ml provisions CREATING EXQUISITE, CUSTOM HATS WITH A PERSONALIZED TOUCH
Story by Katharyn Privett-Duren
Mary Landrum Pyron’s journey is one born of fate and an adventurous spirit. On April 6th, 2016, this Ole Miss graduate placed her first hat (one made of straw) upon her head and forged into the world as an expedition chef and caterer in Wyoming. One morning, as she stood over roughly twenty pounds of bacon sizzling over an open fire on that Western Mountain, the smoke began to distress that straw hat with a thick patina. And so, she bought another hat, and then another, until one day it occurred to her: “All I can think about are hats.” Mary Landrum’s passion had taken root, destined to grow into what is now ML Provisions. Five years later, she returned to her family’s timber farm in Mississippi ready to forge her new life as a custom hatter. Right from the beginning, Mary Landrum knew that she didn’t want to be just another shop on a town square. Rather, her shop resides in the 175-year-old barn on family land, nestled between a pond and a horse pasture. It is, she is quick to note, a destination spot—but more, it is an experience for those folks who are in search of their own handcrafted
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hat. When asked why she doesn’t ship, Mary Landrum speaks of how very personal this crafting can be: “Some people have broken their nose so many times, it’s no longer a straight line. I want the hat to align the proper way with your features. Also, colors and the nuances of shade just don’t show up correctly on digital media.” Here in her shop, Mary Landrum seams and shapes the raw hat body to her customers’ heads, taking care to involve them in the process. And there are stories to be spun here. One of the pieces of equipment she uses is from 1860: weighing in at 1,260 pounds, it is a rare find amongst small hatters. Mary Landrum describes the felting process as a bit like spinning cotton candy, an artistry that creates these 100x rabbit, 50x rabbit/beaver blend, and 100x beaver hats. Each crafting is highly specialized, right down to the accessories. Mary Landrum’s own hat sports a square nail from the old barn, a spur from a bird she hunted in Hawaii, a hand-tied fly from a friend, and a rattlesnake rattler. As she says: “I’m a really big hunter and I love to cook, so anything I harvest, I’ll also use.” When pressed, she admitted that any hat without a feather is just bad luck, and encourages her customers to choose one to truly top
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