The Art of Giving Back

For me, millinery has never been only about making beautiful hats. The things we create with our hands can bring people together, raise money for causes that matter, preserve traditional skills, and sometimes inspire someone to see an ordinary piece of material in an entirely new way. Whenever I can, I love using my craft to do exactly that.

Kat In A Hat Millinery Co. is proud to support organizations whose work strengthens the communities around us.

Each year, I donate millinery to benefit Kosair for Kids in Kentucky and participate in Hats On for Healing, an event that has become especially dear to me. What began as supporting a wonderful cause has grown into friendships and a tradition I genuinely look forward to each year.

I also support Race for Grace, benefiting the Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy and the backside workers and families who are such an important part of Kentucky’s Thoroughbred racing community. Donating a hat for its fundraising auction feels especially meaningful because it brings together two worlds I care deeply about: horses and millinery.

But sometimes giving back isn’t about giving a hat at all.

One of my favorite opportunities came when students from Bleckley County High School’s Beta Club were preparing a hat-making project for their State Competition.

Their teacher called and asked if I would show them how a hat is made from the ground up.

So, we made one.

We talked through the design, brought out the hat-making tools, worked with the felt, used brim cutters and a sander for pouncing, pulled out the sewing machine, and walked through the process that transforms a simple piece of material into a finished piece of headwear.

Watching the students begin to understand the craftsmanship behind something they may previously have thought of as simply “a hat” was incredibly rewarding.