Natalia Baquero: The Art of the Hat

By Nathalie Rivard

On Knowlton’s main street, Natalia Baquero’s atelier catches the eye with its colourful felts, timeworn wooden hat blocks, and delicate silk ribbons. Originally from Colombia, the milliner and hatmaker transforms every hat into a true work of art, infused with emotion and individuality.

“I discovered hat-making almost by accident,” she recalls. “When I arrived in Canada, I wanted to work for Cirque du Soleil. I started in a subcontracting studio that made their hats, and from the very first day, I knew this was it.”

That first encounter with the world of performance shaped her precision, discipline, and love of detail.

In her Knowlton studio, Natalia works with felt, straw, and sometimes tulle, a material she loves for its transparency and lightness. “Felt is noble. It moulds beautifully, the colours are rich, and each hat takes on its own life in my hands.” Many of her wooden moulds are antiques, rescued from long-gone Quebec workshops.

A Human Approach to Creation

What truly sets Natalia apart, however, is her deeply human approach to custom creation.

“When someone comes to see me, I want to know why they want a hat, for what occasion, and how they want to feel when wearing it.”

She then closes the door and offers an intimate, almost introspective experience.

She remembers an older couple who came in together to choose hats. “The gentleman tried one that he absolutely loved, but his wife didn’t like it. When he looked at himself in the mirror, his face lit up. He saw himself as handsome, and in that moment, she saw him differently, too.” That tender memory captures the quiet magic Natalia brings to her craft, the ability to help people see themselves in a new light.

At first, she thought her clientele would be mostly in their thirties and forties. To her surprise, most of her clients are over fifty, sometimes much older. They are men and women for whom a hat remains a symbol of elegance and refinement, an essential finishing touch to a well-composed outfit.

For Natalia Baquero, a hat is not just an accessory; it’s a living work of art.

“I want people to feel confident, beautiful, and to understand that wearing a hat is a way of expressing who they are, with grace and freedom.”