GET AHEAD, GET A HAT

A hat for every head

The Earland Brothers have sold hats on our local markets for years; Kate caught up with Richard in Oakham

IWOULD HAZARD a guess that most of our readers have bought a hat, scarf or pair of gloves from Andrew or Richard Earland on one of our local markets at some point. If not, you will know someone who has.

Richard and Andrew established the business in 1986 having both left Brooksby Agricultural College. They didn’t have a farm to run at the time, although they do now. So they sold workwear at local markets, and one day ichard took off his own cap and left it out on the stall. A gentleman picked it up and asked to buy it and the rest, as they say, is history.

‘This was in the days before the internet,’ Richard told me, ‘so we went to the library to look through the business directories. We had to go all over the country to visit diff erent factories to fi nd out who made what and where, who off ered the best quality. Then we got some hats together and they went so well we dropped workwear and concentrated on headwear. As we say there’s a hat for every head but tweed caps are our speciality.

‘In January we get tweed samples sent to us and we choose between them (which can lead to some interesting discussions!)

Then we have the caps made up into production samples. The delivery comes in July ready for the following winter. We used to choose our tweeds directly from Scotland but now the hat factories send us their tweeds. At one time everything was made in the UK; there used to be 20-30 factories making hats but now a lot is made abroad. We only use British tweed, that could be Harris tweed from

Scotland, Merino tweed and Saxony cloth from Yorkshire and linen from Ireland for the summer caps.’

However they don’t just sell caps. There’s an array of hats of all styles, colours and sizes. Just as their customers come in all shapes and sizes, with usually more ladies than men.

‘We know most of our customers,’ Richard says. ‘I’ve stood on the same corner in Uppingham for thirty years seeing people come and go. Diff erent generations of the same family. And many come back every year, particularly in the autumn when they buy their Christmas presents. People lose their hats, so they come back for another one. Or if they’re bald they want one for the summer and another for the winter. Or they see someone wearing a hat on the tv and they want one similar. Peaky Blinders did wonders for our business, but nothing lasts for ever. Fashions change. Wedding hats

used to be huge, people don’t wear such large ones now. 'You have to be honest with people so we do say if a hat really doesn t suit them and we re very picky about the fit. ou have to get it right. Some people don t realise a hat isn t fitting well. t has to be tight enough to stay on but not so tight it’s uncomfortable. If you’re driving a sports car you don t want it to y off, do you

‘We’re very careful about the shape of our hats too: the caps have to have a nice deep back with straight sides, they need to be sewn up straight and the pattern has to match up. That’s why the production samples are very important. We don t like cheap and cheerful products, you ve got to offer good quality at a reasonable price. We don’t sell cashmere but we do sell lambswool, all in a good price range.’

While I was talking to Richard it seemed as if the weather went through all four seasons in the space of an hour. The trick is to gauge the weather which can be di cult when you’re in between seasons; one week we’ll have the childrens’ sunhats out, the next I have to get all the knitwear back out again. ou have to be e ible. prefer a good cold spell or a hot spell. t can

‘I’ve stood on the same corner in Uppingham for thirty years seeing people come and go. Different generations of the same family.'

be freezing on the stall, but you get used to it and you make sure you wrap up well.

‘I only ever used to work with my brother Andrew at shows but we’ve stopped doing them now. We have a website and we’ve cut down to six markets a week between us, so that’s Melton Mowbray on a Tuesday, Oakham on Wednesdays, Olney and Loughborough on a Thursday and Stamford and Uppingham on Fridays. I enjoy Olney and Uppingham best as they’re busy with a great cross section of society. Andrew likes Stamford for the same reason.

‘It’s a great business but you do have to get up at 4am and set up from scratch every day, in all weathers. But we’ll carry on for a few more years; it’s been a good life.’