Who are we?
My name is Angela, and I'm a hat lover from Costa Mesa, California. In Summer 2020, I decided to channel my deep love for hats into a side hustle by launching my Etsy store, offering a collection of hats and accessories. This very first hat that I ever sold wasn't just any hat; it was a piece of my heart and style. It is our classic pinched fedora featuring a unique stitched leather band, which the warm orange leather hue perfectly complemented the neutral tones of my fedora collection.
Now, as we enter September 2023, I'm thrilled to share that my Etsy store has achieved more than $176,000 in sales. This journey began with a simple hat sale, but it has grown into a passion for offering timeless, high-fashion pieces that reflect both my personal style and the love I have for this craft. However, we've taken a new direction. We've decided to step away from Etsy and have launched our own website. Our goal is to provide wholesale prices, even for smaller quantities. We believe in expanding opportunities and making quality hats more accessible to everyone.
Our Story
I began my journey in search of the perfect fedora hats, much like other hat artisans. I attended trade shows, tested hats from various online marketplaces, and even explored Alibaba to find plain fedora hats for custom designs.
My first attempt at purchasing 100 bulk fedora hats on Alibaba was disappointing, as the quality was poor. This marked my initial experience with buying in bulk, leaving me with an inventory of 100 low-quality hats. I signed up for flea markets to sell the fedoras. It was my first time facing my customers and it helped me better understand what the demand was.
My collaboration with a second manufacturer appeared promising initially. We chose colors, paid for molding fees for the 3.5-inch brims. We ordered 500 fedora hats. However, when we placed a repeat order and wanted to do upgrade to 3.75-inch brims. With the wider brim, the quality was inconsistent, and the fabric required extensive maintenance, where we had to steam and brush each hat before shipping. I realized that the quality and thickness of the fedora both needed an upgrade to support its shape and give it a more structured look. This left us with another batch of unsatisfactory hats. An eBay seller bought out our inventory on the low quality hat.
Unfazed, we continued the hunt for a dependable production partner. At the end of the pandemic, my partner and I were finally got the chance to attended manufacturing trade shows in China, where we finally found our ideal production partner. To create our custom-designed mold, we had a minimum order quantity of 1,500 fedora hats with a perfect 10cm (4 inches) wide brim. This manufacturer offered a wide fabric selection, and we carefully chose the best one.
Finally, we introduced high-quality fedora hats to the market at a competitive price point. Our hats were compared to those from Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces, and our quality consistently outshone the competition. Even when compared to branded fedoras from well-known retailers, our quality proved to be just as good, if not better.
Mirabelvi has come a long way since that first sale. We now offer a wide range of colors, 16 to be exact, including 6 different shades of pink, and a variety of felt hat styles. We also offer oversized floppy hats, bucket hats, scarves, and more. It's been a journey of passion and dedication to quality and style. Join me in exploring the world of hat fashion that I've poured my heart into.