Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Voth.
Hi Laura, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Southern Ruetz started with a walk around downtown Charleston, SC looking for the perfect southern style hat. My husband and I walked around all day, and I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I settled on a hat that I liked, but it really wasn’t the one. After that, I went home and immediately went to work.
I have always been crafty throughout my entire life. People that know me well hear “I can just make that” quite often. I started researching more about how hats are made, different styles and overall, how different each hat can be. There was a moment when I thought, if I struggle to find a hat that is just right for my style, I bet others do as well.
I started reaching out to local businesses to see what I could find for unique pieces (dried flowers, grasses, ribbon) that could be added to hats as I wanted to try to also support other businesses in the area. Some of the fabrics, leather, and metal pins are used are from old clothing and accessories that may have otherwise been thrown away. So not only are the hats unique to the person making them, but even the elements used have a backstory.
Once I felt good about the pieces I had, I signed up for my first vendor show. I went into the event with no expectations and just excited to talk to people about hats. I was now this big hat nerd. By the end of the first event, 3 hats were made. I was immediately hooked seeing how happy each customer was after handing them their completed piece. Since that first event, I have been thankful to join many other events around Charleston. I hope to be able to open a shop in downtown Charleston in 2023, but right now I am really enjoying helping men and women make their own hats by hand one at a time.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a business is never a smooth road, but overall, I am thankful the bumps have been smaller. I started Southern Ruetz very recently in the summer of 2022. Overall, my biggest challenge has really been learning all the things behind the scenes. My background is in art and advertising, not business. Between my job still as a UX Designer, my family, and wanting to make hats all the time, creating time to really sit down, focus, learn, and understand the steps I need to keep things on the right track has been a challenge. I love meeting and talking to new people, but sometimes finding the right person to talk to can also be challenging as you find different events to be a part of.
Thankfully wearing a very unique hat shopping on King St. will get you noticed and that is how I am partnering with a few shops in 2023 for special pop-up events. With the interest of these special events, it definitely gets me thinking more about a set location for a storefront, which in turn will open another layer of challenges to navigate.
We also just went through a rebrand which wasn’t easy, but it was very necessary. After making hats for so many people we just felt something was off and that we were more than what our name spoke to. Many people have met us as Southern Charm Custom Hat Bar, so we are in the process of ensuring people can find us and know who we are.
Our new name touches in the fact that we all have something in common. We have Ruetz, which is pronounced like roots.
Whether we like them or not, they have formed and shaped who we are and have a part in where we want to go. We all have unique and individual personalities. We want to help bring that out and would love for you to come create a hat with us. We pride ourselves on helping y’all make wearable art.
They aren’t just hats to us. They help showcase and adorn your Ruetz.
The word Ruetz is made up from the letters of our daughter’s middle names. Elizabeth and Ruth. Which are also middle names and first names of many strong and influential women in our Ruetz. The spelling is non-traditional, and so are we. We color outside the lines and paint abstract pictures. We have never been conformists.
We kept the “southern” for two reasons.
One, because it’s part of our Ruetz and where we started. Two, because for years I have always been drawn to the south. Starting with my very first visit to Texas, then Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee and here we are now building Ruetz in South Carolina. We feel at home as if this is where we were meant to be. We are now forming our Southern Ruetz.
It’s never been just about hats, and it never will be. We want to learn about our customers, and their stories while we build a hat that shows off their Ruetz. We want everyone to be proud to wear a hat built by our artists.
We’ve been impressed with Southern Ruetz Hat Bar, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Southern Ruetz, we work with men and women to create an experience designing their own custom, unique and truly one-of-a-kind hat(s). As mentioned, we hope to have a storefront soon, but right now you can find us around the Charleston area partnering with local businesses at specialty markets, events, and store pop-ups. At times we are inside these locations or outside with a tent among other local vendors.
What we call The Hat Bar is set up with different hat styles and embellishments for customers to pick from. It’s truly a choose your own adventure experience with the choice to add as much or as little to a hat expressing one’s own unique style and personality. We are in the process of working with other local businesses to source as many materials as possible (flowers, grasses, fabric, ribbon, etc.). As previously mentioned, some of the materials are from old clothing and accessories from around the area. In the end, you walk away with a hat that not only exudes Charleston in style, but they are also made with materials from right here in the lowcountry.
Once a hat body and elements are chosen, we help customers size, shape, and professionally assembly their hats. Our rabbit/beaver blend hats are the most customizable and this gives us the option to easily mold both the hat body and the crown. Next is our 100% luxury Australian wool and we can reshape the brim. Both our blend and wool hats can be burned and branded also. We also offer styles in natural grasses if customers want a lighter option that is easy for the beach or out on the boat.
We are beginning to also offer trucker style hats where customers can pick out the hat color and the unique patches to add. We can also use some of our branding tools on these hats to add that extra layer of personalization.
In 2023 we also hope to partner with some local artists to help design and adorn unique hats that focus on their style of choice. We want to be partners within the local art scene being hat artists ourselves.
We genuinely love making hats for people and watching each person create something different. Aside from our trucker styles, identical hats have never been created. Well, we did have “best friend” matching hats made recently, but even then, each girl added something just slightly different to stand out in their own way. The smile on customers’ faces after we burn their initials into a hat gives us that warm and fuzzy feeling that reminds us we are doing something special.
Charleston has a very distinct style. We aren’t Nashville and we definitely aren’t Texas. We carefully pick out pieces to keep the charm alive for both men’s and women’s styles.
A hat should be as unique as the person wearing it and we make that possible at Southern Ruetz.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.southernruetz.com
- Instagram: @southernruetz
- Facebook: @southernruetz
