Placing Custom Orders or Making Inquiries:

To place a custom order for a felt hat, or to make an inquiry about a custom order you are thinking of placing, go to the Inquiry and Custom order forms page and fill out the information on the form.

It’s not an official order till we agree on price and deadline. If you are pretty sure you’d like to order something, and just need cost or deadline confirmation or if you need to leave some color choices up in the air depending on swatches, go ahead and fill out the form and put your questions in the description section. It’s just me on the other end, not an automated system. If you’d rather start with an email that’s fine too, but I will eventually ask you to fill out the form just so I have all the required information in one place. I love to get pictures or sketches of what you are looking for, but I need to know your address and your headsize.

I accept custom orders according to my schedule and availability. For pulled felt hats, I am limited by the hat blocks, and felt colors I have available.  Please do not assume that your custom order has been accepted until you receive an email from me confirming that I can meet your deadline. I have not missed a committed deadline yet, and I don’t intend to start now. I have, however, broken my order form before, and missed several orders that way. If you don’t hear from me about your custom order, please write or call me.  I won’t mind, I promise. I make hats, not websites. (Ok, I made THIS website, but I relied heavily on the HTML of others.)

Prices for custom orders are quoted by email on an individual basis, but they start at:

$170.00 for small brimmed felt hats

$200 for Cavalier hats

$100 for flat caps

Undecorated Hats:

I don’t sell unfinished/undecorated hats. A large portion of my craft is in the finish work and trimming, and I want to make certain that anything with my name on it arrives in your hands as something I am proud of and consider to be complete. You may request a simple decor and then disassemble the hat and redecorate it yourself after you get it, but I don’t send hats out into the world “undressed”. I get about one request like this per month, so I thought I should mention it here.

Payment Policy:

Full payment for custom orders, including shipping cost, is required when the hat is completed and ready to mail. Please don’t pay me early unless I specifically request that (maybe for something I have to order a really specific blank or funky feathers for?) I prefer PayPal, but will certainly accept checks or money orders. I’ll send you an email with the finished photos in it, and a paypal invoice. Do not send me cash by mail.

Return Policy:

Hats: If you receive your hat and you are unsatisfied, contact within ten days of receipt and let me know what’s going on, and you may return the hat. If the hat is returned in resalable, unworn condition, your payment will be refunded. (You are responsible for the cost of only the return shipment). Exception: I can’t accept returns on custom orders that I made as requested but that cannot be easily resold, for example, a green and purple hat with red pom-poms around the brim. If you order something that “custom” and I make it in the size and shape you ordered, you own it when it arrives. You will be informed at the time of the order if returns will not be allowed.

Jewelry: If you want to return it, just drop me an email and put it in the mail.  I will refund your purchase price and shipping. You’ll be responsible for return shipping only. I offer this because I want people to love what they buy from me and never feel stuck with something. Please don’t abuse this policy by ordering something, wearing it for some special event, and then returning it. If you need something for one wearing only – contact me and I’ll come up with a rental contract.

Shipping times:

I live in Canada, and most of my orders are shipping to the USA. To keep your costs down and to expedite border delays I do all import paperwork myself and drive all orders across the border every Saturday. This means if you order on a Friday and there are no custom built pieces in your order, I will ship your order the very next day. If you order on a Monday, I will ship your order out the following Saturday. Shipping times vary, but most domestic orders seem to arrive within 3 days of shipment. Orders to Canada can usually ship out within 48 hours of my receiving the order.

I have found that USPS international shipping is far less expensive than Canada Post international shipping, so I usually include those on my Saturday shipping runs.

Shipping error/package return policy:

If a package I send you is deemed undeliverable by the mail carrier, here are my policies on who is responsible for what additional costs there may be:

–If you made an error when typing in your shipping address, you are responsible for the return shipping cost plus $3 USD for which I will invoice you by Paypal. ($3  is what it costs me to pick up a package from my mailbox place in New York.) I don’t charge you for my time or border crossing fees in re-shipping; people make mistakes.

–If I made an error when shipping your order or addressing your package: I’ll re-ship with no costs to you, and you have my sincere apologies.

–If neither of us made an address error and the post office just couldn’t find your house even though it’s clearly marked, or get past your completely docile dog (or some other weirdness that has not yet occurred and the package gets returned to me, you are responsible for return shipping costs, for which I will invoice you by Paypal (I’ll cover the $3 pick-up fee.) You can take up the reimbursement issue with your local post office who couldn’t find your house.

Shipping for custom ordered hats:

All items that do not contain ostrich feathers are shipped USPS Priority mail or UPS Ground unless you request otherwise. My shipping boxes for most hats are 12X12X10″, making them fall just inside the allowable dimensions for “package” rather than “large package”. Domestic shipping for a single hat is usually around $10.00. (Cavalier hats are around $24 – just because of box size. I don’t charge you for the box or the packing of the box. For Tall hats: click here for the USPS Postage calculator I use. postcalc.usps.gov . Assume a starting zip code of 14305 and a weight of 2.5 pounds for a single tall hat order. Select “Package”  for shape, and click continue to see your pricing options. You are welcome to choose either priority or express mail, and will be billed the exact shipping cost I pay to the post office.

Please note!!If your hat has an ostrich feather on it: hat must be shipped from Canada

I am allowed to ship it to you directly from Canada, but I am not allowed to drive it across the border to mail to you it unless I have multiple import permits and an inspection with Fish and Wildlife. I therefore only ship ostrich feathered hats from Canada, which is more expensive. (Between $28 and $46 depending on box size.)  I’ve checked Fedex, UPS, and Canada Post and the price is all pretty consistent.

International Shipping:

I will absolutely ship internationally, but my shipping calculator feature is only set up for certain products to certain countries. If you find yourself unable to check out through the website, email me with what you want and I’ll get you an estimate and you can decide what you want to do.  (FYI – Obviously, you’ll need to cover any customs fees, and I won’t mark the item as a gift to get you out of paying them. I’m great with helping figure out the best carrier to use, though.)