Freckled Feather
Locally sourced styled hats
What is your business and the mission of your brand?
Freckled Feather Traveling Hat Bar + Boutique offers hats and hat accessories. Our mission is to help customers create one of a kind hat wear that is unique to them.
What made you want to start this business? What is YOUR story?
My family traveled to Texas, Fort Worth Stockyards in particular, and I had my first hat bar experience and fell in love with the idea. I always loved western hats but needed someone to guide me into finding the right one and then help me make it unique to me. I knew right then and there that I needed to bring the concept home to PA with me. I literally spent the plane ride home coming up with names for my new venture. My husband is in the Air Force and was preparing to leave for a deployment overseas and I knew that if I could sink my extra time and energy into this project it would, hopefully, make the time pass quicker.
What is one piece of advice that has propelled you and your business?
Because I'm the wife of an U.S. Servicemember, it was important for me to find a hat supplier to where the hats were made in the USA. When it was tempting to go with cheaper options my mom and my husband both told me to stay true to myself and my brand. I ended up partnering with Bollman Hat Company in Adamstown, PA. Fun fact: Bollman hats are not only made in the USA, they are made in my hometown!
What is something you wished you had known when you first started?
This is tough... I wish I knew a lot more than I actually did about the business side of a business. Accounting and numbers are my weakness.
Do you have a specific quote/mantra/verse that propels you in harder times?
My business is only 6 months old so thankfully I haven't had many hardships yet, however, when I have thought about giving up or wonder if it's all worth it, I remember this quote I saw in Texas "Don't just be a lady, be a legend".
How do you incorporate your faith into your business?
Let's just say that there aren't many, if any, big decisions that I make that don't involve a good bit of prayer and reflection. With my only child graduating this year and leaving for college soon, I have really been praying for a new sense of purpose, something to fill the void of being her main caretaker for the past 17 years. Things may be hectic now with my husband deployed overseas and a high school senior at home, but I certainly trust in God's timing. This business has brought some amazing new people into my life that I am extremely grateful for.