Our Story
Conner Hats is family-run. Bill Conner has made hats in Byron Bay for over 50 years, after learning leatherwork in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1969. His son Will created the brand, which ships from American Fork, Utah. The hats are made in Australia, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan and Mexico.
This may be our story, but none of it could have happened without you. Below is how a leather shop at Florida craft fairs became BC Hats in Byron Bay, and how Bill's son Will turned the family trade into Conner Hats.
Quick facts
- 1969: Bill Conner learns leatherwork from Stan Thompson in St. Augustine, Florida.
- 1970: Bill, his wife Marion and 11-month-old Will arrive in Brisbane, Australia, on November 5.
- 1982 and 1986: The Man from Snowy River and Crocodile Dundee turn Bill's stockman hat into a national, then worldwide, bestseller.
- 1988: BC Hats is the official hat of the World Expo in Brisbane.
- 1989: Will begins importing his father's hats into the United States.
- 1993: Bill receives the Small Business Exporter of the Year Award for creating Australia's original leather hat with a shapeable brim.
- 2000: Will launches his first hat label, Cov-ver.
- 2014: Will puts the family name on his hats, and Conner Hats is born.
Bill Conner: from St. Augustine to Byron Bay
Bill Conner ("BC") was introduced to leatherwork by Stan Thompson in St. Augustine, Florida, in April 1969. Even then, making things by hand, one at a time, was considered old-fashioned. Bill's attention to quality turned that hobby into a family business.
He made sandals, bags, belts, saddles and, of course, hats, registered his company as BC Leather, and sold his work at art-and-craft fairs around Florida with his wife Marion and baby son, Will. In the spirit of the '70s they often set up a teepee as a display, which doubled as a playpen to keep Will out of the hot Florida sun. One of the most popular pieces was the stockman hat, a style that would later become an Australian icon.
After Bill built a home workshop, a chance conversation with a hitchhiker changed everything. The hitcher had just come back from Australia and talked about the surf, the simple life and an old farmhouse on Seven Mile Road behind Broken Head that cost a few dollars a week. It matched everything Bill imagined about Australia's east coast, and about Byron Bay in particular.
A fellow leatherworker told him the Australian government would pay $1,500 toward airfare for people willing to immigrate and offer something to Australian society. Before he left, Bill visited Dan Holiday, who founded the first leather sandal shop in St. Augustine. Although they were competitors, Dan gave Bill his blessing to use some of his sandal styles in Australia and showed him how to make a better leather hat.
Bill took his mentor Stan Thompson's advice literally: "You can travel the world on what you can make with your own two hands." He tucked his long hair into a short-haired wig, charmed the immigration interviewer, and on November 5, 1970, 21-year-old Bill arrived in Brisbane with a few hundred dollars, his 19-year-old wife Marion, and 11-month-old Will.
Burleigh Heads, then Byron Bay
Within a few months Bill opened a shop called Country Leather in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, with world-class surf within walking distance. When the high-rises went up, the family moved an hour down the coast to Byron Bay, the same town the hitchhiker had described years earlier.
In Byron Bay, Bill focused on his leather hats, which were already his best sellers, and began wholesaling to stores across Australia. BC Leather became BC Hats. The 1982 film The Man from Snowy River made his stockman hat a national bestseller, and Bill hired his first employees and started a small factory. Each new employee was taught to make their part of the hat with the same care Bill always had.
When Crocodile Dundee was released in 1986, distributors worldwide started calling, and production moved from a small workshop on the family property to a larger one in Byron Bay's Arts and Industrial Estate. In 1988 BC Hats became the official hat of the World Expo in Brisbane, and in 1993 Bill received the Small Business Exporter of the Year Award, in recognition of creating Australia's original leather hat with a shapeable brim and bringing it to the world stage.
You can still find Bill surfing his favorite local break as the sun comes up. BC Hats remain an Australian original, and the stockman hat remains a staple of Australian hat culture.
Will Conner: the Conner Hats story
They say it takes 10,000 hours of practice to make an expert. Will started clocking his as a kid in his dad's factory in Byron Bay.
At 18, Will came to St. Augustine, Florida, to study business administration at Flagler College. In one class, the professor asked, "What would be a good business idea?" Will answered, "To sell Australian hats." The whole class, professor included, laughed, either at the idea or at his thick Aussie accent. It was just enough of a challenge. After his first semester, Will decided to learn business in the real world.
With the money he had saved for college, Will began importing and distributing his father's hats in the United States in 1989, a few years after Crocodile Dundee had put Australia on the map for Americans. "Starting out, I felt my best chance to make a sale was just calling retailers on the phone, but because of my strong accent, some very funny conversations ensued," he says. "Once I realized that making a sale is just about making friends, everything seemed much easier and more fun." Some of the original 1989 retail customers are still customers, now into the second generation.
Seven years living in the warehouse
The business grew from a two-car garage to a rented storage unit to a small warehouse with a few employees. Then Will moved in with his hats. He built a plywood floor and a few shelves into a sleeping space above his 10-foot by 10-foot office. "It was like camping indoors with no windows and a bunch of hats," Will recalls. "I ran extension cords for a reading light and a cooker, and built a shower in an outside building that the landlord let me have. The problem was waiting until all the other tenants left to take a shower!"
He called the warehouse home for seven years, traveling for sales across the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, and saved enough for a deposit on a house and a few acres of land, where the first dedicated Conner Hats warehouse was built in St. Augustine.
From Cov-ver to Conner Hats
Will began designing his own styles beyond what BC Hats offered. In 2000 he launched his first label, Cov-ver, deliberately keeping the family name off the hats until he was certain the quality deserved it. By 2014 he was certain, and he put the Conner name on his hats.
"Selling a product that you believe in and are passionate about makes all the difference," Will says. "It's not just about selling hats, it's sharing a part of Australia's spirit. Our customers become honorary Aussies no matter where in the world they are."
Where Conner Hats is today
- Run from St. Augustine, Florida. Will runs Conner Hats from St. Augustine and travels between St. Augustine and Byron Bay.
- Ships from American Fork, Utah. Orders ship from our warehouse in American Fork, Utah, for efficient delivery across North America.
- The original warehouse. Our original St. Augustine warehouse runs on 100% solar power. The one-acre permaculture food forest grows beside it, and the space now hosts other small, family-owned businesses getting their start.
- Made in five countries. The hats are made in Australia, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan and Mexico. BC Hats are made in Byron Bay.
Treading lightly
Will's travels as a young man showed him how every product has an impact on the planet, so he made it company policy to tread lightly and weigh the wider outcome of every decision. "Our goal is to promote long-term thinking and to really consider future generations with every product we create and every decision we make as a brand," he says.
In practice that means non-mulesed Australian wool in our felt hats, organic cotton, hemp and recycled materials, and packaging free of single-use plastics. See our environmental record for the numbers.
Our promise to you
- A limited lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects (50% off if lost or stolen).
- Free shipping over $79. Orders of $79 or less ship for $7.99.
- Exchanges and store credit within 90 days and refunds within 30 days, with free exchanges through Redo (USA only). See returns and exchanges.
Will's parents, Bill and Marion, taught him that even if you start with just an idea, as long as you are happy on your path and never give up, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
Will grew up surfing and making music in Byron Bay. He opened for Jack Johnson on his 2008 tour of Australia and New Zealand, and played with him at the Byron Bay Community Centre. Augustine Amphitheatre in Florida. His music is on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
Will Conner with Jack Johnson, Dave Rastovich and friends, live at the Byron Bay Community Centre.
Shop all Conner Hats and BC Hats
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Conner Hats?
Conner Hats is family-run. Will Conner created the brand in 2014, after launching his own label, Cov-ver, in 2000. His father, Bill Conner, made the BC Hats in Byron Bay.
Where are Conner Hats made?
The hats are made in Australia, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan and Mexico. BC Hats were made in Byron Bay, Australia, before 2020.
Where do Conner Hats ship from?
Orders ship from American Fork, Utah. Conner Hats runs from Byron Bay and St. Augustine, Florida, where our original warehouse runs on 100% solar power.
What is the connection between BC Hats and Conner Hats?
BC Hats is Bill Conner's brand, made in Byron Bay, Australia. Will began importing BC Hats into the U.S. in 1989 and later created Conner Hats. We sell both.
