07/18/2026
The last few weeks have been such a mix of emotions.
One minute I’m opening boxes full of feathers, ribbons, charms, and all the little details for our Hat Candy Bar, and the next I’m looking at the news, my bills, my inbox, my texts and everything going on in the world thinking…
“It feels like the world is on fire… and I’m over here like, ‘Hey! Want to buy a custom hat?’ 😂
But that’s the funny thing about small businesses.
Behind every storefront is someone hoping people believe in what they’re building and terrified daily that they won’t be enough, that even though you are giving your absolute ALL it’s still not good enough. Every dollar that comes in already has somewhere it needs to go x 100 and I don’t think I have to even say that when you open a new business you genuinely have the entire weight of the world on top of you!
People keep asking me “how are you doing all of this?” And honestly I don’t know most of the days. Like real talk….
Most days I’m hit with “hey… this bill is due, hey you owe this, hey… we need this paid today! where is this” way more than I’m hearing “your deposit has hit”
It’s, inventory, vendors, payroll, improvements, small loans, people who believed in you and now you owe them so they can keep surviving, and the next shipment that’s already on its way. It can feel absolutely crippling and if I’m being completely honest, there are days I wonder if we’re a little crazy for dreaming this big and trying to do this much at once.. and the answer is we are absolutely insane! 🤣😩
Then Thursday happened.
Watching so many of you walk through our doors, laugh with us, shop with us, and cheer us on reminded me that what we’re building is about so much more than hats and boots!
It’s about creating a place that makes people smile for a little while. A place where someone celebrates a milestone, makes a memory with their girlfriends, or leaves wearing something that makes them feel a little more like themselves. I mean we were line dancing!!! Line dancing y’all!
In a world that can feel so heavy and so divided maybe that’s worth something too because just for a little bit you get to forget about what’s going on outside the 4 walls we dared to create and we just get to enjoy people, smiles, music, laughter and the actual benefits of being a small business in one of the best community’s I could have ever asked to be apart of…
So thank you.
Thank you for showing up. Thank you for shopping small. Thank you for hugging our necks , Thank you for believing in us while we’re still building this insanely untimely dream. Just Thank you.
The Hat Candy Bar and Velvet & Hyde Wandering Hat Bar is just getting started… and I have a feeling the best is still ahead. 🤍
Xoxo,
Lo😘
