Getting to know Lei Lu from Brother Hatters
This month we caught up with Lei Lu from Brother Hatters to find out how it all started and why they’re often confused for twins even though they’re not actually related.
How did Brother Hatters begin?
We have always been interested in fashion, particularly hats. Juhyun Kang majored in acting and worked in the entertainment industry back in Korea and he was surrounded by a variety of fashion personnel. He had a great network of fashion designers. My (Lei Lu’s) father owns and manages a factory of fashion clothes and hats. All these favourable conditions and factors facilitated our business idea. We have also formed our own brand of Brim&Brawn. It is created out of passion and unwavering dedication to spreading gracefulness, vigour and creativity through our designs and products.
Have you always been interested in hats?
We have always been passionate about hats. We are personally fond of wearing hats on a daily basis. In addition, we feel content and get a sense of fulfilment when our customers love the hats from our collection.
You have such creative designs at Brother Hatters; where does your inspiration come from?
Our inspiration is mainly from our own daily life. Life offers you many opportunities to learn, to observe and to create. We love observing, travelling and reading. We travel around in the world at least once a year to different parts of the world to get ourselves charged and expose ourselves to the new environment.
What’s it like working with a sibling?
We are not actual siblings biologically. But we have known each other for over 10 years. The friendship between us is even beyond actual brothers. We have also been mistakenly considered as twins by many people including stallholders, customers and random people on the street due to our similar faces and body build. We thought Brother Hatters would be a fabulous name for our business. It sounds catchy and easy to remember. Even though we are not actual siblings, we are still the best of mates.
What type of hats do you have available for spring/summer?
We offer a wide range of spring and summer hats – baseball hats, bucket hats and straw hats. They are all in fashion depending on your style.
What’s your favourite hat style?
Personally, I wear baseball hats more than the other hat styles because they are easy to wear and match with my casual outfit.
Who makes up your customers?
Anybody that needs a hat! We offer a wide range of hats including baseball hats, ivy hats, beanies, wool felt hats and straw hats. We also have a number of K-pop (Korean pop music) fans. Lots of K-pop fans love our unique K-pop style hats.
Why did you choose the Queen Vic Market to open Brother Hatters?
Queen Vic Market, as a time-honoured market and the largest open-air market in Southern hemisphere, attracts millions of people annually. Working in the Market offers us a great opportunity to expose us to a wide range of customers with different backgrounds. We love the multi-culture environment. That’s the main reason we choose the Queen Victoria Market. I’m glad we are part of the big family.
Find out more about Brother Hatters here.
