ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – It’s no secret that Abilene, and especially Downtown Abilene, has been developing at a fast pace. Downtown’s most recent addition is Brim Style Hat Company, a locally owned ‘Abilene original’ small business haberdashery.

Owner, Shay Finley told KTAB/KRBC she is happy to be part of the many locally owned business in the Key City.

After working in the medical field for more than 16 years and losing her mother, Judy in 2018, Finley said she decided to take a risk and change careers to keep her mother’s love for fashion and ‘junking’ alive.

Born and raised in Abilene, Finley said she lovingly remembers going ‘junking’ with her mother at local secondhand stores and vintage shops.

When Finley’s mother passed away four years ago, she said she found tons of jewelry pins her mother collected over the years. That’s where she got the idea to start a custom hat business, where customers have the option to use one of her mother’s pins.

“It wasn’t anything that I was going to use, so I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I just kind of thought, ‘well, I could do this, and I can share all her treasures and give back, and everyone else can have a piece of my mom too,” explained Finley.

At Brim Style, customers can show off their personalities through accessorizing their hat. Once they pick out a color, style and material, there are various pins, scarfs, charms, and brandings available to make the hat your own.

“I like individuality, so this, to me, you get to express yourself in a way you know that is your own,” added Finley. “So, you’re not going with the norm. You’re not just making a hat that everyone else has, you’re making your own statement piece; your own hat.”

The shop is decorated in unique furniture pieces Finley found while ‘junking,’ taking inspiration from her own aesthetic and her mother’s style to decorate the shop. Finley said she is overjoyed the business has the entire family involved – from her mother with the inspiration, and her niece running the social media, to the younger members of her family modeling the children’s hats.

Browse styles and stay in the know with the haberdashery’s Facebook here, or website here. Brim Style is located in Downtown Abilene, at 1167 North 2nd Street.