Today on Industry Friends, we present the fun-loving, bubbly, and adorable babe, Nicole McInnis of Oh Dina!. Nicole & I do a lot of fun projects together, she is my creative partner in crime. See our styled shoots HERE and HERE.
We have so many great things we are working on for 2015. She is beautiful, inside and out, and I am so happy to have her as my confidant. I love when my brides, or all brides for that matter, reach out to her and have a special piece made for their big day, or even their stagette. If you look really closely, you can see that she is wearing a Giving Key.
Scroll through the photos, to get to the Oh Dina! story below.
Give us a little history about yourself, and why you chose millinery?
I grew up in a small little town called Hubbards in Nova Scotia. Growing up, my mother was always creating bows and hair accessories for my hair so I was accustomed to either having a hat to finish off my outfit or something my mother made. I had attended the historical Costume Studies Program at Dalhousie and then continued my studies at Ryerson taking Fashion Design. After studying some millinery classes, I began my line in 2007 while in my third year at Ryerson. From there everything seemed to fall into place and in a way, millinery chose me.
Tell us a bit about Oh Dina!, and how it all started?
After I had started my collection Ryerson had asked if I would represent the School of Fashion at the One of Kind Show in Toronto. They had suggested that I have a certain amount of headpieces ready for the 5 day show and I had sold out within the first 5 hours on the first day! From there an agent called to represent my line and suddenly I was in 40 boutiques across Canada and the US, in major publications (WeddingBells, The National Post, Globe and Mail), on the runways in Toronto and seeing my work on blogs that I get inspiration from, like Style Me Pretty.
What do you love most about working with brides?
I feel so honored when brides chose me to create a custom headpiece for them. This is the biggest and most photographed day of their lives and I am invited into their world for a moment. Hearing their love stories and creating something customized just for them if a very special experiment for the both of us. A lot of my brides will get me to incorporate pieces of their grandmother’s jewelry into their headpiece so that there is a touch of nostalgia with them on their wedding day.
What are your most popular pieces when it comes to brides?
I find every season changes. This past wedding season I found that a lot of brides were wanting more ethereal headpieces and halos. I had created a lot of silk floral crowns, some of which were in bold hues that fit the theme of their wedding. One bride in Newfoundland had a Frida Kahlo inspired wedding so her headpiece was in deep rich shades of mustard, crimson red and saturated plums. The uniqueness with each wedding and personal style of my brides is what keeps my days exciting and interesting.
What is your favourite design style when it comes to your bridal accessories?
I find that my line is known for special details and texture. I love incorporating fine materials like freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and hand sculpting feathers. Actually, I love it all! Every piece is so unique and poses it’s own design challenges, I just feel so fortunate to wake up and do this everyday.
What are the wedding accessory trends for the upcoming 2015 season?
I definitely foresee more flower crowns and ethereal halos carrying through to next year. The Art Deco/vintage aesthetic will also be very prevalent with the use of golds and crystal.
Do you make custom pieces for brides outside of Atlantic Canada?
I made custom headpieces for brides all over the world. We will usually set up a Skype consultation and go from there to create the magic.
Click HERE and HERE to head over to Nicole’s Etsy Store and click the social media links to follow Oh Dina! on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM
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