Local creates custom hat ware

FRISCO - Wintry weather is here and Summit County residents will all agree that they're in need of hoods, headcovers, and protective devices to keep warm throughout the chill months of snow. However, where can one find a unique hat that not only warms the head, but also expresses the distinctive personality of the person beneath it?

Diane Harty, a local milliner, creates a wide variety of hat styles, from fanciful and elegant to practical and everyday. Though her business has traditionally focused on producing spring hats, Harty has developed a series of winter hats that are stylish, warm and versatile.

Harty's winter line is made from cut felt or chenille. Vintage style cloche hats sell particularly well at art shows. However, she can often be seen wearing a deep cap with minimalist accents - her current favorite.

Interested individuals can go to her studio for hat fittings and to see color choices, though customers can also order hats over the phone. Customers can also choose accenting; the hat can be simple or elaborate with accents varying from beads, buttons, braids, feathers, other decorations and combination accents.

"No hat is the same ... so it's always an adventure," Harty said.

Harty's hat prices range from $130 to $200. Time needed to make a hat varies as well. A hat can take anywhere from one week to a month to make, depending on the hat and whether she's traveling to art shows.

Though her creations can be pricey, a Harty hat cannot be precisely duplicated. Given that they are handmade and that there is always a variable in shape, the customer will be sure to have a complementary hat.

"I think of hats as signifying motion and travel, even without going anywhere," Harty said. "Putting on a hat is traveling to another part of yourself, another personality."

Diane Harty Millinery creations are located at 120 N. 7th Ave. in Frisco.