Custom hats designed by a 20-year-old Jersey archer have caught the attention of a UK retailer.
Mollie Perrett, a competitive county-level archer, first started painting hats for herself – before realising there was a bigger demand for her designs.
The idea began after the 2023 Guernsey Island Games, where athletes were required to wear white shoes.
Struggling to find an affordable pair, Mollie bought some on eBay and customised them with archery-inspired designs – such as targets, arrows, and other creative touches.
From there, she decided to paint a matching hat, and soon, others started asking for their own.
“I kept painting more and more hats, and then one of the UK’s archery companies reached out to me,” said Mollie.
Quicks Archery stocked a “big batch” of her hats in time for Christmas.
Since then, Mollie has hand-painted around 40 to 50 hats – often tailoring them to colour-match an archer’s bow.
She sells them through her Instagram page, where customers can order directly.
Mollie, who got into archery in 2015 after being inspired by her parents, says she has considered expanding her designs beyond archery in the future.
“So far, all my designs have been archery-related, but I’ve thought about doing other sports too,” she said.
Alongside her growing business, Mollie is studying Childhood Studies at Highlands College as part of University College Jersey and competes regularly in archery competitions.
Locally, she is one of only a handful of women in the sport.
Mollie believes a lack of confidence and awareness could be keeping more women from getting involved in archery and other sports.
“When I was at school, my friends would say they wanted to try a sport or go to the gym but felt self-conscious because there would be lots of boys there,” she said.
“Archery doesn’t have the same media presence as other sports, and since there are already more men in it, that naturally attracts more men.”
Through her growing business, however, she hopes to shine a light on the sport – while also giving herself a creative outlet.