Samantha,
What about attaching your mounts to the slanted ceiling or highest point of the ceiling and then mounting a mirror above the hat? This would place them out of the way of visitors but still allow details to be seen. If you can, mount them in plexi cases to protect from dust. By allowing visitors to see the underside of the hats, you could expand the exhibit into hat construction, sewing techniques, museum techniques of exhibit design, or a number of other avenues as well. If you do use mirrors, you could put your labels directly on them with vinyls or other adhesive lettering.

Danielle Trynoski
Seeking opportunities in museums & heritage management in the Inland Empire and LA Metro areas
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On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 11:52 AM, Kim Hanninen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
We've done the pool noodle for a couple of pairs of Inuit boots made from seal skin.  They were stored very poorly for far too long, so they were somewhat brittle, but we took a noodle, covered it in Tyvek, and carefully inserted the noodle.  Worked like a charm.

Kim H Hanninen
Registrar
Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 1:36 PM, Lissa Kramer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
There's a great blog post on making a hat mount from pool noodles here.  Alternatively, you can create an armature out of chicken wire or a mount of ethafoam blocks and cover it with soft cloth filled with tissue padding.  I'd love to hear any of the conservators on this list weigh in on the pool noodle material.

Lissa Kramer
Issaquah History Museums

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 10:13 AM, Kim Hanninen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
There are also places where you can purchase props for hats that are archival in nature.  Check out Gaylord.com for their display items.  Not inexpensive, but they are a long term solution.

Best of luck.

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Elizabeth Walton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Look at retail hat displays. You can customize them with batting, washed tube or other materials typically used for altering mannequins.


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Kim H. Hanninen, Registrar
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Traverse City, Michigan 49686
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f 231-995-1597
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