Not many people can say their local Nebraska products have made the Vogue website. However, GROW Nebraska® member Margie Trembley can and she has with her business Margie Trembley Chapeaux. Where she makes many different custom derby style hats, and other art pieces.
Margie was featured on the Vogue website after a photographer from Vogue spotted her hat on a Nashville model at the Kentucky Derby. That same hat was featured on the banner for Churchill Downs on their website promoting the Kentucky Oaks. She was invited to have three hats at a boutique near Louisville, Kentucky this Derby Season. Her hats are much sought after as her designs are one of a kind and quite unique.
She loves working one on one with her clients to create that special hat that they will be proud of. Each hat Margie has made is custom made to the individual ordering the hat, she starts by asking the customer questions of what they like. Margie states, “They are shown options using various embellishments. They select what colors they prefer and then I’m off and running so to speak. The first run through may not be at all what I finish up with. The colors may even change, or the type of feathers or materials may change. Giving me creative license is an important part of what I ask my client.” Every hat is different on the time it takes to make it, it all depends on the order, but it could take weeks.
Margie and her husband retired, and this gave her some time to venture into working with wool. She studied with various felting instructors and created various things from felted flowers to felted vessels, to nuno felted scarves. From there she learned how to make a hat using wool and an embellishing machine and the rest is history. She started taking professional millinery classes and has studied with some of the top instructors from around the world. She also joined the Milliners Guild based in NYC and because of that membership, she along with the other members, were invited to have their hats on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art two separate times and at the largest Fabric store in the Garment District. Her work was also in an exhibit at MONA.
Although Margie has made many hats her favorite piece is the one, she made for her husband while in class. She states “One of my favorite hats was one I created for Glenn in a class that I took from a Master Hatter. It is a lined 10 X beaver hat that he wears proudly.”
Congratulations to Margie on her success! Check out her website below!
http://www.margietrembleychapeaux.com/
About the GROW Nebraska® Foundation
The GROW Nebraska® Foundation helps entrepreneurs get the resources they need to live in Anywhere, NE and make a sustainable living. Since the inception of GROW Nebraska® in 1998 our vision and mission has never wavered: to create viable economic development through business training, technical assistance, promotion, and access to markets. We create impactful opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to live in “Anywhere”, Nebraska and make a sustainable living.
