Last week, a U.S. client reached out to us, looking for help sourcing pure wool felt cowboy hats and all kinds of hat accessories. At first, it didn’t seem unusual, but as we talked more, we realized her main business is actually running a few bars. And she plans to sell these hats in the bars. Surprisingly, this has now turned into a fast-growing, high-ticket, social DIY experience that’s really blowing up in her country.
How Selling Hats at Bars Makes Money & Scales
Much like “Paint & Sip” (painting while enjoying drinks), a Hat Bar is a new business model where people DIY their own Cowboy hats while hanging out at a social bar. Customers can choose the hat shape, color, feathers, ribbons, and other accessories, either on site or online. The revenue also come from drinks and event hosting fees.
We did some digging and found that the two biggest players right now are Rustler Hat Co. and Rancher Hat Bar. While they’re often seen as competitors, their business angles are actually quite different.
Basically, they both focus on popular, widely accepted, and versatile cowboy hat styles as their base, like the classic Cattleman with its tall crown and three creases and the Pinch Front with its teardrop-shaped crown.
Taking advantage of natural wool felt’s ability to be easily shaped under heat and steam, they offer live steam-shaping customization on site. This model fits a variety of social settings, including bars, weddings, parties, and corporate events, and proves that the concept can be quickly commercialized.
A Smart DIY StartUp Opportunity?
Making a wool felt cowboy hat is a perfect blend of industrial precision and manual craft. First, raw wool is combed into fibers. These fibers are then formed into a loose, cone-shaped hat blank through mechanical felting, and later condensed into a dense, sturdy felt under high heat, steam, and rolling pressure.
The hat blank is then blocked at high temperature to shape and size it, brushed and polished to smooth the surface, and finally, the brim is trimmed to complete the finished hat.
The two DIY brands we looked at today both transform pre-shaped hats into fully personalized creations, but the approach differs. Rustler Hat Co is more hands-on. Starting from an Open Crown blank, the hat is softened with high-temperature steam, carefully creased at the crown, and the brim’s flange (curve) is fine-tuned in front of the customer for a perfectly tailored look.
Rancher Hat Bar, in contrast, works with already blocked, standardized hats and focuses on layering accessories, wax seals, or hand-applied decorations.
Both brands have extended this concept to trucker hats with DIY embroidered patches, capturing local American styles. This kind of DIY experience requires both skill and aesthetic sense because the designer must create a look that fits seamlessly, whether it is for a wedding, a bachelorette party, or a corporate event.
DIY Cowboy Hat Supply Chain: Costs & Sources
Where to source finished hats
Over 60% of the world’s hats are made in China. It has a highly mature supply chain and a complete industrial ecosystem, with different regions specializing in specific hat types. If you’re looking for high-quality cowboy hats, you can focus on three key hubs:
Shandong (Liaocheng, Dezhou, Binzhou) – the main source of rabbit fur for felt cowboy hats, supplying mid-to-high-end wool-fur blend felt hats. This industrial belt integrates raw material sourcing, design, production, and logistics.
Hebei – home to a mature wool processing industry. Large-scale production keeps costs low, making it ideal for basic wool felt cowboy hats, which can often be sourced wholesale for under $15.
Zhejiang (especially Yiwu, where we are based) – one of China’s largest hat supplier hubs. You can find every type of hat here, from ready-made stock to small-batch quick orders. Yiwu is also a major global distribution center, shipping goods worldwide.
Where to source accessories
From a supply chain perspective, the accessories used for DIY cowboy hats are actually easier to source than the hats themselves. When it comes to accessory wholesale, Yiwu is a must-mention for its variety, speed, and flexibility. Most items are in stock and available with low MOQs.
For themed elements such as braided leather hat bands, crystals, feather clusters, and metal accents, whether you’re aiming for classic Western, rustic boho, tribal-inspired, minimalist, or modern elegant styles, the Yiwu wholesale market offers a wide selection of ready-made pieces that can be mixed and customized to suit any cowboy hat design.
From Tradition Niche to Profitable DIY Business
Traditional cowboy hat brands such as Stetson, Resistol, Bollman, Bailey, and Stratton Hats have been around for over a century. They primarily sell finished hats targeting professional users—cowboys, rodeo athletes, collectors, or high-end consumers.
However, over the past two years, global pop culture hits like Yellowstone and influencers showcasing cowboy outfits at events like Coachella have turned the cowboy hat into a powerful social symbol.
The two DIY brands we see today spotted this opportunity. They take a proven product, leverage the cowboy hat’s iconic shape and cultural significance, and add hands-on customization, in-person experiences, and accessory options.
This new interactive experience and personalized customization model attracts young people, tourists seeking experiential purchases, and social media sharers, effectively expanding the user base and turning a traditional niche into a viral, high-ticket trend.
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