By Mark Cohen

The vanishing art of hat making is alive and well in Atlanta thanks to Susan Morehead and her Suzseams Millinery. After a successful career in healthcare, Morehead finally had the time to put her fashion degree to use by creating a millinery studio nestled in a sunlit corner of the Intown loft she shares with her husband, Bryan, a professional photographer.

Raised in Maryland by parents with an affinity for American history, Morehead remembers exploring Civil War battlefields with her father and never leaving the house on Sunday without a hat and matching gloves for church with her mother. It was this traditional upbringing that fostered a passion for an authenticity born from grassroots craftsmanship.

Morehead’s original designs are fashioned on custom pine blocks, also built by hand, with the carpentry skills of husband. Her favorite materials are fur, felt, visca and sisal straw. And though they evoke a modern flair, Suzseams hats radiate an essence of past, when a hat was more than a quick solution to a bad hair day, but the very cornerstone of an outfit.

You can find Susan Morehead’s hats at The Collective on 280 Elizabeth St. in Inman Park, online at www.suzseams.com