Owning a boutique and making hats for a living may not have always been Oxford resident Tanna Walker’s expected career trajectory, but then again, passion has a way of changing things for the better.

Walker owns Freckled Feather Hats, a hat decorating and styling business as well as Iron Antler exchange, her boutique and storefront in Christiana, Pa., but before her passion for hat making took over, Walker previously worked in real estate. She has had her real estate license since 2009 but left the industry two years ago to devote her time fully to Freckled Feather Hats.

“This really wasn’t anything I thought I’d be doing,” Walker said. “Real estate was a great career, but it wasn’t anything I was passionate about. This kind of fell into my life at a good time.”

Walker, who is originally from Adamstown, Pa., began decorating and styling hats after a trip to Fort Worth, Texas for her 40th birthday. Before arriving, she purchased a hat from the Bollman Hat Company, one of the oldest hat-making factories in the country that happens to be based in her hometown of Adamstown. She was so inspired by her experience styling the hat in Texas that she decided to bring the practice back with her and begin offering the same “western” styling customs here through her small business.

Slow fashion sustainability

Walker started the business using plain Bollman hats that she began to decorate and style, using only local and U.S.-made products.

“I love that I can support jobs within my hometown,” Walker said. “I like that it will last forever if it’s taken care of, and it can be an heirloom piece.”

Walker said that while her hats are commonly sourced from Bollman, she also finds hats and decoration details, such as ribbons and charms, secondhand or from neighbors and friends.

“I definitely like the slow fashion sustainability aspect,” she said. “We have antique shops and flea markets all over the place so I source as much as I can from places like that, but the great thing about being here in the middle of nowhere is that there are so many farmers around here and they know what I do now, so they’ll just stop off with baggies of feathers.”

Walker currently offers hats pre-styled with feathers, ribbons, leather straps, burns, charms and other features, but also offers custom orders and private parties for people to decorate the hats themselves along with friends. Additionally, Walker has been working with Bollman Hat Company to create her private label and will have a line of hats coming out with the manufacturer by fall.

Freckled Feather Hats are currently sold at Iron Antler Exchange, which has been open for about a year and a half. In what seems to be typical fashion for Walker, the boutique was never part of her plan either. She was suggested to take over the location by the former owner who just so happened to be vendor seated next to her at a market one day.

The boutique now sells goods from 25 mostly local vendors – 24 of whom are women. Focusing on women-owned businesses and products was a priority for Walker in stocking her boutique.

“I knew that I couldn’t be the only one that was dealing with the ‘What do I do after my kids aren’t home anymore?’ kind of thing,” Walker said. “I think a lot of women kind of get lost in being a mom and so it’s just been fun to see what other women are doing to keep themselves engaged and inspired.”

Walker is a mother to a 19-year-old daughter whom she credits along with her husband for supporting her creative and career endeavors.

“While I loved spending the years that I did with her, I’m glad – and I’m sure she even likes it because now I’m not hovering over her – that I have my own thing that I can pour myself into, that I’m passionate about and I think that’s really important,” she said.

Ultimately, Walker’s commitment to passion and having meaning through her career can perhaps be best summarized in the mantra she lives and works by, “Don’t be a lady. Be a legend.”

To learn more about Freckled Feather Hats, visit www.ffhats.com or Instagram at: @freckledfeatherhats.