Something for your day off?

From 17 to 20 January, the E3 art space at the Wagga Art Gallery will be showcasing an exhibition of recent work by the Riverina Millinery Association.

The exhibition is open from 10.00am - 12.00 noon and 1.00pm - 3.00pm daily, and best of all, entry is free!

So if you're planning to explore Wagga on your free day, make sure you add a visit to the Gallery to your 'to do' list.

Find out more at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery website

Last minute checklist - what to bring

With only 17 days left until the 2012 International Millinery Forum, we thought it would be timely to remind you of some important things to include in your bag when packing - if you haven't already packed in all the excitement! Have a look through the list below and make sure you leave some space for the following items:

What to wear and where to go

It’s always hard to know what to pack when going away (and even harder when you are a lover of fashion!) so we will try and help you out by letting you know what type of weather to expect.

For our international visitors, December to February are the summer months in Australia and we often experience hot, dry heat. In Wagga, maximum summer temperatures average between 29 and 32 degrees celsius. This is not to say that it won’t get hotter or a little colder than this, but to play it safe we suggest you pack for hot weather!

3 Spots left for Gold Delegates so be quick!!!

Attention all Millinery Enthusiasts!!!

We still have 3 spots available for Gold delegates & a few places available for Silver delegates.

If you are interested and would like to book a spot, please contact us on millineryforum@bigpond.com or Nicole on 0422 767 667.

Registrations close on the 19th of December so get in quick or you will miss out!!!!

It's hats off to Susie Elelmen!

We're so excited to announce that best-selling author and broadcaster, Susie Elelman, is the official ambassador for the 2012 International Millinery Forum!

Susie will team up with our amazing tutors to share her 'fashionista' expertise at the Forum.

“I’m really excited & honoured to be chosen as the ambassador for the forthcoming International Millinery Forum. I adore wearing hats and find any excuse to do so and especially enjoy donning a hat when dressing up for the races."

"It will be wonderful to showcase the world’s best designs and designers in Wagga this January along with discovering & nurturing up and coming millinery design talent...plus it’s always fun to add more hats to my collection.“

We look forward to welcoming Susie to the Forum and introducing her to our highly talented, creative and skillful milliners and delegates in January.

Accommodation Options

Please note: Delegates are responsible for their own accommodation arrangements.

Wagga Wagga has a good range of accommodation options to cater for all needs and budgets.  For your convenience, we have partnered with a number of accommodation providers and will be running shuttles to and from these venues and the Forum each day.

How are you getting to Wagga Wagga?

Wagga Wagga is located midway between Sydney and Melbourne, and three hours from Australia’s Capital City, Canberra, in the Riverina Region of New South Wales.

There are plenty of options to get you here for the 2012 International Millinery Forum, whether you prefer planes, trains or automobiles as your means of travel!

Gala Dinner selling fast – have you got your ticket yet?

The Gala Dinner is the last hurrah of the International Millinery Forum and the perfect way to bid farewell to the Forum, Wagga Wagga and all your new (and old) ‘hatty’ friends!

Tickets are selling fast – have you booked yours yet?

All venues have now been secured!!

We are very excited to announce that all venues for the 2012 International Millinery Forum have now been secured. To view the updated program, Click here

Close but not Full!!

We are very excited with the tremendous response we have had for the 2012 event, and although we are close to full there are still positions available. A few people have called concerned that we are completely full so we just wanted to assure you that if you have not yet registered you still have the chance.

We still have positions in all sessions, including workshops with:

• Neil Grigg
• Eugenie Van Oirschot
• Waltraud Reiner
• Jasmin Zorlu
• Carole Maher
• Carol Wilkes
• Jan Wutkowski
• Rosie Boylan
• Serena Lindeman
• Jane Stoddart

Head to the website to register today at http://www.waggawaggaaustralia.com.au/international-millinery-forum-2012/

Calling all Trade Exhibitors!

The 2012 International Millinery Forum is now 95% full with milliners from around the world attending this key industry event.

For related businesses, the Forum Trade Expo is the perfect opportunity to showcase your wares to this huge contingent of enthusiastic and talented milliners.

Change to Shuttle Bus Timetable

Changes have been made to select flights with Regional Express. Due to this change we have had to make changes to the Shuttle bus timetable. Please look out for the changed timetable in your email inbox to come this afternoon.

Meet the Tutors #13, #14 and #15

Introducing…Rosie Boylan

Rosie Boylan is a Sydney based headwear designer working across the fashion, stage and screen industries. With 30 year of experience as a hat maker, Rosie is a committed educator of period headwear at NIDA and fashion headwear at Ultimo TAFE. 

Meet the Tutors #11 and #12

Introducing…Lina Stein

Australian/German by origin, Lina will travel from Westport, Ireland, where she has been based for many years, to attend the 2012 International Millinery Forum in Wagga Wagga.

Meet the Tutors - #9 and #10

Introducing…Louise Macdonald

Melbourne milliner, Louise Macdonald, has more than 20 years of millinery experience and 15 years of teaching under her hat! She trained and worked as a costume milliner in London before returning to Melbourne where she creates hats that are the ultimate in beauty and style. 

Meet the Tutors #7 and #8

Introducing…Jan Wutowski

Jan is a US milliner who studied at the Melbourne School of Millinery. She is the owner of women’s boutique, aMuse : artisanal finery, in Wilmington, North Carolina which specialises in one-off women’s hats, bridal headwear and hair accessories. 

Meet the Tutors #5 and #6

Introducing…Jane Stoddart

Jane is a milliner from Sydney, Australia who has been practising for over 20 years. She enjoys developing new design ideas and innovative approaches to materials and techniques. 

Registrations are now open

Good Morning!!

We are very excited as registrations for the 2012 forum have officially opened and we have already had a great response! Visit  http://www.visitwagga.com/ to register or for more information!!

Meet the Tutors #3 and #4

Introducing…Eugenie van Oirschot

Eugenie is travelling all the way from The Netherlands to participate in the 2012 International Millinery Forum! 

Change to Jane Stoddart Workshops

Changes have been made to Jane Stoddart's workshops for the forum for 2012. The changes are:

Stiffened Lace Hats

Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced (6 hours)

Revisit the stiffened guipure or venise lace hats of the 50’s and 60’s in a contemporary mood! We’ll block and stiffen heavy guipure lace on hat blocks and improvised moulds. This technique lends itself to wonderful cocktails, trims, masks and full hats.


Vintage Inspired Feather Birds

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced (3 hours)

Milliners and couturiers of the past have loved to use feather bird trims, created by carefully piecing together a variety of cut feathers, beads and wire. These vintage trims are increasingly rare and fragile, so we’ll make our own contemporary styles!