You've Entered the Hollow

Where every hat has a name.

Moonspell Hollow is a curious little place.

It began quietly, with a handmade hat and an imagination that refused to leave it at that. Before long, another appeared. Then another. And somewhere along the way, they stopped feeling like simply hats.

They had names. Personalities. Opinions, probably.

And so the Hollow began.

Meet the Residents

Every hat created at Moonspell Hollow becomes a resident in her own right.

Some arrive elegant and composed. Others are a little unruly. Some are bold enough to command the room, while others seem quite content to sit quietly until exactly the right person notices them.

Their personalities aren't planned on paper before they're made. They appear during the making — in the curve of a brim, the choice of a flower, an old key, a feather, a trailing ribbon or something unexpected that suddenly looks as though it could never have belonged anywhere else.

Only when she's finished do I really know who has arrived.

Then she gets her name.

Lady Octavia Dahlwyn became the wise elder of the Hollow. Tallulah Thorn arrived with considerably more attitude. Others have been romantic, peculiar, mischievous, dramatic and occasionally rather difficult to ignore.

No two need to be the same.

They wouldn't like that.

The Keeper

I'm Michelle, the maker and Keeper of Moonspell Hollow.

I'm originally from England and now create every resident from my little corner of Texas.

I don't call myself a witch. Keeper has always felt much more accurate.

I'm the person who makes the hats, gives them their names, discovers their stories and looks after them while they're here.

And every morning, there they are.

A rather extraordinary collection of characters waiting in the Hollow for whatever comes next.

Finding Her Person

There is one thing I've learned about the residents of Moonspell Hollow:

You don't always choose them.

Sometimes one simply catches your eye.

You go back for another look. Something about her feels familiar. Perhaps she's louder than anything you'd normally wear. Perhaps she's exactly as dramatic as you are. Perhaps you can't explain it at all.

That's usually when I suspect a resident may have found her person.

When one leaves the Hollow, she's carefully packed by hand and sent on her way with one very simple wish from her Keeper:

Make your person happy.

And then there's an empty space in the Hollow...

until somebody new arrives.