Tip of the hat: Milliner Becky-Jane Fortin has recently become an authorised Akubra hat refurbisher.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Becky-Jane Fortin, a Greater Shepparton local, has recently become an authorised Akubra hat refurbisher, making her the go-to person for all your Akubra hat repairs.
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Mrs Fortin, who spent eight years in Germany honing her craft, is also the owner of Fortin Hats, a business that sells hats and creates custom hats for customers.
Her passion for creating real, handmade, special things began at a young age, sewing with her grandparents and doing embroidery.
This passion eventually turned into a love for vintage fashion and a desire to take things apart and see how they worked, particularly with textiles.
Mrs Fortin’s journey to becoming an authorised Akubra hat refurbisher began just before Christmas when she contacted Akubra.
Despite the company being busy, Mrs Fortin decided to put out a Facebook post offering free repairs to the community in exchange for feedback and ‘before and after’ photos.
The response was overwhelming, and Mrs Fortin quickly put together a package and sent it along with the photos and information about the people whose hats she had repaired.
Hats off: Mrs Fortin also owns Fortin Hats.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The next day, Akubra wrote back, saying they would love to put her on their list of authorised repairers.
As Akubra is the biggest hat brand in Australia, this was a huge opportunity for Mrs Fortin.
Akubra now supplies her with linings and hat bands so she can replace them for customers.
Mrs Fortin’s expertise lies in felt, in which she specialised while in Germany. She can remake a whole hat, making her the perfect person to repair those beloved hats that have become part of someone’s everyday life.
As an authorised repairer, Mrs Fortin’s details can be passed on by Akubra to those who call looking for help fixing their hats. Her details are also listed on Akubra’s website.
One of the hats she repaired belonged to an elderly gentlemen who had owned it since the early 80s.
Before: Looking a bit worse for wear.
After: Good as new.
He expressed his gratitude for Mrs Fortin’s work, saying “the hat might even see me out”, which she said was just beautiful.
Mrs Fortin’s journey to becoming an authorised Akubra hat refurbisher began in Berlin, where she had her own business before moving back to Shepparton four years ago.
While in Berlin, she worked with a local hat maker, overseeing and training all the staff on how to make hats.
She even participated in an art residency for Hennessy, where the alcohol company made individual cocktails for each artist based on their art.
“I am a local, I went to Gowrie St, then Wanganui, I went to university and studied primary education before moving into retail,” Mrs Fortin said.
Her love for creating beautiful, handmade things is what drives her, and she is excited to continue growing her business and helping people repair their beloved Akubra hats.
Handmade art: Mrs Fortin purchased most of her tools while overseas.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“Every hat-maker needs to have a steamer, that’s the most important part,” she said.
“I have a hat stretcher, which can stretch a hat to a different form. Most of the tools I have, I bought while I was overseas in Germany.”
Mrs Fortin said the best way for customers to contact her was to send an email with photos of their hat, the original style, size and a list of repairs they required.
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