PG.27
hat to correctly and comfortably fit a person’s head
and face is a skill-everyone is different and often not
completely symmetrical.’
After coming home from the USA, Annie set to
work to let the western and rodeo horse industry
people know all about what she was doing. She was
more than pleased when the hat part of her business
began to take off, and she has not looked back.
Annie is now one of the very few people in Australia
who shape open hats and who only stock open felts
and straws. She now has regular and new customers
requiring her services and products, from all over
Australia and she loves it!
‘It’s a great feeling to shape a hat for someone,’
Annie says, proudly. ‘To have them say it feels &
looks better than any other hat they’ve ever worn
is very satisfying. All the hats I stock are open, flat
brims, round crowns, each one ready to be shaped
to the individual, taking into account their personal
style, the discipline they show in, and their face
shape.’
After 12 months the business grew to the stage where
working out of the leather work shop was no longer
going to be an option. So the Annlee Saddlery and
Cowboy Hattery shop was born. Initial construction
took four months and it was a constantly evolving
thing. Annie now travels back to the USA each year,
working on her hat-shaping skills. She’s driven to
keep her finger on the pulse, to keep up with the
latest in hat trends and styles and constantly sources
new products for the shop.
Left: Shorty Koger - Owner of Shorty’s Caboy Hattery, Annie Boyd - centre and
Bobbie Gough on the right who works at Shorty’s Caboy Hattery
Inside the beautiful shop at
Annlee Saddlery and Cowboy Hattery
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ISSUE 2020