We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lil Grizz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lil below.
Lil, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Lil Grizz spent over thirty years crisscrossing the country as he moved from event to event. He would set up his mobile hat shop at historical events and build felt hats on site for participants and tourists. He would keep 25-30 hats at mid-stage and put them on the racks for folks to see. Then when a customer wanted a personal hat, he would pick a hat body that would meet the size/style specifications. He would finish it out in a day or so with a sweatband and desired shaping. He would also demonstrate for crowds the various stages of traditional hat making. At large events he would barely be able to fill the orders for customers as other friends stopped by to exchange stories of their adventures since they last saw each other. At these times he would have to try to hire an assistant; but that was not easy as few people had interest in the profession. At other times when harsh weather set in and crowds dwindled, he would barely sell enough hats for gas money to get to the next event. In 2012 he met Mizz Grizz and the Cubs; he married her in 2013. After an ill-fated attempt to go on the road altogether, they decided to find a permanent home and focus on the business. One day in early January of 2014, Lil Grizz and Mizz Grizz sat warming themselves by their wood stove. They were camped in a canvas tent near Natchez, Mississippi. Because of a recent cold front and rain, the otherwise frozen ground was very muddy around the stove. They had to gather armloads of fallen leaves to put on the mud so as not to sink whenever they stood up. Despite the soggy mess, they forged a plan to make their dreams a reality. They eventually made their way to New Almelo, Kansas. Kansas was central to the circuit of events that he had developed over the years and as he put it…. “No matter where you go, you are halfway home.” Moreover, the lower cost of living and affordable property values in Northwestern Kansas played a huge part in the decision as they were both starting over with little to no financial assets.
As Lil Grizz, Mizz Grizz and the Cubs settled into their new home, life “off the road” began to hold more appeal. With access to “world class” internet through Next-Tech, Mizz Grizz suggested taking the business online. She had already established a business page on Facebook which was rapidly growing due to Lil Grizz’s vast network of contacts. After some research, the decision was made to start the business using the Etsy platform. On January 1, 2015, the online shop went “live” with 7 listed styles. Each hat is custom-fit to the customer’s exact head measurement instead of a generic hat size. Each hat is also hand-blocked, hand-trimmed, pencil curled, and hand shaped using traditional, non-mechanized methods. Through the years the Cubs made relevant suggestions that led to use of other social media platforms as well… such as YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and even TikTok.
As time progressed, Mizz Grizz’s photography equipment and skill improved. Lil Grizz was a natural entertainer as well as passionate about hat making so these were points that became pillars of the online business. She saw her role as that of the famous 1800’s cowboy artist Charlie Russell’s wife. (No one in the art scenes of the Eastern US cities in the late 1800’s would have heard of Russell if it had not been for her tireless promotional efforts.) Just as Russell’s talent stood for itself when introduced to the art scene of that day, Lil Grizz’s skill (honed through over 50 years of practice) and passion for traditional hat making stood for itself when presented to the world through the lens of modern social media platforms.
Currently HatsByGrizz has a presence all over the world. They view their customers as family…. hat family! Currently there are members of the Legendary Lil Grizz Hat Family on every continent except Africa and Antarctica. Their first online student is a major success story! “M’lamy” as Lil Grizz calls Amy Margerax of Malaysia first found HatsByGrizz videos on YouTube. He then contacted Lil Grizz with further questions. They have remained close contact as AM Hats grew to be the premier hat company of Malaysia. “M’lamy” in return always refers to Lil Grizz as “Master Grizz”.
As the HatsByGrizz team has moved farther into the role of teaching, several students have come to New Almelo to learn directly from Lil Grizz. Many other young hat makers around the globe credit him with helping them as they started their own business by teaching them through the videos on YouTube and Facebook or answering questions when they hit a problem. One of the “Cubs” came back and apprenticed under the name “Lander Red”. She has become quite skilled in traditional hat making. She works side by side with Lil Grizz as a skilled traditional hat maker in her own right. She also now designs and creates her own line of personalized custom hats for customers who want that extra touch.
Mizz Grizz continues in her role managing the online presence across multiple platforms as well as much of the day-to-day bookkeeping of the business. She is well known for her highly decorated “bling hats” such as her Pizazzio Top Hat and the Adventure Pin Hat. She also finds a lot of humor in the random attacks which her “behind the camera” voice seems to draw on YouTube. She also works hard to develop and maintain the “family” connections with their customers around the world.
Over the years several local businesses have helped HatsByGrizz achieve their success. Randy Hrabe of Pioneer Country Development as well as the Norton County Economic Development office and Solutions North Bank of Norton were instrumental in the startup direction and financing. Greg and Frank Otter of Otter Inc. also of New Almelo has built several items over the past 10 years for Lil Grizz including the wonderful wood stove (designed to hold all the pots and irons needed in traditional hat making) and various hand tools such as the Grizz Pliers and specialized Hat Irons. Seldon Lumber Co. in Seldon keeps HatByGrizz stocked with the many gallons of denatured alcohol needed in the mixing of traditional stiffener. And Ed at Jay’s Woodworking of Norton has worked with HatsByGrizz to design and build a new line of hat blocks.
So now… ten years into their saga… HatsByGrizz has moved from an idea to an active online force in the world of hat making. The Etsy shop which opened with 7 listed styles now features over 130 standard styles. Lil Grizz, once known and loved as an itinerant craftsman, has become a legendary master of traditional (non-mechanized) hat making. Moreover, HatsByGrizz is very proud to have played an active role in saving and assisting in a revival of the art of traditional, non-mechanized hat making.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
A lot of this was covered in the last question…. When you are looking for a legendary hat that is made with true craftmanship then Hats By Grizz is the place for you! Lil Grizz is a legendary master of traditional hat making. His love of hats and hat shaping developed at a very early age as influenced by the Captain Kangaroo show and later the historical photos of the Civil War era photographer, Matthew Brady. So…. he jokes that he has been making hats for over 50 years but shaping hats for over 70 years!
Mizz Grizz manages the business as well as adding her signature finish to each and every hat with a unique stitch to sew up the back of the sweatband. Lander Red grew up working in the business but officially apprenticed in 2021 and is now an accomplished traditional hat maker as well.
Each hat is custom fit to the person’s exact head measurement to the 1/8” while off the shelf hats in generic hat sizes vary by 3/8”. Each hat is lovingly hand-blocked from a felted cone. It then goes through multiple steps of stiffening and sizing which often repeat themselves until it has the exact size and dimensions needed for the ordered style. Each hand cut brim receives a traditional heat-set pencil curl. This is a functional step…not a decorative one as the pencil curl keeps the brim from getting floppy. (Modern methods of support include wire, ribbon binding, or welting. … and hats that been set by the thousands of pounds of pressure in a steam press often need no supporting feature at all.) Each HatsByGrizz is fitted with a unique, comfort sweatband which was designed by Lil Grizz and Mizz Grizz and is made by Lander Red. (It has a core of absorbent felt like material which is covered by velvety soft 100% Egyptian Cotton with at least 1000 thread count.) The satin-type liner is stamped with the HatsByGrizz logo and is signed and numbered/dated. Some rustic styles are finished with a signature hay string band while most are finished with a hand tied ribbon band. More elaborate personalized styling is available from Lander Red.
Finally, each customer is welcomed into the Legendary Lil Grizz Hat Family with the purchase of their own custom hat. They are encouraged to stay in contact and share their life adventures.
At HatsByGrizz, we build every hat by hand … built to work and play as hard as YOU do! What does your legend look like?!?
Connect with us, watch our videos, and then measure your head!
28078 Saint Elizabeth St, New Almelo, KS, United States, Kansas
(785) 202-1496
hatsbygrizz
Hats By Grizz, LLC
hatsbygrizz
youtube.com/channel/UCuLJCgRSHbUMqTdQcuycfFw
Etsy.com/shop/HatsByGrizz
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
When the pandemic hit, HatByGrizz expected to fold immediately as we sell high end merchandise. However, Lil Grizz told Mizz Grizz…. “We have to do videos every day.” We began to make regular live videos and Lil Grizz, turned on his entertainer charm that he had honed over a lifetime. The videos themselves were VERY low budget and repetitious … however using the live feature of Facebook allowed us to interact with patrons each day…. Patrons who were all stuck at home with little to do… Lil Grizz also had the idea to sponsor live concerts from various friends who were musicians around the country. Each month for over a year they sponsored a live concert. With these online events, hundreds of hat photos and posts on social media, and a lot of attention to our customer’s lives we made it through the pandemic…
Have you ever had to pivot?
The whole story of US is that of a pivot from Lil Grizz’s rollicking single life on the road for over 30 years as a gig craftsman to a joint family effort of establishing and growing an online business. (see the first answer)
Contact Info:
- Website: Etsy.com/shop/HatsByGrizz
- Instagram: Instagram.com/hatbygrizz
- Facebook: Facebook.com/HatsByGrizzMadeWithJoy
- Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCuLJCgRSHbUMqTdQcuycfFw
- Other: Pinterest.com/hatsbygrizz,llc Tiktok.com/@hatsbygrizz Facebook.com/legendaryhatfamily
Image Credits
Joy Morris (Mizz Grizz) or one of the “Cubs” is the photographer for each photo.