We have our friend Maxi Jazz to thank for instigating the idea of making hats with the cork ‘leather’. He asked if we made hats and it got me thinking, with the cork being warm and waterproof it could make a practical and unique material to use for making hats.
I searched out one of the oldest and one of the last standing hat makers in Yorkshire who specialised in making Flat caps and eight-piece/baker boy style hats. They are a small family run outfit who make luxury hats for big brands including their own, Lawrence and Foster. Typically working with traditional tweeds we had to sample some hats to test with the new cork ‘leathers’. The sample came out great and we sent some down to Maxi; they were too big! But happy with the samples and having rolls of cork in the studio it made sense to extend our range, make up some hats and see if people like to buy them.
The first FABRIKK cork samples -
The Baker Boy & The Flat Cap in Coal Black Cork
