British Columbia, Canada -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/21/2011 -- Elisa Shine knows what it’s like to search for a stylish, high quality hat. Having moved to the beautiful mountains of Argenta British Columbia in 1994, the cold bite of winter sent her to the shopping malls and fashion magazines to look for something that was cozy, soft, and looked great. After failing to find the hat she wanted, she did what any other talented artist would do; she made her own.

Today, Elisa runs “Shine Designs,” a high quality felted hat boutique that has been getting a lot of attention from shoppers who, like her, are searching for a comfortable yet stylish hat.

“I made my first felted hat and I got compliments wherever I went. I made my husband a hat and the response was amazing. I began to get many requests for custom made hats,” says Elisa.

Elisa’s hats are all made with Wetted felt, which she hand makes in her own studio. By applying hot water, soap and agitation to carded wool the fibers interlock and shrink to form a durable piece of nonwoven material- this is called “felting.”

After hand sewing the hat together she then “Needle Felts” unique emblems onto the sides like quaint flowers or wisps of wind that highlight the felt’s marbled tones. The technique implements barbed needles that are repeatedly poked at the wool to interweave the fibers and form the surface designs.

What results is an extremely soft, stylish and durable hat that can be worn year round. Each hat is trimmed with velvet suede or vegan ultra suede leather and has a small, stylish brim that keeps the sun and snow out of the eyes without hiding too much of the wearer’s face.

Several different styles are offered on Elisa’s website including the standard “Felted Cap,” the “Felted Newsboy Cap,” “Little Blossom Hats” (for the little ones), and even felted flowers that can be pinned in the hair or worn on a hat as an accent.

Like all successful designers, Elisa’s success with felted hats has come from her love of the process. She continues to evolve her craft by following the whims of her own creativity and expects to produce more stylish, comfortable, high quality felted hats for years to come.

“Incorporating the things that I love in life, with wearable art, became my passion,” says Elisa.

To learn more about Elisa Shine and Shine Designs, or to see her wide variety of felted hats, please visit: http://www.shinedesigns.ca/index.html