Featured in the News-Press!

Caron was featured in the Santa Barbara News-Press on March 1 in a story about local hat makers in celebration of the Alice in Wonderland movie! Check out the article along with this fabulous picture that was on the front page! Caron is wearing the Faux Fur Hat in Limey.

Santa Barbara's (not-so-mad) hatters : Locals talk about their unusual craft

By KARNA HUGHES, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

March 1, 2010 7:35 AM
When audiences tumble down the rabbit hole in Tim Burton's new 3-D film version of "Alice in Wonderland," due out in theaters March 5, they'll be treated to a vision of Johnny Depp playing the Mad Hatter -- orange hair, towering top hat and all.
With the movie on its way and a revival of all things Alice underfoot, the News-Press decided to take a closer look at some of Santa Barbara County's hatmakers.
And while they each use their abundant creative talents in different ways, there's nothing mad about them -- unless you count the gleeful way in which they pursue their craft.

Where to buy the hats
• Danae Michele Liechti sells her hats, dresses and accessories "for the romantic earth goddess" at The Goodland Gallery, 7044 Marketplace Drive in Goleta. Information: 685-2528 (artisan), 968-1200 (gallery) or e-mail gardenofgaia@hotmail.com.
• Caron Miller 's hats and accessories are available at the gift store at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St.; Vices & Spices, 3558 State St.; Soap, 910 Linden Ave., in Carpinteria; and Mischief, 1225 Coast Village Road, Suite B, in Montecito. Information: 899-4379, e-mail sales@caronmiller.com or go to www.caronmiller.com.
• Shari Eynon 's Viking hats are sold at the gift shop at the Elverh0xbfj Museum of History and Art at 1624 Elverhoy Way in Solvang. Her other hats are available through www.hungrylittleflower.etsy.com. Information: e-mail sharieynon@gmail.com.
• To purchase a hat from Julia Ford , contact the artisan directly by calling 964-1120 or e-mailing julia@juliaford.net. Ms. Ford also makes custom prayer shawls, handbags, clothing, eyeglass cases and weavings.
• • •

Caron Miller
Caron Miller's pillbox-shaped hats aren't for the shy.
Made of faux fur and black faux velvet, they come in colors like lime green, shocking red and a black-and-white style she describes as if a "guinea hen met the skunks."
It's the sort of thing Cruella de Vil might wear if she were dressing up ? or going snowboarding.
"I'm kind of the funky designer," says the longtime Santa Barbara resident, 49, wearing piles of silver bracelets on both arms and chic black Prada glasses encrusted in rhinestones. "There's nothing regular about what we do."
But her products, which include home decor, spa items and women's accessories, such as wraps, headbands and scarves, are carried by more than 200 stores across the United States and in Canada.
The hats, which sell for $56 to $75, are reversible and the bottom edges can be flipped up to achieve different looks.
"It changes depending on how you wear it," she says, variously invoking Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jackie O, Dr. Seuss and 007, while demonstrating its versatility.
And she's got faux fur neck snugglies, wrist cuffs, boot cuffs and even jackets and leashes for small dogs to match the hats. (She donates 20percent of the proceeds from the dog outfits to Dog Adoption and Welfare Group, DAWG.)
Ms. Miller also has a line of reversible beanies in jewel tones, that retail for about $17, which she designed for a late friend who lost her hair to cancer. The hats, made of a thin, T-knit material, are carried by stores associated with the Cancer Center across the country. And she has relatively plainer, reversible suede hats that retail for $64.
When it comes to "Alice in Wonderland," "the part I connect to is the fantasyland, and I kind of live in the fantasy world," says Ms. Miller. Sweeping a braceleted arm toward the gold-painted walls of her living room, she says, "Everything's this colorful in my world."