do this is through hats. Svehla Millinery is my brand dedicated to putting hats on peoples heads. The joy on people’s faces when they see a wild design is what drives me most and pushes me to always be making. I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone wore a fun hat.
Raised in Cary, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Katie Svehla has been studying fashion since childhood and founded Svehla Millinery, her brand dedicated to putting hats on peoples heads, in 2020. Svehla has won the New Milliner award as well as the Innovation and Materials award for her millinery work through SAIC. In 2020, She worked with Ellen Christine, a couture milliner in New York. Her hats were featured in the UK’s The Hat Magazine in May of 2021. In the future, Katie hopes to expand her brand, Svehla Millinery, and own her own hat shop.