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.

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!