About Us
As my friends and family will testify I love the sunshine, probably heavily influenced by the fact that I lived in beautiful and sunny Greece in my teenage years. So why am I selling rain hats? Please read on
My career background has been in marketing, working in a variety of organisations from Historic Royal Palaces where my office was over the Tudor Kitchens in Hampton Court Palace to Yakult where I worked on an industrial estate in East Acton!! The latter role working as a marketing manager persuading the great British public to drink live bacteria in the early 90s, when probiotic drinks weren’t as prevalent as they are now, was a fantastic and rewarding challenge. Then in 2016 having worked for a rainwear company I decided to set up Rain Hat Collection, a company specialising in stylish waterproof hats designed and handmade in the UK
I will always be grateful to Ben who worked for Olney Headwear who quite literally came to my house with his wonderful selection of rain hats and believed in my vision of setting up a business, curating the best of British made waterproof hats. From there I spoke to Sophia of Peak and Brim Hats, a very talented milliner who makes waterproof hats and I told her about my idea. If you have ever met Sophia at any of the RHS flower shows you’ll know how enthusiastic and passionate she is about her work, which inspired me to follow my vision for Rain Hat Collection. And so my search for milliners making quality waterproof hats continued and now I have a handful of fabulous milliners making classic to cutting edge rain hats, making the Rain Hat Collection a wonderfully unique shopping opportunity. I am aware that it’s a niche market and I often get a raised eyebrow of curiosity when I get asked what I do! But I’m glad to say that my idea is germinating beautifully and I am proud to be promoting outstanding British craftsmanship
In 2020 a year that will no doubt be etched in all our minds as the lock down year, was a double edged sword for us as a business. The country was in shock and everyone seemed to be stunned into a limbo like existence where shopping online wasn’t a priority. The sun also shone! Not a rain cloud in the sky! This is when I began to think about sun hats. All of my milliners made sun hats as well as rain hats so in the end it was an easy decision to start selling them. Though of course the name of the company and sun hats slightly jarred with me, but so many people encouraged me to continue with the idea, afterall as was often quoted, The White Company don’t just sell white products anymore.
2020 was also the year I set up third party testimonials. Why oh why did I wait so long to do this?! Not only does it give me great feedback but it gives first time shoppers the confidence and affirmation they may be seeking. It really does help a family business to grow, so thank you to all my lovely customerswho have taken the time to write a review. This leads me onto the word ‘family’
The Rain Hat Collection is a family business and I really value the support and hard work they have given and continue to give me as we grow. The business is personal to us and we really do our very best to give you a hat and service that will encourage you to come back and to recommend us to others. I hope that you will see from out testimonials that we take great pride in what we do. And so the journey continues as I search for new British made rain hats and sun hats.
Finally as one friend commented when I had just set up the business, this is the ideal business for me, as when it’s hot and sunny I can enjoy the sunshine and when it rains I am very busy with work, as rain really is the best marketing tool and the orders come flooding in!!!
And of course the dog always needs walking, so no longer do I mind if it's raining, I have a waterproof hat to wear and as you can see the dog loves the rain and wallowing in puddles!
Happy shopping!
Katrine Orr