Who We Are
Diana Niles King and Belle McIntyre, The Madder Hatters partners, have been friends and creative collaborators since the year ‘dot.’. Diana, who had a successfully long career in cosmetics marketing and promotion, frequently called upon Belle, a talented jewelry/accessories designer, to ‘whip up’ some kind of needed accessory for one of Diana’s campaigns. To Belle’s everlasting credit, she has pulled off thousands of adorable little hand sewn silk pouches, designed and upholstered a 5 foot papier mache swan with her tulle, feathers and rhinestones, and hand sewn Diana’s bridesmaids into their Belle-designed outfits on the way to the church.
Their hat collaboration was unofficially launched when Diana turned to Belle to help ‘animate’ a line of show- at- home clothes with some much needed accessorizing. Diana thought hats might do the trick and Belle jumped in to bring them to life in her tiny studio workroom. The resulting hats were a hit … the clothes, not so much; The Madder Hatters became a bright new endeavor for the two friends.
This was a while ago. Since then, The Madder Hatters have developed a reputation for creating whimsical, stylish hats, always fun and always fashionable. These ‘wears’ have been presented at trunks shows in prestigious venues such as the private club “Doubles” in New York and trendy retail stores – ‘Tanglewool’ in Lenox, MA, ‘Punch’, Millbrook NY and ‘Folly’ in Aiken, SC. The Madder Hatters are also popular exhibitors at grand scale sporting events such as the Far Hills Steeplechase (NJ), Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials and Mashomack Polo (NY).
The Madder Hatters also have a wide range of private clients for whom they create special hats for special occasions… weddings (royal and otherwise), thoroughbred racing (Ascot, the Kentucky Derby and The Belmont Stakes), and The Central Park Conservancy “FLO” luncheon. A visit to the Madder Hatters studio in New York is the best way to start the creative process, although browsing our brand new web site is good for inspiration too. Please take a moment now that you have landed on us to take a peek at our “Look Book” of favorites or our new collection for an idea of what we are up to.
A very important part of Who We Are: we want to have a direct connect and rapport with our customers… from the get-go we decided that The Madder Hatters Collections would not be available in conventional retail stores… we rely upon special trunk shows and special events to meet and greet you and give you the kind of special attention that selecting a great hat requires. Take a look at the ‘Events’ section on the web site to see all the fun we have. Check the ”Calendar” section to find our where you can find us out and about.
We look forward to seeing you soon!