Exhibition to lift the lid on the art of hat making

Ronnie Chameau and Donna Pink have breathed life into a dying art.

The friends are putting on  “Our History in Hats Exhibition” at the Bermuda Society of Arts.

The exhibition starts on Friday, June 6 from 5pm to 7pm and runs through Tuesday, June 24.

Ms Chameau, who is known for her Bermuda banana dolls, said: “I also weave from palmetto. I have revived the dying art of doll making and revived the dying art of palmetto weaving, which Bermudian women used to do in the bonnet trade in the 1700s and then it phased right out.

“It is a very difficult procedure and it takes forever to do plaiting. To make one hat, you have to have 10 yards of palmetto plait.

“My friend Donna said: ‘Why don¹t we have a hat exhibit and we can do hats through the centuries featuring Bermudian women. We can recreate these hats but in natural foliage.”

Ms Chameau said they have recreated “hat styles that were worn by women in Bermuda from the 1700s to the 1950s using natural materials such as coconut palm matting and palmetto palm.”

She said the exhibit would “demonstrate how simple organic materials, which are not normally considered beautiful, can be used creatively to achieve the same fashionable look worn by women throughout the ages.” 

She said this exhibit would give people “something different” to look at.

Ms Chameau said since January “we have been collecting photographs of Bermudian women through the centuries. We’ve hit the Archives, the National Gallery and private collections and the Bermudian Magazine.

“We have done posters of these pictures and the women wearing hats. What we’ve done is replicate the hats the women are wearing and made them from natural foliage.”

Ms Chameau said her  favourite hat that she made was a
boater. She made one from banana leaf and another, which was woven from palmetto leaf. 

Ms Pink had basic millinery training at Sheridan College of Applied Arts in Canada as a part of the Fashion Design & Technology course.

Inspiration

She said in a release about the upcoming exhibition: “I was inspired to create an array of hat styles worn through the ages and have them on display in an exhibit along with images of women in Bermuda wearing similar hats. 

“To make the exhibit more “local” and artistically challenging, I thought that the hats should be made from natural materials such as palmetto and coconut palms and banana leaves.

“I asked my good friend Ronnie Chameau to join me in the project as she is already proficient in making hats from natural materials, albeit miniature ones for her banana dolls. 

“Ronnie is well known for her dolls and angels which have been sent around the world, including one she made as a gift for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.  

“Ronnie has taught me some of the skills, which she is well-known for such as weaving and plaiting palmetto leaves and manipulating banana leaves. This exhibition is the result of a great collaboration of skills and ideas. The end results are quite amazing. We’ve had many people helping us with everything from selecting photographs to  allowing us to tramp through their gardens looking for materials as well as financial support from the Bermuda Arts Council, all of which is greatly appreciated.”

Ms Pink said she is hoping “this exhibition will inspire women to revive the art of hat making and create their own
hats and ultimately see a return of the wonderful flower and hat shows that were annual parish events”.