My uncle practised millinery before me. I used to go to his atelier to observe and learn. After he passed away, one of his students stayed on at the workshop, and I worked with him. When I tried to sew my first hat, I spoiled two metres of fabric. That's how I started my hat making journey.

I have been doing this professionally since 2019. At first, I lacked self-confidence. But the more I crafted the more I realised that my hats were well received, and I began to really love and enjoy it.

We are currently three artisans engaged in traditional millinery in Azerbaijan. What makes my caps different from theirs is the fact that I put burlap inside each hat. Burlap in a hat maintains the shape, even when washed.

My hats are all traditional and related to my country. There is great symbolism in hat wearing in Azerbaijan, and in the past wearing a hat was a matter of honour. We have sheepskin hats called papakhi, which is a wool hat worn throughout the Caucasus; eight-sided flat caps, called “aerodrome” in Baku, were worn by the mafia; and ordinary people wore newsboy caps.