Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana.
Hi Diana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My business has been described as “A work of art that happens to be worn on your head”. I have been designing and making hats for over 30 years. Currently I have a hat studio in Alpine California which is in San Diego County. Here I have a showroom for customers to come and pick out a hat for their special occasion. I give millinery classes here for those who want to learn the art of hatmaking. I also teach hatmaking at San Diego Mesa College. It is easy for people all over the world to take my 8-week online class. I have had students all over the US and as far as England studying with me.
I had the opportunity to send three hats in 2019 to London for the London Hat Week. Most recently I sent a collection to the Queen’s Hat Exhibition in the Palazzo Visconti in Milan Italy. My collection was called “A Bevy of Peacocks”
My neighbor raises peacocks and came to me one day and said .”would you like some feathers for your hat making”. My goal is to be sustainable and recycle materials in my hat making and I especially love the fact that no bird has been harmed in using these feathers. My neighbor’s peacocks were white so I did some dying of feathers and my favorite was a bright fuchsia colored hat. We also had a wild Peacock that came to say hello to my neighbor’s peacocks and decided to stay in the area. In September he would lose his feathers and I would quickly collect them for a hat.
One of my cocktail hats is called PK after the jewelry designer that it was designed for. The iridescent feathers add such a feeling of glamour. PK looks like she is right out of the 50’s and 60’s Hollywood era. This stunning headpiece has been a favorite of my clients.
In 2019 I created one of these signature pieces for the Fashion Film, “The Falling Leaves” which premiered at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival. Some of you may know Todrick Hall who appeared on the ninth season of “American Idol”. He is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber. Hall appeared in Voir Magazine wearing one of my PK Signature Headpieces. In the future look for more amazing peacock creations.
During Covid I worked on a collection called “Bow Wow” which incorporated different dogs on the hats. I also created a “Beret Collection”. First I took my art work and put it into photoshop to make it the correct size. I sent it off to a company to be printed on fabric and them when they sent it back to me I sewed each one into a beret. This has been highly popular with my customers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Opening any businesses can be challenging but the hardest things is learning to run a business. I took lessons on Quickbooks and learned how to keep track of my finances. The second hardest thing is knowing who your customer is so I had to do a lot of research on demographics to see what direction I should be going to find my customer.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently I am working on a “Denim Collection” and most of the hats are created with recycled denim jeans. This consists of fascinators, beret, and caps. I hope to have the collection for the fall.
I have started making Podcasts and in the future I plan to continue interviewing other designers and fashion businesses with an emphasis on eco-friendly and sustainable businesses. I want to educate others why we don’t need to buy inexpensive products from other countries. It is important to start saving the earth from bad chemicals and slave labor. We can turn it around and it starts with each person.
How do you define success?
Success is doing a job you love and are passionate about. When you love your job it never feels like you are working.
Pricing:
- I thinks it is so important to take a class in pricing your product. Many people start a business and they don’t include their time in the price of the final product. I really recommend that if you want to start a business that you take a class on operating a business. It is not just creating a fabulous product but it is marketing and financial affairs that keep business running on track.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dianacavagnaro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianacavagnaromillinery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianaCavagnaroCoutureMillinery/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianacavagnaro/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DianaCavagnaroHatChic
Image Credits
Natasha J Bella
Leo Malevanchik Photographer
