For the past decade, Bozmanites headed downtown to Hattie Rex when needing a special gift for a friend or family—either human or canine. Hattie Rex had become a local success, yet after 15 years of building a nationally recognized E-commerce brand of handmade metal jewelry for pets and humans, Tessa Witmer decided it was time to hang up the hammer and pass the torch (so to speak). In 2022, the birth of her second child provided Tessa the resolve needed to put her E-commerce business and retail storefront up for sale—and around the corner, the owner of Mōka Boutique was waiting for just such an opportunity.
Nancy Mahoney, owner of Mōka Boutique, had been looking to expand her retail space, and Hattie Rex seemed like a great fit, given the overlap of women’s jewelry and giftables. Kaycee Schultz, Mōka’s manager had been learning jewelry making techniques over the past decade and was willing to take on the production size of Hattie’s business. While Nancy got busy transitioning the storefront space at 18 South Willson into a new men’s shop--Allōy, Kaycee took over the production of dog tags and customizable human jewelry, as well as the incredibly popular Everlasting Bracelets.
For legal purposes, the business is now officially known as Hattie + Rex (Hattie and Rex) and has been rebranded with a new logo and website. Kaycee has been adding her own designs, including a new line of silver rings with semi-precious stones, and has plans for a new line of bolo ties. The Hattie + Rex production studio has relocated to the annex space behind Mōka Boutique at 36 West Main. All of Hattie’s charms and dog tags are on display and available for purchase inside, and there you can also find Everlasting Bracelets—ready for walk-ins every Monday and Friday.
Hattie + Rex still produces lifetime-guaranteed, handmade pet tags of copper, brass and silver, as well as personalized cuffs, belt buckles, keychains, rings and charms for humans. In 2023, as part of its mission to promote opportunities for local artists, Hattie launched its first official MSU Internship program with Jewelry Design students Lydia Truman and Bri Mango. This summer, Hattie + Rex hired Bozeman High School graduate, Amanda Faure, as a summer intern based on her extensive jewelry making coursework. Kaycee has been training her to produce dog tags and jewelry, as well as manage some E-commerce aspects of the business. Going forward, Hattie + Rex hopes to have a vibrant internship program for a variety of jewelry artists working in metals, who would also benefit from becoming part of its successful E-commerce platform.