Peoria hat designer offers cancer patients a dash of splash

This is what the title read in the Peoria Journal Star of the Sunday paper. It was soooo exciting to see Marigold Caps featured in the ALL PINK Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure section of the paper. The Race for the Cure started in Peoria and is a proud time for this town. This week everyone is gearing up for the exciting race day which happens on Saturday. What started out as a promise between two sisters....so inspiring!!!

By KAREN McDONALD
of the Journal Star
Posted May 03, 2009 @ 01:37 AM
PEORIA

For many people, it may seem like a small thing.

But for some battling cancer, it's so much more than just a piece of fabric.

It's a hat.

It covers worries, brightens dispositions, protects dreams and crowns their life - so says hat maker Callie Currin, of Peoria, whose "Marigold Caps" have taken off in popularity among those who most need them and even those who just want them to add a little extra sparkle in their day.

"When you are diagnosed with cancer, you are reeling from that diagnosis. You lose your hair, and your self-confidence takes a hit," said Peorian Julie Matheny. "To not be able to find anything to make you feel better when you go out - you feel like the whole world can see that you are sick."

Matheny, 38, bought one of Currin's hats this month featured at the boutique S'more Couture, 2700 W. Second St., Alta. She had searched as far as Chicago for the right one, and when she spotted one of Currin's hats on a recommendation from a friend, she said she fell in love.

"It makes me feel great. It's so stylish and cute. It makes me feel less visibly sick. I would wear it even if I didn't have cancer," she said.

Matheny was diagnosed in August 2007 with a rare form of cancer - sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer that is incredibly resistant. She was fitted for a wig in early 2008 while going through chemotherapy and hated it. She went through chemo again in fall 2008.

"I struggled to find things to wear on my head. I noticed there was a real void in the market for head wear for younger women who had lost their hair," Matheny said.

Currin got her inspiration for hat making from a friend fighting breast cancer who needed one.

"It was the perfect marriage of someone who needed a hat and someone who loved them," Currin said. "It was the answer to a creative prayer."

Currin, too, benefits from her own line. She has four kids and no time to get ready in the morning. She just likes having a hat.

So in July, she started her business. She chose base hats with no metal pieces on the inside to irritate nearly bald or bald heads, and ones that are adjustable.

Soon thereafter, she stumbled into S'more Couture and owner Amy Irving, who had just opened her shop last fall. During the chance encounter, Irving begged Currin to sell her hats in her store.

It's a small, quaint store flooded with colors of pink and brown and unique specialty items from 40 local vendors. It's overflowing with the spirit of hope and happiness.

The hats are casual enough for everyday wear, but also have the bling that adds something special and unique.

One style is canvassed twill sergeant, a variation from the typical baseball hat. Currin also spices up crocheted cowboy hats - perhaps with some vintage sparkle - and canvas visors.

They range in price from $50 to $80 and are sold through her Web site, www.marigoldcaps.com and in Belle Mie, S'more Couture, A Beautiful You, and Yellow Brick Boutique. A portion of the proceeds benefit cancer research and patients.

Each of the hats has a name that correlates with a flower such as fern, forget-me-not, snapdragon and, Currin's new spring line, dubbed "freshly picked."

Irving is treated to hearing inspiring cancer stories from numerous customers while being able to help them with a hat.

Earlier this year, she started making headbands decorated with anything from rhinestones to feathers. She says they're flying off the shelves.

One special blue and brown headband is adorned with a rhinestone broach. Irving designed it for a client whose hair is finally growing back and who no longer wants to wear a hat.

"It's just these little things. This is the reason I'm here. I know it now. Just to be able to make a person's day and do something positive for somebody," Irving said.



Karen McDonald can be reached at 686-3285.