Born in Remscheid, Germany, artist Piroska Mueller became interested in the craft of hat-making early in life. She liked to spend time with our neighbour, who was a Milliner, who gave her a beautifully hand-crafted hat that she loved to wear.  She completed a 3-year apprenticeship with a Milliner, followed by another 3 years as a journeyman Milliner and eventually took over the business in her hometown.  Continuing her business in Düsseldorf, she studied evenings for her master’s and became a fully qualified Master Milliner in 1985.  She was recognized by International Design Hats as being in the class of “the best hat designers in the world” from 1996-2002.

Piroska moved to Canada in 2010 and has continued her passion for creating things. As well as hats, she designs and sews unique scarves and stoles using multiple fine-quality fabrics.

“For making my hats – First I select a wooden mould to use from her collection of over 50 different moulds. I begin with choosing the quality raw material and then it is steamed to soften.  It now gets pulled over the mould to dry. Each hat will have a unique brim that I form by hand using steam and heat to create the shape. Individual details are then designed and added. Each hat takes many hours to make and is completely unique.  Stoles and scarves are made by first designing the style and making the fabric choices. Each will have multiple fine fabrics cut to various sizes and shapes and then sewn into a one-of-a-kind product.” – Piroska Mueller