Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and, in this case, it’s coming from Amanda Lippert’s craft room.
Lippert, who moved to Airdrie 22 years ago, likes to burn hats in her spare time. But not how you might be thinking.
Under the name of Afire Hat Burning, Lippert creates unique works of art by literally burning designs into hats. Whether it’s a piece of custom artwork, something to honour a loved one, or a corporate logo, it can be ‘branded’ onto your favourite hat.
“It was purely by experimental chance that I got into hat burning. Back in 2020, in conversation with a confidant of mine, we had been discussing logos and where to have them on different items, and it sparked the idea of burning. I had a hat that didn’t get much use, so I decided to try her logo on this hat. It turned out better than expected and that’s what started it all!”
With the desire to revive her passion for creating and the love for western culture and fashion, burning hats gives the former esthetics salon owner the outlet to combine both passions into one.
“Burning is a permanent inclusion to the hat. Once details of hat and design have been decided upon, final pictures are sent to confirm the placement and design are correct on the hat. Once approval is received, the burning commences.”
The burning itself takes from one to five hours, says Lippert, based on the details and size. The whole process from finding the right hat to receiving the hat can take a couple days to a month depending on hat availability, shipping times, and design creation.
“I prefer to focus on felt-style fabrics, although I have expanded to leather, and suede materials. Some items with more delicate material such as a straw hat requires extra-special precautions.”
While she does have a limited stock of hats, Lippert suggests shopping around for the perfect size, colour, style and material for you and has many places to refer you to to find a hat you’ll love.
Learn more at https://www.afirehatburning.com/
