TRAILBLAZER 101 SERIES

Meet Mackinley. She’s a Southern Pines Native, farmer, and coffee fueled designer.

Though she thought she would end up in the city, her grassroots landed her back home, handcrafting custom hats in the front of her mother’s hair salon. There she creates one-of-a-kind hats. Her willingness to continue a timeless craft in a fast pace world allows her to succeed and continue a timeless tradition.  

MACKINLEY FARMER

Mackinley grew up in the heart of Moore County North Carolina, Southern Pines. She landed in herself in New York City at The Fashion Institute of Technology. After that she went to Savannah College of Art and Design to major in Industrial Design, minoring in Marine Design. She worked at Grady-White designing boats for a few years and then moved to Austin to do high-end residential and commercial interior design. Her small hometown drew her back in and she moved back to NC to work on her family farm. During that time she started 

Designing and curating hats as a hobby for family and friends. In 2021, Gwen’s Hat Club was born. 

So much of being a Trailblazer means finding yourself in uncertain ground, landing in a place that you would never anticipated, Mackinley thought she would end up in the city, which she did at first, but right now, she is drawn to be where she’s from. 

Good Coffee keeps Mackinley going but ultimately the desire to do better work than the day before and share that with as many people as possible. To blow off steam she enjoys a good cocktail and obsessed with anything with a motor.

If you are local to our Flagship Store in Southern Pine NC, please RSVP to our event with MACKINLEY