Community Highlights: Meet Herb Rhedrick of Herbin Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Herb Rhedrick.

Hi Herb, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Herb. I’m the founder and craftsman at Herbin Co. I started the brand in 2019, and we’ve grown year over year. We just opened our first flagship store in Phipps Plaza here in Atlanta, Georgia. I was really just trying to find a creative space—an outlet. By background, I’m orignally from Charlotte, NC, graduated with my bachelors in Chemical Engineering from NC A&T. I used to play sports and have a nerdy side to me, but people don’t often see the creative side of me. I’ve always had these creative things I wanted to try, so I just wanted a safe space to explore that.

Herbin started just a drawing on a napkin after losing my hat on my first trip to Europe. I wanted to create hats the were tailored to fit my style that i did not see from any hatmakers. As my curiosity grew I went down the rabbit hole of learning the lost art of hat making in my garage with old tools and books from the early 1900s. What started as a hobby quicky drew interest from hat lovers who would see my hats and literally buy them off my head. That’s when I knew I may have something but I didn’t want to only make hats when starting Herbin, I had the vision of creating a true Maison but built through my lens of the personal luxuries I held dear growing up like my grandmother’s peach cobbler.

What would a brand look like if the founder of Hermès or Louis Vuitton had grown up as a young Black man in East Charlotte? Would it feel more authentic? Would it speak to in a different way, not just through trendy marketing or surface-level pandering? Herbin is just my canvas to create and build from.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There has always been challenges but in order to grow I had to keep finding ways to move the brand forward especially as I have bootstrapped the company since the beginning to get to where we are now. Every dollar I made, I put back into the business. I was still working a nine-to-five, so I’d just save what I could and reinvest it. The business had to pay for itself. I kept my costs super low. I started out in my garage and bought whatever I could get my hands on to learn how to make hats. I started with old, damaged blocks people were using as paperweights, yard sale finds and found a few old hatmaking books and videos to teach myself the craft. I repurposed everything, proved out the concept and built from there.

I wasn’t sleeping much, maybe three or four hours a night. I was working 18, 19 hours a day for a couple of years. But I’d say my superpower is time management.

I blocked off time for everything, creating, planning, marketing, admin, even building the website and packaging orders. Extreme planning, that’s what it took.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Herbin Co. is a luxury accessories brand born in his garage and now housed in Atlanta’s high-end Phipps Plaza. We craft pieces that share stories of the luxuries of life found in my community and that inspire others to be their best.

Herbin has built a reputation of creating 1 of 1 unique pieces that have been seen in Forbes, worn at NY and Milan fashion week, the Oscars and more. We craft statement accessories like or hats and leather handbags that are meant to transform your style without needing to build a new wardrobe. Accessories are the sauce to any style and we focus on the details of making these powerful statement pieces feel more personal for each of our clients.

All of our hats are still handmade in our shop here in Atlanta and our handbags are crafted in France by the same artisans as the worlds top luxury fashion brands. We continue to expand our portfolio of limited release statement pieces and in-person experiences each year.

Pricing:

• Custom Hats range from $200-$15000
• Leather Handbags $500+

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.herbin.co
• Instagram: @herbin.co
• Other: Tiktok @herbinco