Custom Hats Courtesy of Hatpin by Angie
Written by Kaitlin Hill | Photos by Caroline Gray
To build a business and watch it thrive is certainly a “feather in the cap” life experience. For Angie Ritterpusch, owner of Hatpin by Angie, along with literally putting feathers in caps, her custom hat bar pop-up is an obvious source of pride in her life. “It energizes me so much. It feeds my soul. I love it and it makes me happy,” she says.
A native of The Plains, the now Leesburg-based event planner was inspired to open a pop-up hat bar after a girls’ trip to Nashville in January 2023. She remembers, “My three best friends — we went to Fauquier High School together — one of their daughters, Madison, was turning 21 and wanted to go to Nashville. She kept saying, ‘All I want to do, Aunt Angie, is go to a hat bar.’”
She continues, “I was blown away. The hats were $450 and that didn’t even include a ribbon, a feather, a brand — nothing!”
Though Ritterpusch opted to get her niece a more practical birthday gift, she says, “I just kept thinking about it and decided, we’re going to have a little Mother’s Day thing and I’ll create hats for the girls.”
What started as a Mother’s Day craft would blossom into a second career of sorts for Ritterpusch. In 2023, she decided to make the leap. She explains, “My kids are grown and flown, so that finds me in a different era of my life… I’m going to invest $1,000 into this and see where it goes.” She launched Hatpin by Angie in March 2023.
Ritterpusch partnered with local businesses to make Hatpin a household name in Hunt Country. After an initial pop-up with Brick & Mortar, Ritterpusch connected with Natalie Femia of Lost Barrel Brewing and developed a friendship. The professional pop-up opportunity would go on to put Hatpin on the map.
“Natalie and I forged this amazing friendship and she just started tapping me for events.” She adds, “When I was asked by the Leesburg Boot Barn to be the official hat bar [at its] grand opening, Natalie came and supported me. Natalie and the whole staff at Lost Barrel have been instrumental in helping my business flourish.”
For those unfamiliar with the concept of a hat bar or who have yet to swing by Lost Barrel and see Ritterpusch’s pop-up in action, she describes the business as “Build-A-Bear Workshop for hats.” The first step is to “pick your hat, and we try on all different styles that I have, and then we start to put it together.”
Putting it together means adding various accoutrements to make the hat a personal piece of art. Ritterpusch has ribbons, vintage pins, leather flowers, feathers, and even the ability to brand the hats.
“The options are endless,” she says, “and this is where my creativity really comes into play.”
As for where she sources her materials, the answer is all over the world. “I have a really good selection,” she says, referencing a trip to London as one source of inventory. “My daughter and I went to London for the Taylor Swift concert and we stayed a few days extra because I knew there was a vintage shop with costume jewelry. All the jewelry was from the ’40s. I stocked up so much while I was there.”
She even makes some of the embellishments herself. “The leather flowers, I hand-carve all those.” She adds with a laugh, “I tell my customers it’s like my therapy. I love everything creative. It’s an outlet for me.”
Now, two years in, a weekend off is an oddity and she’s been invited to showcase at many headliner events like Art in the Burg, Middleburg’s Oktoberfest, Greenhill Vineyards’ Christmas Market, and more recently, Loudoun Therapeutic Riding’s gala and the Culpeper Rodeo gala.
Looking ahead to the next two or 20 years, Ritterpusch says, “I am letting Hatpin flourish the way it is supposed to flourish. I am a big believer in ‘everything happens for a reason.’” As for taking it full time, “If it grew into that, I would lean into it and go where I’m supposed to go with it.”
For now, those on the hunt for the perfect hat can likely find Ritterpusch at Lost Barrel or one of the many other local venues where her pop-up pops up. She says, “You’ll always find me in a hat with one of my leather flowers on it and a playing card that says ‘Spicy Situation.’” Why that card? “I’m a redhead and I’m fiery. Plus, it always inspires conversation.” ML
Published in the July 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.