What an exciting year it's been & what high hopes we have for 2011 here at Hoo Hats!
I am pleased to announce that I'm ending the year with a brand new retail presence. Hoo Hats are now featured at the fabulous new Montavilla boutique Branch & Birdie.
This place is fantastic -lots of gorgeous handmade & high design items for moms & kids, a play area, weekly yoga & regular singalongs with Mr. Ben, a local kid's favorite. So, stop in, bring your toddler, check out some Hoo Hats in person. They've got a giant pile of them...so far...
I've been hard at work this week, sewing my brains out trying to build my inventory fast in advance of Christmas & in preparation for a few possible-maybe surprises that I can't talk about just yet. I'm also nearing completion on the sizing & design for a newborn size Hoo Hat & as soon as I get some feedback from a few volunteer Hoo Heads (a shout out to my friends for having such beautiful new babies!), I'll be releasing a bunch for sale. I've been stocking up on cashmere for just that sorta of hat. Here are a few pics to tease you. I can't wait to show you the rest!
And of course, I still have a ton of bigger kid hats in the works. A few of them went up on Etsy today, so feel free to take a peak, but expect more in the coming days...Oh, and then there's Christmas. I hope yours is merry & bright!
Wanted to post a pic of the order we just shipped to New York. Heavy on the pink! We should have some great new hats posted to etsy soon. Check back and email us if you don't see what you want.
Wow! What a fantastic, busy, stressful, haberdasheringly crazy first week it's been here at Hoo Hats Headquarters! We've been totally blown away by the overwhelmingly positive response we've gotten to date & we hope dearly we are able to meet & exceed your expectations as we begin to ship hats & wait for feedback.
Meanwhile, we've very nearly sold out of our hats! -I am cutting & assembling 11 new ones tonight (lots of midnight oil burning going on around here lately!) & Matty is busily adding 8 new ones to our Etsy site. I just wanted you to know in case you've visited the site in the last day or so looking for something special for a certain special someone & couldn't find what you were looking for. Give us a couple days & I promise you we'll have a fresh pile of new & amazing hats to choose from.
The batch I am working on now is subtler & classier than anything I have done to date. Lots of shades of brown & gray & green & even a nice navy blue for that serious boy in your life. I can't wait to show you!
So check hoohats.etsy.com tomorrow or the day after to see all my newest creations!
I would not be able to do what I do if it weren't for a handful of very important people. One is Matt, obviously, my husband, partner in crime, & sometimes-Cinderfella (thanks for the business cards, baby!). Another is my Manny who we like to call Uncle Matty despite being totally unrelated (family is relative when you're a thousand miles from home), or Gunka Bappy in Xavier-speak. Gunka Bappy comes over at least once a week for a few hours & despite the fact that he does nothing particularly special he has a way of sending Xavier over the moon with joy. I am so thankful for his time, his cheerful encouragement in the owl hat department (he was egging me on when I was busting our ghetto prototypes, urging me to keep trying), & the relationship he is building with my beautiful boy. Thank you, Gunka Bappy!
Remember your foam cheese hat? -Oh, you didn't grow up across the St. Croix from Wisconsin? -well, then never mind. What about that stupid foam lobster hat you bought vacationing in Florida when you were 10 years old? -Pretty fun, huh? - but also cheap & tacky & ultimately pretty useless.
Hoo Hats bring together the best of bothhat worlds, merging the practical with the novel in a total package that is pretty near hat perfection: Silly but also warm. Striking but also water resistant & life-saving. And coming from the near-frigid tundra that is Minnesota, I can personally attest that my life has been saved by lesser hats on numerous occasions. Because if you've got to be stuck in the dark on the side of Highway 35 somewhere between Pine City & Hinckley in an arctic blast, you'll be glad to have that owl hat on hand to both nuzzle your noggin and calm your nerves. Hoo Hats: whimsical but serious. Seriously warm.
I present the results of a several-week-long sewing frenzy! -Hats for sale, hats for gifts, hats, hats, hats...
Not all of the hats shown on these pages are currently for sale. One is Xavier's, a couple are gifts. But don't let that stop you from falling in love with one! -I am happy to dialogue with anyone regarding any particular requests, provided the requests are relatively general (i.e. colors, sizes). Since all my sweaters are random thrift store finds, it is hard to guarantee that I will have just the thing you want, but believe me when I say I will do my level best to find & make something specific to suit your needs. Email me at hoohats@gmail.com & we can discuss your options! Meanwhile, happy viewing!
I've been sewing up a storm lately, trying to get a couple of hats ready for the marketplace. So far I've made a few Size Large that fit my model (Xavier has a giant head, considering his age), an Extra Small, a Small & a Medium. Photos of the smaller sizes will be coming shortly.
Here are the three new large hats, all of which are now available for sale on my Etsy shop -www.hoohats.etsy.com:
Introducing a hat even the pickiest of toddlers will want to wear during the cold winter months, both inside and out. Hoo Hats are handcrafted from upcycled felted wool sweaters & lined with warm, cozy, no-pill fleece for the maximum in cold weather comfort. The eyes are machine appliquéd & are crafted with care from a combination of fun fabrics & colorful craft felt (made from 100% recycled post-consumer plastic bottles). The ties are handmade using 100% cotton fabric in a complementary color & pattern. Each hat is a unique creation & has its own personality.
These fun, funky, original hats will bring everyone that sees them a great big Hoo Hat smile.
SIZING:
Hoo Hats come in a variety of sizes. The ages given are estimates only. To be certain that a hat will fit properly the best bet is to measure. If you are uncertain of the head circumference of the intended Hoo Head, it is probably better to buy a larger size & therefore leave them a little growing room. Since the hats are made from wool/fleece they will stretch a little so your Hoo Head will be able to get a lot of life out of the hat.
XS –fits 15-17” head circumference, or an average age of 3-6 months
S –fits 17-18.5” head circumference, or an average age of 6-12 months
M –fits 18.5-20.75” head circumference, or an average age of 12-24 months
L –fits 20.75-22” head circumference -kids over 2 years or a typical adult female
XL –fits 22-24” head circumference –average adult
TO MEASURE: Measure around the widest part of the head (above the eyebrows) & insert a finger between your brow & the tape measure to ensure a little extra room.
Do you love a certain hat but need it in a different size? –Convo me & we can discuss your options. Since each hat is made from unique, upcycled, one-of-a-kind sweaters, it is difficult to make something very specific, but I can try to accommodate general color & size requests.
WASHING INSTRUCTIONS:
Hand wash and/or spot clean only & lay flat to dry. DO NOT machine wash or shrinking may occur.
Welcome to Hoo Hats! -If you're here it's probably because you've seen my son around town sporting his infinitely cool upcycled felted wool owl hat handmade by yours truly. You're probably wondering where you can buy one of these awesome hats & while I would love to be able to shuttle you to my up-and-running Etsy shop, I'm not quite ready for that yet. I am in crazy production mode & will have plenty of hats available in the near term. In the meantime, here is a recent creation (lucky 4-year-old birthday gift!) to whet your appetite:
