Prototype of custom hat lining

The sample came for the new custom Trulyhat linings!!

The printing looks so awesome, I'm about to burst. It's SO much clearer than I expected. I need to figure out how to make the tops be all smooth, but I have several ideas about that.

Now - I wonder which hat I'll try it in.....

I'm SO jazzed!

More Website Pride: functional online form!!!!

Ok - I'm probably a little too excited a little too soon - but I've just made a functional web order form!!!

My new groovy online form is currently residing on the Contact page - which may or may not be where it stays, but I've tested it twice and it actually WORKS! I placed two fake orders and they totally showed up in my mailbox!!

Way chuffed.

Best of all it was free and I know how to update it myself! I can create up to five forms a month with the free account. I can't imagine that I need five forms - though I begin to think about an email list subscription form....

Nah. I should just make hats, not make more technical trouble for myself than necessary.

Ok - back to your regularly scheduled lives.

(boing! boing!)

12th Night 2011...tomorrow!!

Hello hat lovers.

here are some quick, terrible photos of what is going to be for sale at An Tir 12th Night, which is tomorrow. (Aaaaargh!!!)

There are 28 here:

There are two more felt hats on top of these racks, and six Cavalier hats on the top rungs.
There will be 24 finished flatcaps, many of which are shown here, and the last four will be finished in the car tomorrow. (bringing the total to 24, which perfectly fills the racks. I am very pleased. I've even got SIZE labels in them all this time.)

 Here are the four custom ordered Cavalier hats all finished and boxed up and ready for their new homes. I really should have gotten photos of some of these, but chose to make more hats instead.

 Here  is the bag of 1000 custom labels!! I thought they were too big when they arrived, but they have grown on me. They didn't make it into all the hats, but I can work on that during slow booth times.

New for 12th Night!: I actually have finally, after many many false starts and frustrated sourcing, made some jewelled hatpins which I like and which are functional! Finally found really strong hatpin blanks, and got the half-drilled beads I needed for the ends. I think they will be $10 each.

 closeup of one. I need a new camera.

I have not packed or ironed my clothes, or my husband's clothes, or my child's clothes,  and haven't printed a price sheet or loaded the trailer, etc .....but hey,  I've got a total of (does quick math...) 64 hats for my booth!!! That is about 14 more than I've ever hat at one time!

Now - just need to GET them there and all set up.

Showtime!

1000 custom woven trulyhats labels!!!!!!

I just ordered 1000 custom woven labels.

Blink.

I've been "going to definitely DO this this year!" for about ten years now.
The things that have been stopping me for these last ten years have been:

• Even companies that say they have "low" minimums" seem to want to ship you zillions of these, and charge you over 200 bucks. Not a small committment there.
• I have very low level graphic design skills, and reasonalby high standards.Also, I had no concrete ideas for a logo. I knew that I absolutely did not want to have a hat pictured on it. (too Kitchy, maybe?) I also knew that I didn't want it to look at all like the iron-on name labels that mom put in all my camp clothes. That's all grand, but knowing what you don't want does not a logo design make.

Then I found some custom woven label companies on ebay - they had VERY low minimums - I could have spent as little as $45 on this project! (Course, the real price break came at 1000 labels, but even that was under $100, shipping included!)

I decided that if Anne Klein and the like can have labels with just a name on it in a clear but identifiable font, mine could be similar. Here is my final design, which is on its way to me MAYBE in time to get them in the 12th Night hats:


The company name has always been Truly Originals, but they are only ever referred to by customers as "Is that a TrulyHat?"

 If I love them, I'm set for labels for about nine years.

(I hope I LOVE them)