Can You Produce Both Solid Color and Colorblock Baseball Caps in One Order?
A merchandising director from a national sports lifestyle brand called me two years ago with a production challenge that had been frustrating her team for multiple seasons. Her brand’s baseball cap collection was built around a seasonal color palette. For spring, it was dusty rose, sage green, and cream. Within that palette, they offered two […]
How Fast Can You Produce a Sample of a Custom Printed Rain Hat with a Visor?
A product developer from a major outdoor gear subscription box company called me in mid-March with a timeline that made my production manager inhale sharply. Her company had secured a collaboration with a well-known artist to create a limited-edition rain hat for their spring box. The artist’s design was a vibrant, all-over print featuring hand-painted […]
Can You Produce Both Fisherman and Panama Straw Hats in One Order?
A boutique resort wear brand owner from the Florida Keys called me last spring with a sourcing frustration that had been building for years. Her brand sold two signature straw hat styles. A classic Panama hat with a teardrop crown and a wide, snap brim, and a casual fisherman hat with a shorter, bucket-style crown […]
How Long Does It Take to Produce Custom Shaped Paper Straw Hats for Festivals?
A festival organizer from Austin, Texas called me in late January with a project that was as exciting as it was deadline-driven. Her team was producing a major music and arts festival scheduled for the first weekend of May. They had designed a signature hat for the event, a wide-brimmed paper straw hat with a […]
How Fast Can You Produce a Sample of a Custom Printed Foldable Sun Hat?
A resort wear buyer from a high-end Caribbean hotel group called me in late February with a project that had a drop-dead deadline. Her group was launching a new beach club concept for the summer season, and they wanted to gift every guest a custom printed, foldable sun hat upon arrival. The hat needed to […]
How Long Does It Take to Produce Custom Shaped Cork Hats for Summer?
A boutique resort wear brand owner from Miami sat in my showroom last January with a beautiful, slightly distressed sketchbook. She had spent the off-season designing a collection of summer hats that she believed could define her brand. The hero piece was a wide-brimmed hat made not from traditional straw or paper, but from natural […]
How Fast Can You Produce a Sample of a Custom Printed Baseball Cap with a Foam Front?
A startup streetwear brand founder from Los Angeles called me on a Monday morning in late April. He had a launch event scheduled for the first weekend of June. A well-known musician had agreed to wear his brand’s cap during a festival performance. The problem was that he had nothing to send. His previous supplier […]
What Is the Best Way to Handle a Factory That Substitutes Lining Material?
A buyer from a London-based accessories brand called me on a Thursday afternoon, and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. She had just received a shipment of wool berets from a new supplier. The outer wool was exactly as sampled, a beautiful charcoal herringbone. But when she cut open one of the berets […]
How Do I Verify That a Factory’s Straw Hats Are Handmade and Not Machine-Made?
A buyer from a premium resort brand in California sat across from me at a trade show in Florence last summer. She had a beautiful straw hat in her hands, one she had sourced from a supplier who promised it was "100% handmade." She had paid a premium price, marketed it as artisanal, and sold […]
Can Your Factory Produce Both Classic and Newsboy Caps for Vintage Brands?
I remember a conversation I had last spring with a buyer from a well-known vintage-inspired label in London. He was frustrated. He had gone through three different suppliers who promised they could make authentic flat caps and newsboy caps, but every sample he received looked like a cheap costume piece. The fabric was too shiny, […]
