Louisville is associated with the Kentucky Derby, and besides horses, one of the first images that comes to mind is beautiful hats in every shape and color. No wonder multiple award-winning Master Milliner – that’s “hat maker” for us laymen – Jenny Pfanenstiel decided to open her shop, Formé Millinery, in the heart of hat country.

Originally from Colorado, Pfanenstiel earned her degree in costume design at the Art Institute in Denver and then moved to Chicago for more opportunities. There, she designed costumes for Cirque du Soleil, movies and commercials before meeting a milliner from New York who encouraged her to learn the art of blocking – the molding of the material over wooden hat blocks. A lifelong lover of hats, she took several workshops around the globe on the hundred-year-old technique and decided this would be her life’s work.

“I thought costumes were my way of life, but I just enjoyed hats so much more,” says Pfanenstiel. “I felt like there was so much more creativity. I didn’t have to think about an arm hole or a neck hole or someone changing sizes in the middle of starting it. So I completely changed gears and started my company in 2007.”

After transforming her dining room into a showroom and turning her basement into a workshop, she decided to make a move to the city where she had been traveling to create custom Derby hats for the past six years: Louisville.

“I completely fell in love with this town and the people,” she recalls. “And more than anything, I was amazed at how this town supports small businesses.”

She opened Formé Millinery at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center and is currently working on major collaborations, including creating 500 custom looks for Derby 2017 with Vineyard Vines and digital hats for Rachel Zoe’s fashion app, Covet Fashion. With only about 10 professional milliners in the United States who make hats from scratch, it’s no wonder the likes of Oprah, Madonna and First Lady Michelle Obama own a Formé Millinery hat.

“I don’t purchase hats and then glue things onto them. I am a true milliner, so my material starts from its original state and then I mold it over the wood or I hand-sculpt it. And then it’s all hand-sewn or sewn on the machine.”

Since becoming a milliner, Pfanenstiel has won many awards, including the International Hattie Award two times over, and the Judge’s Choice Award from the Kentucky Derby Museum. She also teaches workshops where she provides the millinery material (imported from England and Australia), and over the course of two days, her students create their own hat.

Though Derby is one of her peak seasons, many customers come to Formé for a more practical reason: to keep their heads warm during fall and winter. While Derby hats are colorful, light and usually made of delicate straw, fall and winter hats are usually made of the wool felt, velour or beaver (to name a few materials) of demurer colors, but no less stylish. Cloche – “bell” in French – hats were a popular style of hat in the 1920s and continue to be en vogue today, especially since waterproof wool allows you to get sculptural with the design. As Pfanenstiel puts it, “There’s no reason you can’t be warm and fashionable,” especially with the Breeders’ Cup coming up in November.

Pfanenstiel feels she is an old soul and is drawn to bygone eras like the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s when life was simpler, which is apparent by the collection of beautiful vintage furniture in her shop such as her Art Deco wardrobes and mirrors. She feels these old pieces, especially the hundred-year-old wooden hat blocks, hold a special energy since they have been used by others in the past, and that the wear from use adds character. She finds inspiration for hat designs in old towns and architecture, cobblestone roads and even moss on rocks. Her eye for beauty appears in every piece she makes.

For more information on Jenny Pfanenstiel, check out formeonlineshop.com or visit Formé Millinery at the the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave. #111, Tuesday through Friday noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday noon to 3 p.m. The next scheduled workshops are October 28-29 (wool blocking) and November 11-12 (straw derby hats).

Story By Richie Goff