Every hat tells a story:
Bailey Popejoy hosts hat shaping pop-up
During the first day of a two-day hat shaping pop-up, Bailey Popejoy brought her artisanal expertise to Fringe Western Wear in Columbia.
Popejoy’s business, Rocking M Ranch, does “a little bit of everything.” While she was in high school, Popejoy worked retail at a Western store in Sedalia. This was when she first learned about hats. After graduating from college, she and her parents opened a Western store in Stover, where her interest in hats only grew. She attended hat shaping workshops in Texas and studied with custom hat shapers.
“I take a lot of pride in my hat,” Popejoy said. “You don’t touch my hat. You don’t touch somebody else’s hat, but it’s always great to ask somebody about their hat because 90% of the time they will have a great story to go along with it.”
Having grown up on a ranch where her family raised cattle with horses, Popejoy is no stranger to working in male-dominated industries. She said there aren’t many women who shape hats, but her passion for the craft continues to motivate her. Regardless of gender, hat shapers in the region are few and far between. Popejoy said many of them end up going to Texas where cowboy hats are more prevalent.
“There’s not a lot of people shaping hats. There’s even less women shaping hats,” Popejoy said. “It’s a dying art ... [but] hats are becoming more popular just in our society in general, whether it’s a cowboy hat or a fashion hat or ball caps, everybody wears a hat."
Rocking M Ranch’s service attracted local customers as well as ones willing to travel from surrounding towns including Hallsville and Millersburg. Popejoy estimated she shaped at least 15 hats the day before the pop-up. She anticipates she’ll shape at least 40 more hats during the pop-up’s second day at Fringe Western Wear.
“If I’m not open at least five minutes before they’re open, I’m behind already,” Popejoy said. Nevertheless, she loves what she does. “I could stand here for three days and shape 40 hats a day.”