Extol Magazine Celebrating Southern Indiana is a local publication that covers stories about businesses people places or events throughout the cities of New Albany Jeffersonville Clarksville Sellersburg and Louisville KY
Issue link: https://extol.epubxp.com/i/475732
SUCCESS BRITNI LYNN KNABLE IS GOING BIG-TIME. Te Southern Indiana milliner has been creating handcrafting head fashions since 2003. Her client list includes a number of celebrities – both local and national – including country star Jo Dee Messina, who wore one of Knable's fashions while singing the National Anthem at the Kentucky Derby in 2014. "Actually, Jo Dee 'HeadCandied' in both 2013 and 2014," Knable laughed. Te designer's creations are available at a number of boutiques, including New Albany's Dress & Dwell, where Knable works as the manager and assistant buyer. But they're now also available at Kate Spade New York in Louisville's Oxmoor Center, which was a major development in the sweet success of Knable's career. "I'm really excited and so are they," she said. Knable grew up in Floyds Knobs, went to Assumption High School in Louisville and studied at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, where she learned her trade by working for Chicago milliner Linda Campisano. During Derby season, Knable would go home to host trunk shows and make custom designs. "It started of slowly, but hard work does pay of in the end. Tere's always going to be ups and downs. I've always worked two or three jobs, and you don't get a lot of sleep, but," as the highly-regarded milliner has learned, "it's well worth it in the end." Knable, who makes all of her hats and fascinators from start to beginning, has a penchant for combining vintage pieces with the unexpected – "I usually break the rules" – which keeps her clients coming back and attracts an ever- increasing fow of newcomers. As she gears up for Derby season and her new partnership with Kate Spade, the ever-humble fashionista credited those closest for assisting in her success. "My sisters and my mom, I work closely with them. Mom is my right-hand woman. I even have my dad, who becomes my runner," she said. "My family is truly awesome." Photograph by Kelly Lovan BY ANGIE FENTON Britni Knable is one of the area's hottest milliners. Kate Spade thinks so, too. HOW TO FIND HEADCANDI shopheadcandi.com Dress & Dwell • New Albany Kate Spade New York in Oxmoor Center • Louisville Clodhoppers • Louisville Merci Boutique • Louisville Rodeo Drive • Louisville Crush Boutique • Louisville The B =own Hotel • Louisville Bella Rose • Lexington Stacey Rhodes Boutique • Nashville 36 EXTOL • 2|15