Zoya Egan, a Berwyn-based hat designer, honed her craft with royal milliner Dillon Wallwork, who has created hats for Queen Elizabeth II and the late Princess Diana, writes Jan Carabeo for CBS Philly.

Egan is known for her vibrant hats, each of which is unique and hand-stitched. The intricate process of crafting one can take up to two weeks. But Egan didn’t always know that hat-making was what she wanted to do.

“I always wanted to create something; I was always very crafty,” she said.

She learned to sew when she was seven while helping her mother, an accomplished seamstress in Russia. She moved away from sewing to get a computer science degree, before finding her way to hats.

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“Millinery came as an accident,” she said.

Egan needed a hat for a contest at the Radnor Hunt, and with just 48 hours to create it, she won.

“Women loved it,” she said. “Everyone was asking me questions. Is that what I do and would you like to make me a hat?”

Today, Egan runs her very successful hat-making business in Berwyn, and May is one of the busiest months with the Radnor Hunt and Devon Horse Show.

Read more about Zoya Egan from CBS Philly here.

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