Meet Our Newest Jewel: Ruby Roxanne Designs

May 31, 2016American Hat Makers Leave a comment

When Hannah Watrous, Director of Global Marketing and resident fashionista at American Hat Makers, wanted to bring some extra high-fashion glamour and pizzazz to the company she reached out to local designer Ruby Roxanne Agresta.

Hannah Watrous and Ruby Roxanne at WESA in Denver

Known for her much adored leather statement cuffs – seen on the wrists of rock stars, celebrities, runway models and that stylish woman you see around town – Agresta’s company, Ruby Roxanne Designs, exhibits a strong appreciation for well-crafted, carefully designed, high-quality leather accessories and Hannah Watrous knew she wanted to meet Ruby.

Initially attracted to Ruby’s keen marketing and branding, Hannah recalls, “I wanted to meet with her and ask what she was doing to reach the celebrities because I thought she was doing a remarkable job.”

Some of the many celebrities who rock RRD!

Luckily, Hannah Watrous is both patient and persistent, because it took over two years for the two world-traveling, successful working moms to be able to connect face to face. Ruby remembers Hannah extending an invitation for her to come to the Hat Hangar.

“Hannah said, ‘Why don’t you come to my little store, we just opened it.’ When I got here and looked around my jaw dropped and Hannah said, “Well, the store is little!” said Ruby, laughing.

American Hat Makers’ not so small home.

While Ruby was impressed with the quality of the hats and the size of the business it still took a bit of persuading to get her into the hat business.

“We worked together and got some hats on some celebrities,” recalls Ruby, “but when they asked me to design a collection I said no way. I love a challenge, but I didn’t want to let them down.”

But then Ruby began to think about all the work she does with teens through her work as a mentor with local organizations FashionART and Pivot: The Art of Fashion and she realized, “I gotta practice what I preach!”

Even though she admits she was “a little scared” she designed her first two hats under the Ashbury hat line – the Maddy and the Bella – which made their debut in Denver at the Western and English Sales Association Market.

11058226_10153231550361739_8288177056696167082_o

Hannah rockin’ the Maddy by Ruby Roxanne Designs

Hannah Watrous couldn’t be happier with Ruby’s designs. “Ruby adds an element of flirty fashion to our leather hats that we haven’t had up to now. If you want to feel luxurious and fabulous and stand out in the crowd then you want to have one of the hats from Ruby’s collection!”

Ruby brings bling, high-fashion, and meticulous attention to detail to her collection and this innate sensibility meshes perfectly with American Hat Makers’ commitment to unique, artisan, best-in-class hats.

Ruby is thrilled to be a part of the American Hat Makers family. “[American Hat Makers] are so amazing to work with,” she says. “They love my work and I love their work and it has just been a blessing!”

According to Hannah, the feeling is mutual. “Ruby is like a sister from another mother. I absolutely adore her. She has the most giving and generous heart, she’s easy to get along with – we laugh often – and working with her has been a perfect fit for our company.”

Welcome to the American Hat Makers family Ruby Roxanne Designs!

12729155_10153231491506739_6082627988128009110_n

12734263_10153231490451739_4774525678597269185_n

Happy Birthday to Gary Watrous!

May 16, 2016American Hat Makers Leave a comment

The American Hat Makers family came together last week to celebrate the 66th birthday of founder and president Gary Watrous.

It’s easy to celebrate a man like Gary – he’s far from a stereotypical “boss.” Not only is he profoundly passionate about leatherwork and hat making, he is equally enamored with the team of people working with him at the Watsonville warehouse and boutique.

Gary’s heart of gold is the stuff of legend at American Hat Makers, and each and every employee knows they can come to him if they need anything and he will do all he can to help.

To Gary, the team he works with is like family. In fact, many of the folks working at American Hat Makers are family. Gary’s wife, Merry Lee contributes to design and creative development; son, Garth, is second in command; and his daughter-in-law, Hannah, is the Director of Global Marketing and Branding.

“Family has always been the most important part of life to me,” Gary said. “There is a satisfaction in sharing the creative process and continuing the dream with those you love.”

Daughter-in-law Hannah serves the birthday cake.

Speaking of those he loves, Gary’s constant companions, Ruby and Pearl, come with him to work everyday. They are an important part of the team and if you come to the shop you may well be greeted by them. If he could, he would likely bring his gorgeous horse, Tucker, to work too!

Gary is undoubtedly the golden heart of American Hat Makers – and he is the first to say his family and team are the soul.

Please join us all as we wish Gary a very Happy Birthday!

Get to Know Garth Watrous – the Businessman

May 9, 2016American Hat Makers Leave a comment

Garth Watrous grew up in the hat making world watching his dad, Gary, create one-of-a-kind artisan hats in his workshop. Later, Garth would join his dad at art fairs and festivals as Gary made a name for his skilled handiwork and artistry and began to build the Head ’N Home Hats brand.

20779_1121207248622_1362991_n[1]

Surely influenced by his early exposure to entrepreneurship, Garth went on to earn his business degree from San Diego State University. He came home to Watsonville and became a proud partner of American Hat Makers with his father in 2005.

12938120_1086239451434228_957650416567926126_n

In the decade since Garth has been – as he likes to say – “at the rudder” of the company business has doubled…twice! But don’t think that Garth is satisfied with that, because you would be wrong. Garth says his goal for the American Hat Makers is “to be the #1 hat company in the world.”

That, he says, will come through cultivating the best from the dedicated and talented team at American Hat Makers; making solid, authentic industry connections; and by bringing greater exposure to the exceptional and unique line of products designed and manufactured at their Watsonville, California facility.

“We are already the #1 cut and sew hat maker,” he explains, “and that sets us apart from the competition.”

There are other things that set American Hat Makers apart from the competition as well, and one of them is their outstanding level of customer service. Each hat sold comes with an unconditional lifetime guarantee. “Our customer service is second to none, and on top of that, our marketing team is incredible!” Garth says. “To be the best you have to play in all areas.”

Speaking of playing in all areas, Garth doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. Garth spends a good deal of time nurturing business relationships through his positions as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of The Headwear Association and as a member of the American Made Matters Board of Directors. In addition, American Hat Makers is expanding it’s global presence with growing sales worldwide. Garth shares that the Asian market is growing rapidly – especially Tibet!

With Garth’s visionary, dynamic business sense and an unparalleled team at his side, there is no doubt that American Hat Makers will continue to grow in innovation, production and global recognition.

Getting to Know Garth (Garth Watrous of American Hat Makers, that is!)

May 2, 2016American Hat Makers Leave a comment

It’s not unusual for a company to have a list of core values. What is unusual is for one of those to be “be happy and weird.”

Pajama Day

Then again, thanks to Garth Watrous, American Hat Makers isn’t your usual company. From “Keep It Weird Wednesdays” to a rousing game of line ball at lunch, the Watrous family is dedicated to promoting a sense of fun and family in the workplace.

the team 2015 crazy hat day

Son of founder Gary Watrous, Garth Watrous has taken a hands on, interactive approach to managing the team at American Hat Makers since he became partner in 2005. “We’ve always made incredibly good hats,” Garth said. “So I decided to focus on company culture, promoting teamwork and connection and sharing fun and laughter with the team.”

969056_10151479686595784_509424689_n

Garth is dedicated to hiring incredible people who really want to find a home and grow with American Hat Makers. To help team members thrive – inside and outside of work hours – Garth focuses on mentoring, training and authentically connecting with each and every person at American Hat Makers. “Connection has always been important in my life,” he explained. “If we notice someone is struggling, or we see fear or uncertainty growing among the team, we address it. It is important to maintain open communication with our entire team.”

If nothing else, Garth wants everyone at the company to feel like they are appreciated, valued and trusted to make good choices for themselves and the business. Garth is not afraid of change and he wants to engender that spirit of innovation and fearlessness into the culture at American Hat Makers. When he first became partner he instituted a practice where anyone could make a decision that impacted the company up to $50. Since then, he has increased the limit to $500 with nothing but positive results. “When you are hired you are encouraged to try new things and we trust you to make independent decisions,” he said. “I believe this makes our team feel more connected, more confident and more fulfilled in their work environment.”

Ultimately, Garth is driven by a strong desire to stay true to his personal beliefs. Fortunately for the team at American Hat Makers, primary among them is to treat everyone kindly and, as he puts it, “to love them up.”

We hope you feel that love when you wear a hat from American Hat Makers.

AHM partner with Adam Rose

January 22, 2016American Hat Makers Leave a comment

Watsonville, CA — American Hat Makers was created in the early 1970’s with a total investment of $20 in leather and $20 in leather working tools. The family owned and operated business quickly grew from selling belts and wallets out of the back of a station wagon to a premier hat company known world wide for their creative designs. With everything from beachcomber to western wear, hippie chic to steampunk flair, American Hat Makers continue to push creativity and design in the world of hat making.

In 2015, American Hat Makers partnered with tattoo artist, Adam Rose. As artist and owner of Fallen Owl Tattoo Studio in Denver all hats in Adam Rose’s line are directly inspired by his tattoos and artwork. Public response to Rose’s initial release was immensely positive and we couldn’t be happier with the results. All hats in Adam’s line are 100% American made, hand painted, and laser etched with the highest quality materials available.

American Hat Makers ships worldwide. To preview the full line go to http://www.headnhome.com. To see more of Adam Rose’s work and inspiration go to http://www.FallenOwnTattoo.com

Check out a few of his astonishing designs used as inspiration for our hats below.

Adam and his team at Fallen Owl Tattoo have made giving back to the community a large focus of the studio. Working with several local charities Fallen Owl was awarded Business of the Year for their support of The Action Center. Nature’s Educators has been another amazing charity close to the heart of Adam & his crew. The charity cares for and educates the public with non releasable birds of prey. For Fallen Owl it was a perfect fit. The American Hat Makers have agreed that for every owl hat sold ( ‘Wisdom’ ), $5.00 will be donated to Natures Educators. If you would like to learn more about them or donate to their cause, you can visit their website at the link here. Call #1800NICEHAT if you would like to purchase one of Adam’s masterpieces.

You can also see more of his designs on his studio website, Facebook, and Instagram.

http://fallenowltattoo.com/home.html

https://www.facebook.com/adam.rose.tattoo

@adamrosetattoo on Instagram

Skulls & Roses

Brown Cocktailer

Splash

Shipwrecked

Balance

Happiness

Wisdom

Adam and Garth

Adam Rose featuring his Hat Collection

Here’s a link to our Pinterest Board with the pages from Magazine https://www.pinterest.com/americanhat/adam-rose-tattoo-designs/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/432838214168383553/

Wana was a Wolf

September 22, 2015American Hat Makers Leave a comment

Inspiration can be extracted in the most surprising places. In this case, we have the heartwarming story of Wana the Wolf, told by our very own Nikki.

Nikki shares her heartfelt enthusiasm.

Nikki is a talented designer here at American Hat Makers/Head’n Home Hats. Not long ago, Nikki visited Wana at the Wolf Mountain Sanctuary. She describes her experience,

“Wana touched my soul, in a way… I can’t explain.”

Wolf Mountain Sanctuary is a non profit organization, “dedicated to the preservation and proper management of wolves in the wild, and in captivity”. People see the wolf as a threat, and based on that stereotype, this beautiful animal is banned from the ecosystem by many. In addition to the threat of extinction, wolves are also captured, forced into captivity, and then abandoned when they become too big, or unmanageable.

“These wolves cannot be released back into the wild” said Nikki. She elaborates, “People think it’s cool to have a dog/wolf hybrid, or a pure wolf, and then they get too big, and they can’t handle it”.

Nikki was so moved by this wolf sanctuary, and the purpose of it, she decided to do something about it. She used her inspiration to draw some beautiful sketches of Wana, and created a hat specifically designed to compliment the outdoors, wildlife style. Once these specifications came together, the Double G, Wana hat was born! Nikki wasn’t done yet. Next, she put together a plan of action to help fund the program. Every time a Wana hat is purchased, we donate five dollars to the sanctuary.

Wana, Denali, and Takaani

If you would like to purchase a Wana hat in support of the sanctuary, click here. If you would like more information on how to sponsor a wolf directly through Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, click here.

Special thanks to Nikki, for bringing this extraordinary refuge to our attention! When we know better, we can do better.

American Hat Makers

We are THE #1 hat manufacturers in North America who produce quality leather hats to fit any personality.

Menu

Widgets

Search

American Made