Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dina Pisani. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dina, appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

I opened my business on the LES of NYC 1 month before 9/11. Up To that point my little custom made hat business was doing ok out of the gate. The city pretty much shutdown below 14th street and many people just left for good. It was a dead zone. Two months later I was contemplating closing. Instead I applied for my first tradeshow at the Javits Center. I landed a great client based in Japan and turned my retail business into a wholesale business.

Dina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a hat maker, sometimes called a milliner. All of our hats are made by hand on our collection of over 500 wooden hat blocks or molds. We have our wholesale line but we also provide private label services to other milliners and hat shops. Helping them with margins and the ability to provide their client with something they can’t get on Amazon. We pride ourselves on our quality and commitment to keeping the art of hat making alive. Most people can’t beleive I do this for a living but I’m committed to making hat wearing something less self conscious. Wearing hats truly opens you up to new experiences and new people. It literally never fails that when I wear an interesting hat people want to talk to me. It’s great if you’re socially awkward like I am, they will come to you.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

When my daughter was born I moved my business into another hat factory. Up to that point I had done all the blocking myself and had several people helping with finish work. A friend of mine told me about a hat factory owner who was looking to share space and could help me with production. I knew that with an infant I would not be able to keep up production by myself. The owner of the factory was odd but came recommended so I took a chance. Everyone that worked there was great. He was challenging. I learned so much from his staff who had worked there for many years, for his mother. A year later he abruptly closed the factory without notice. I had to scramble to find a space to move and ended up In the basement of my husbands beer shop. It was pretty horrible but I stuck it out and found a space in the neighborhood. Its actually an 1830’s brownstone that serves as the rectory for a local church. There I found a welcoming community and was able to build my business back. The blocker from that factory works with me now and he has truly changed my business. Without that terrible experience we would have never met.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

We make all our our hats in my little studio. The keys for me are 1. excellent relationships with my suppliers. 2.talented coworkers who take pride In their work (Louis) 3. Constant curiosity to try new things and stay creative

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chachashouse.com
• Instagram: @chachashouse
• Facebook: Chachashouse

Image Credits
Poul Ober for all but the 2 celebrity photos