One, two, three, four.

Get my shoes on at the door.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Feels great.

I'm gonna sign up to do and guys aren't gonna do about to do what they do.

Yeah.

Look at this guy with the beautiful color about the and just for me he's gonna share it with another I got to show to get.

I want to finish.

I'll take a look at that beautiful morning that turns to a beautiful evening and look at the big beautiful light and then people wanna see the come along with me.

That's fine Hello everyone.

And thank you so much for joining us on experience.

Michiana, I know you must be wondering, where did she get that fabulous hat?

Well, you'll find out about it in just a minute because we have a great show for you.

We're going to go to Blue Moon Vintage and find out all about unique, one of a kind items that you can get for your home.

And today we told you about it last week.

We're going to Jazzercise.

And I know Dave can't wait till you see him.

But for now, let's head into Chef Bizzaro Millinary and find out where you can get a hat just like this.

Today, we're in Michigan City with Amanda who is also known as the Mad Hatter of Michigan City.

And you might be thinking, well, what are we doing here?

So we're going to find out all about Chef Bizzaro Millenary.

And I say that because it's just such a fabulous name.

I love you.

And people are probably thinking, OK, so where's the food?

Yeah.

Here with the hats.

Well, I thought, you know what?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves a little pun there, but let's find out because you will also before doing Hats You were a pastry chef.

I was.

I was a pastry chef.

I went to culinary school, Le Cordon Blue in Austin, Texas, where I met my husband.

And I looked at I was a food blogger.

I had my own pastry company.

And along the way, I just fell into the rhythm of making hats So how did you fall into it?

Because I heard the story of one day you said, I want to buy a hat and your husband said make it.

Are you all still married?

Yeah, we're still married So I really think it was a top hat It was super crazy.

And it was three hundred dollars.

And my husband goes, I'm not giving you three hundred dollars for something that looks like you can make it.

Why don't you just try to make it?

And he regrets those words, because I became instantly addicted into making hats.

I started off making small little fascinators and top hats out of cardboard and glue gun.

And somehow I just realized I wasn't happy with it.

And I went to the next step and I found a milliner in Chicago who studied under the Royal Hatter for the queen.

Joyce got millenary and she took me under her wing and her parting words after my first lesson was, you have a such unique perspective for hat making Run with it.

And I did.

And I haven't stopped.

That is great.

And what, you know is just fabulous hats here.

But I almost feel like it's a lost art because you said milliner.

I don't know.

I've never really heard of that before.

And so a lot of times people will just go to any stor and just pick up any hat.

But this is truly an art.

It is And it used to be a little bit of a lost art.

But I've been doing this like 13 or 15 years.

And as it goes, not just because of the royal wedding, but just fashion in general, more people are becoming milliner's.

I actually just had someone come in and she truly loved hats and I gave her the right people to start.

And now she's also a certified milliner in Michigan City.

There's all sorts of hats that you can try on, and it doesn't have to be over the top all the time.

I love to just put a little fascinator on with jeans and a T-shirt.

And I go from being mayor to, oh, my God, you're so dressed up like there's magic in hats.

It doesn't just give you confidence.

But there's also just this mystery that helps perk up your outfit that people just are so in.

All of that is so true.

Now, we're here in Michigan City, but truly, your hats are all around the world.

Tell us about some of the places where your hats are.

Yeah, there is a burlesque dancer in Russia who's like the Dita Vontez of Russia have made hats for her and some of her performances.

I sent hats to North Korea I mean not North South Korea.

I have said hats all over the world, all over the US.

I've worked for Disney.

I worked for television.

It's crazy because when I started, I never thought that this would be such a thing.

I never dreamed I would have a brick and mortar.

Now, speaking of customers, so when somebody comes in, can they custom make it?

Can can you custom make a hat for them?

Oh, yeah, all the time.

I just had a lady come in and she had an anniversary vow renewal and she really loved this hat, but it didn't match her dress.

So she brought her dress.

And we went over the colors.

We went over designs.

I measured her hat and I made a hat perfect for her day.

Now, speaking of making hats, how long does it take you to make one?

Well, that depends It can be anywhere from two weeks to months.

Some of the supplies, you know, I have to get overseas because a lot of the millenary manufacturers for ribbon straws, things like that, are not in the US anymore.

There are still suppliers, but sometimes I really want the newest material and I have to get it overseas.

And that sometimes takes, you know, a month to get back to me Now, we were talking earlier and you had mentioned you need to get ready for the Kentucky Derby because that's one of your biggest, you know, events.

Yeah, that and Halloween.

I usually start in January, December time doing all my sketches, getting all the material ready, startin blocking the foundations for all the hats.

And then that's usually when my clients start calling me.

But now I have clients calling me in September ready, sending me pictures of their dresses, asking me what my designs are going to be.

I mean, they're ready to go.

That's great.

Now, what if a lady comes in and says I'm I'm not sure what kind of a hat would look good on me?

You know, what?

Do you also offer suggestions?

Like, what do you think I would wear?

And I have a big head.

So this could be a challenge.

I always tell people it's the right hat at the right angl with the right attitude.

If you come in and you say, I don't look good in hats, you're not going to look good in hats, it's like when you go in trying clothes at a clothing store and you're just not feeling it like no matter.

What you put on does not look good.

So what I like to do is I like to start off with smaller piece and I kind of gauge where the person's at, because it's funny if you even just putting a headband on, you can see it in their face.

Either they love it and it's perfect either or it's not enough or it's too much.

So I like to go super extra first, super extra.

I love Super Extra, because if you go super extra first, then you can work it out with you.

So this is a head piece I'm working on for Halloween.

Oh, so it's for Halloween.

Oh, wear this somewhere.

And Fairy Core Cottage Core is in now.

So some people are wearing stuff like this.

I like.

What do you think?

I love it.

And it really highlights your hair.

Does it?

Yeah.

What do you guys think?

I should go on Facebook only if you like the way I look Don't don't don't like that girl for that.

No.

OK, so that one.

I want to see that.

OK, Marilyn, if it was all over.

Oh, I do like that.

I look like a very kind of, you know.

Right.

Yeah, it's really cute.

I love it.

And it works.

That was lost or it works good, you know, with a neutral tone like the shirt you're wearing now.

I do like it very much.

It's really cute.

So I also see that you have had classes here.

I do like us.

So you can come in.

We can do a workshop where you do a small little fascinato or you can do Halloween.

It could be themed.

It could just be you have an event and you want to have fun with the girls.

And we actually have it in my husband's bakery.

So you get pastries and tea while you do it.

Oh, nice.

The classes go up from there.

Some people want to decorate bigger hats.

Some people want to actually learn.

But I always tell people before they come to a hat making class, that hat making requires so much upper body strength.

Does it does it because you're having to pull and mold the material onto the blocks?

And it's a lot of steam and it's a lot of grunt work.

Wow.

I didn't think it was so labor intensive when I started off.

But it is.

And I got great arms now.

Plus lifting all my kids.

That's all you got.

Can we see a little of what the process looks like?

Yeah.

So everything has a wooden catwalk and these are totally important to making hats.

You don't have a mold that's a little bit more difficult.

There are ways to figure it out.

There is a crown block, which is going to be your head, and then you have your brim block, which is, of course, the second part of the hat if you're doing one.

So since fall's coming up, I have a fur felt wool hood or a cape line.

And you get these like this already.

Oh, we do is we're going to steam it until it's piping hot.

And then with all the upper body strength you can muster, you pull it over the form until it shrinks on it.

And then it's just a process.

It could take anywhere, depending on the day and my arms from an hour to five to get perfect.

Usually it's pretty quick, but there are days where it's just a struggle, or maybe the wall isn't as loose as you need it to be.

It's like going to work.

Sometimes you get everything done and then some days you manage to turn the computer on.

Now everything seems to evolve over time.

How have hats evolved through time?

Well, the first part is we don't wear them as often, and that's just something we lost during the war.

I see what you're talking about.

So the more you pool and steaming up, the more it's got a form to shape.

Now, there are things called Tipper's that you can put in that will hold the shape in, but I usually just like to hand formats.

So originally, you know, we used to wear fedoras and cocktail hats or Juliette caps all the time.

Now, in fashion, you're seeing a lot of that come back, especially like the fedoras, surprisingly, you know and it can be anywhere from very extravagant to very simple And I find now the clients that come in, they don't just want something, you know, for a special event.

They want every day.

And you can do a fedora, you can do closure's like this right here, which are great for winter because they keep you nice and warm.

And some people are even wanting to wear something with a little bit more flair every day.

Do you think they're getting coming back to that where people just, you know, dressing is is an art again, not just putting something on?

I think so, especially with the pandemic.

I think people have realized that life is too short and they're going to wear what they want to wear and they're going to live the life that makes them happy, like a lot of people are quitting their jobs and following their passions.

And I think that alone has inspired a lot of my new clients to come in and just say yes to getting a hat, which is a lot of fun.

And it's like I said before, it is really kind of like a signature piece.

And I do feel when you wear something that special, it really does make you feel like I'm that does OK.

When I got it going on, the fact that you can come to a milliner.

I mean, in Michigan City of all places, and get a hat custom made to fit your head.

I mean, if you go into a regular retail store.

One, you're lucky if you find one in the style you want, but two, it's probably going to be too small for your head, because while we've adjusted clothing sizes to fit the modern day man and woman, we've never adjusted hat sizes.

So if you look at like 1920s hat, it's going to be like a size 18 size 19 head size.

When I started making hats 13, 15 years ago, the average head size was a twenty two, twenty two and a half, and now it's a twenty four.

Really?

Yeah, and it has.

So I'm not the only one now.

And it has to do with our hair.

It has to do with our diet.

It has to do with all these things that you don't think would make an impact.

But over time it does.

That is pretty incredible.

I did not know that I feel so much better because I said I know my hair is much bigger.

And usually it's just like for me, that is where I can fit in my normal hat and our days where this is just a hot mess and I can't put any hat over it So you were showing us the process.

How much longer do you think you'll be working on this piece?

This piece, probably another hour just to get it pulled down all the way.

So right now, I've only pulled it down to the middle.

I still have to work.

All this felt down towards towards the edge.

So I'm getting my arm workout today.

Yes, you are.

Now, can you look for another hat for me to try one more time And while you do that, I'm going to ask you, what are your hours here?

What days are you open and how can people get in touch with you?

Yeah, well, of course, they can always find me on social media or my website Shaf bizzaro dot com.

That's Tuesdays.

One hour are ours right now or Wednesday through Sunday.

Wednesday through Saturday were 12 to four and Sunday were 12 to three.

But I'm always available by appointment.

And now I do a lot of my stuff online.

And then you just come in for a quick head sizing and then the rest.

I just send photos throughout the process.

OK, all right.

OK, one more half for me to try it out.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Super Kentucky Derby, OK?

I like that.

I was in Ireland once and I went to something like the Kentucky Derby.

I could not believe the hats there.

Yeah, they're just the fact that they never lost dressing up.

All right.

Does it how does it look?

Oh, that.

Oh, wow.

I feel like I can walk down the red carpet here.

Yeah.

Oh, that is gorgeous.

Your hats are fabulous.

And you are such a great person.

It's such a pleasure meeting you today for having you there two years.

And you know, I'm going to just tip my hat to you Thank you.

As you can see, we're on a rescue farm, but here at Blue Moon Vintage Market, they rescue more than just animals.

We featured them before and Three Oaks, Michigan, but they've now moved to Westville, Indiana.

I can't wait to meet them.

This is my first time.

And when I tell you you can't wait till you see this, it's like seeing a blue moon once in a lifetime.

I am so excited to meet you, too.

It's like a celebrity celebrity.

But Vicki, A.N., my first time meeting you, we featured you before, but I'm so excited to be here.

And this space is new.

This is.

So you're here.

What is it, about a year?

Oh, not quite.

No, we got occupancy January of this year.

And this is our Covid project and it is beautiful.

Can't wait to show all of you what's inside here.

Thank you.

Let's just start going in there because there's so much to see.

OK, big.

And I have to say that coming in here and seeing everything, it's like this beautiful sense of you for your eyes and you don't know where to look and what to buy.

But this caught my eye here.

What is this?

I mean, it looks like a door, but where did you get this?

Go ahead.

Yeah, we went on a buying trip down in Kentucky last week.

And these are actually old Egyption work doors.

Really?

Yeah.

We brought them in.

They were filthy dirty.

So we took them out, pressure, wash them, put a seal on them and stage them declawed.

Right.

And it's like I said, you don't just rescue animals here.

I know.

Rescue pieces.

Now, can someone come in here and leave with this today?

Like me?

Most things, yes.

We get attached to some of our pieces.

So sometimes we get them in here.

We like how they look so much that we kind of either say we don't want to sell them yet or we have to really want to part with them.

I'm sure especially when you find something like this, it is hard to park, but I can up the ante and we would sell them to you if you like.

Thank you so much.

And this is beautiful now.

Everything is so unique.

Where did you find this and what what was it before it became a table?

Yeah, this is one of our favorite pieces to you.

And it's home.

So basically it's a failure mode.

OK, what's a fancy mobile?

He molds are pieces of we call it art is actually formed.

So that like template templates that you can put their metal in.

This was probably like a grinder at one point.

And then they would duplicate this and put one on top of it and then fill it with metal and then they would have a grinder.

This came out of a crushing factory in Ohio, actually.

But then when they're done, it's cast aside.

They don't need this beautiful piece of art anymore.

And we think that's just such a waste asset, we don't love what they make with these, we love these.

Right.

So when you got it, what did you have to do to it?

Oh, we had to clean it up.

It was very dirty.

Is Andriessen?

Yeah.

We pressure washed it.

We sanded it.

We put a couple of coats of polyurethane seal o And then we had the glass ordered.

And my my dad is our handyman.

So he inserted that drafted into it and he fabricated the legs for us.

So we decided to make it either an entertainment center or bar that will have a new life and not be destroyed in the landfill somewhere.

Now, I know your dad and husband, he's not on camera but he's like a one man band.

I mean, what does he do?

Because he actually actually built this place.

He did.

He did.

This was our Covid project when we were trying to reinvent, reinvent our wheel due to mainly due to Covid and other circumstances that we wanted to relocate our business from Three Oaks.

And we have lots of property.

And he's a builder.

So this was our official Covid project.

We helped with some of the work, with the columns and the building itself.

But yeah, he did the building for us and we moved our store here.

Great.

And it's over 5000 square feet.

So let's go and find some other things to buy.

OK.

I'm sure people come in and this catches their eye right away.

I love this.

Now, where did you find these?

Yeah, this was a fun space, a fun story.

One stories we had found another chandelier from a woman up on the north side of Chicago.

Her husband's an electrician, so he takes down these beautiful chandeliers and puts up newer lighting.

And her passion is putting these all back together and saving them and then cleaning them, which is quite an art, a process.

But this is not your average chandelier.

Not IKEA clothes, OK?

I mean, this is something very special.

It is in the first one that we had bought from her, we're like, this is so pretty.

Like you have no idea what you've just bought.

I'm like, I don't know.

But it's really pretty.

And we started looking into it and she taught us a lot about chandelier.

So these are actually vintage Schoenbeck and they're all Swarovski crystals.

So they're all hand car handcuffed and very intricate and detailed.

My goodness.

When you were bringing it here, I'm sure you were probably so careful because you did not want to break one of those crystals.

Extra careful.

The most difficult part is just driving them through the city of Chicago in the back of the van without thinking or making sure that everything stays in place.

So there's lots of bubble wrap and blankets and boxes and prayers.

Backstabs, no bad sobs.

And you also have beautiful chandeliers in the front.

And those are actually from their international right?

They are.

Yeah.

Those are also Schoenberg's.

They're olde And there's one is from Italy and one's from Germany.

Oh, that's great.

We learn the history of them from our our favorite lady.

So you can't travel the world.

You just come here to blue.

There you go.

You find something from everywhere.

That's right.

Let's take a look at some other things.

OK, ladies, you are so creative.

It seems like you can rescue something and make it into something really beautiful, but you encourage your customers to do that as well.

We absolutely do.

Yeah, absolutely.

And sometimes we get our best ideas from our customers.

Really do.

And so a lot of creativity.

And in fact, this piece here is also about remold that we just think is a great art.

We had one similar to this that we had sold to a fellow in Lansing, Michigan, that he used in his new restaurant.

So we were thrilled to find the second piece.

And some ideas we've gotten along the way is to put a tap on this and make it an entry table off the table, but to make it more practical and use so give it an actual purpose.

It's so hard to go around and show them everything.

But but tell us a few of the things that people when they come here that they can find.

Gosh.

Yeah.

We have a lot of farm tables that are made from reclaimed wood, European decor.

We have the tiki palm tree planters that we just purchased that are in the front.

They're actually carved from tiki trees.

Oh, really?

You can use this planters.

Yeah, the chandelier is we have an African connection now.

So he brings in baskets and mud cloths, which are right behind you there.

So a lot of baskets in the front are those great.

And we have jewelry as well that he's been bringing in.

And you can have some paintings.

They were really beautiful.

Yeah, thank you.

So we have a couple of different artists that we feature.

One is a friend of ours that is a retired ironworker.

And his, I guess, therapy.

He was injured on the job.

So his therapy is using oils and doing artwork.

And then we have a friend that does photography like Truman thought, the dog that you saw.

Oh, that was his wife.

Yeah, I love that one.

Healthy loves, I think, because Kelsey as a thing.

That's right.

And behind us.

What is this beautiful piece here?

Yeah.

So the mirror.

The mirror we had just picked up down in Kentucky on our on our travels this week And then the doors behind them are just this is a big old barn door that we salvaged.

And the two on the end are Egyptian work doors, again, that we just picked up in Kentucky.

Now, you all have quite the following.

They can follow you on Facebook and you're open.

It's Friday through Sunday.

What are your hours?

We're attenda for Central Time.

Technically, by appointment, we have a one lane road coming in and out of the property now that we're on our our private horse farm.

But they can text or call us as well.

And we're available during the week, too.

And then we'll send them our address so that they know where we're at.

They can find us.

And if they follow you on Facebook, they can actually go on and see some of the items that are coming in.

Mm hmm.

Yeah, we like to post kind of teasers on when we load the van and people like, how did you fit all that in the van?

So we take pictures of our traveling and where we're at and what things look like as they're coming in and as we're pressure watching and cleaning.

And we post them on our website, too.

So I can go on there and say, hold that for me, I will be there on Sunday.

Yeah, we have.

That'll happen quite a bit.

All right.

Well, ladies, thank you so much.

This has been so great.

It's been such a pleasure to be here I'm not telling you guys what to do, but I just want to say, you better hurry on down here to Blue Moon vintage.

There's so many things to find, but you might only find it once in a blue moon.

We're at the South Bend Bracket Club, and today it's all about the jazz.

If you got it.

I really like jazz.

I'm here to find out all about Jazzercise and.

I just want to give you some props for somebody that you know, because you've been on this, you know, fitness journey and you've been doing a great job .

I'm trying.

I'm trying.

And yeah, we did boxing, which was feature a while back.

And now I did ask, by the way, I said, OK, I want to do exercise as part of this.

I want to experience exercise locally.

So Jazzercise, which, by the way, I know nothing about Jazzercise.

Really nothing.

Well, this is Karen and Karen and I meal sized stuff there.

And it's really has been around a long time.

We've been around more over 50 years.

And it's its roots are in dance.

So it's fun.

So it doesn't feel like a workout.

It's it's fun.

And I can't dance.

This is like, OK, the only time in my life I dance as an adult was the first dance of my wedding.

And I still have nightmares and PTSD from that moment.

Well, you know, be interested to know that Judy Schaeffer admits that our founder was a dancer and she found that she was teaching dance to kids and all the people the parents were in the background and they they said, we want to be and look like you , but we don't want to do all the formal training.

So she made she kind of simplified dance routines.

And and to this day, that's what Jazzercise is still about, that we've evolved, of course, to meet the fitness trends.

We've incorporated some weights and bands and equipment to keep everyone challenged.

I'm not sure it's a simplified.

It's not professional dancing.

It's for everybody and everybody.

Even my body has mentioned that because I think many of us kind of think it's not your mother's jazzercise as it was 50 years ago.

No, it has evolved.

As a matter of fact, our founders daughter is now the vice president and one of our own instructors, Kim, who's going to teach you some routines.

Her daughter is now a Jazzercise instructor.

So what happens is we have the we run the gamut from high school, talk to peopl in their eighties coming.

So it's not your mother's jazzercise.

We've evolved.

So I want to ask, is this something that mostly wome like or is there men that do this to men do it?

Yeah, I would say the majority of our people are our females, but we certainly have male customers.

And you're welcome.

No, I you're welcome.

I feel I feel very welcome.

I'm sorry.

Yes.

No, this is lovely.

And I do feel welcome.

But I'm also nervous because I hate dancing.

I mean, I don't hate dancing.

I hate people seeing me down.

How?

OK. Yeah.

No, I like dance.

I was about to say who doesn't dance like in Jazzercise, like no one's watching.

And we have a great well, we have a cabaret here.

And I forgot about my heart.

All right.

Oh, you're not off the hook today, but if you come tomorrow, you won't be woke up.

Now, it is a lot of fun, but what are some of the other health benefits about Jazzercise?

Well, you burn a lot of calories in mental health.

And also, we learn a lot of dance routines.

So it challenges the mind to learn patterns, et cetera.

Obviously, there's strength training portion.

So we and I think the biggest thing about Jazzercise is the sense of community and, you know, well-being and supportive and encouraging.

Yeah, because after the last class, we heard all the participants chatting with each other afterwards.

And that's just as important as.

Yes, it is.

So, Karen, when are the classes?

Well, we have classes seven days a week, and you can go to jazzercise dot com and search for Mishawaka and find our schedule.

We have in-person classes in studio and we also are live streaming.

So there's two options.

And we also have a global live stream.

So there are plenty of options for people to take classes.

All right.

So we are ready to do that.

Oh, we are.

We are.

Thank you for speaking on my behalf there So ready for this.

I can't wait for this.

Now, who's going to instruct us right here?

Jim is our instructor today.

Oh, I.

Came already, you know, I shot say plié, I love that shot back chefe and Pliego actually didn't see the first mythologist ad pie and that's where I was thinking about.

But have proof that Jazzercise works in class, who you will, you know, turn up this way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

She worked up a sweat already.

All right.

Well, we are ready, Cam.

All right, let's go.

We hope you had as much fun as we did.

Well, have a great weekend and be sure to join us next wee as we experience Michiana together.

This unity, local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.