Conversations with Ellie White

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie White.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey to launching Mill & Habs is probably just like any other entrepreneur’s journey… it was after a lot of trial and error and downright failures.

I have always been an artist at heart and if I am being honest, I struggled to pick only one art form to nail down because I liked them all for so many different reasons. After dabbling with canvas painting, clothing design, resin, clay sculptures, woodworking, and interior design… I didn’t find my true passion in millinery until my thirties.

It all started for me in my late twenties when a friend and I co-founded a custom jacket company while living in Nashville, Tennessee. I quickly found myself rather obsessed and pulling all-nighters working on one-of-a-kind wearables meant for stage wear for local musicians and friends. It was an absolute rush every single time a new design popped into my head and an intense dopamine hit when I would cross paths with someone wearing one of my creations. Even while making jackets, I was in love with millinery and could feel it calling my name but I wasn’t sure how to start. Before I could ever find my courage to dive in and learn YET ANOTHER art form in hat making, another designer blew into town and he was rather explosive. This designer quickly dominated the Nashville custom design industry and like most twenty-something-year-olds, I wasn’t as sure of myself and my talents as I am today and I let my fear of failure get in the way of chasing what turned out to be my true calling in becoming a custom hat maker.

Fast forward to 2022, at 32 years old I am now living in Scottsdale, Arizona and I have completely started over. I am experiencing the biggest creative block while living in the desert and it is safe to say… I wasn’t feeling inspired on this path. Then one day after a long hike, it smacked me right across the face one day in the form of a severe sunburn and I thought “What a wonderful place to create unique handmade hats to shade your face from the extreme desert conditions!?” So, I FINALLY did. I watched endless hat-making videos, researched the difference in felt materials, took a small loan out, and then simply started by putting one foot in front of the other. I knew that if I had the courage to start, I would also be able to find the courage to succeed as long as I stayed consistent.

I have a long ways to go to get to where I want to be, but that is the beauty in building a business of your own… the journey is just as special and life-altering as the destination.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Quite literally everything is a struggle, obstacle, or challenge when owning your own business. Being an entrepreneur, to me, is wanting to cry out of frustration one minute and exactly one hour later, jumping up and down feeling as if you are on top of the world.

But, that’s the beauty, isn’t it? Every problem has a solution and the self-discovery that you experience along the way while you navigate through the difficult moments of frustration is the most rewarding of it all. Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable is a superpower that will aid in all aspects of your life.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the Founder and Designer here at Mill & Habs and I am a modern-day milliner making unique and one-of-a-kind custom hats with my bare hands from start to finish.

What that means is, I purchase luxury felt bodies and I dye them, steam them, size them, shape them, sew them, and design them with my two hands all in-house and never mass produced… providing each of my clients a hat that is truly as unique as the wearer, all while being perfectly imperfect.

I have Ready to Wear Collections available for purchase such as The Deluxe Collection, The Cowboy Collection, The Basics Collection, and the most popular order… The Custom Order Department. When you purchase a Custom Order, we set up a consultation so that you as the Client can work closely with me as the Designer to create an exclusive and one-of-a-kind hat that represents who you are, where you have been, and also where you are going.

Here at Mill & Habs, each hat is a labor of love and made with the finest materials available sourced locally, and adorned with fabrics from all across the globe — The ultimate accessory to the adventure we call life.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Overall, the pandemic was a challenging time for businesses and that is stating the obvious, but it has also presented opportunities for innovation and growth.

For me personally, it was a blessing in business in the sense that it allowed me ample time to slow down and figure out what I truly wanted out of life, my future, and my career path.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.millandhabs.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/millandhabs?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=