After receiving a sewing machine from her aunt in 2003, Milwaukee-based artist Katie Segel Liban founded a children’s hat business the following year called My Kids Lids.
Liban’s first design was a hat adorned with stems and flowers and today, she has created more than 30 different variations.
Liban gets inspiration and creative ideas from her two children: Owen, age 7, and Josie, age 4. Owen, for example, came up with the alligator hat, which is one of the most popular hats in the boys’ collection.
"One day at the grocery store, I spotted a young boy wearing the alligator hat and I told his mother, 'great hat,'" says Liban. "The woman smiled and said, 'I know. Everyone stops us to tell us that!'"
Other designs include Mr. Frog, The Dog Hat, The Crab Hat, Monster Truck Hat, The Owl Hat, The Cat Hat and more. Liban also sells scarfs, hair clips and coat sets.
During the busy season -- which takes place in autumn in preparation for the holidays -- Liban says she sews at least 30 hours per week. She has one employee who helps her sew.
Liban says she works from about 7:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. every night, and then wakes up early in the morning to continue sewing.
"I can pack orders throughout the day when my kids are at school," she says.
The hats come in four sizes that fit kids from newborn to age 12 or 13. They sell for $22.
My Kids Lids are available at etsy.com. Locally, they are for sale at Beans & Barley, 1901 E. North Ave. Liban has multiple wholesale accounts all over the world, including Massachusetts, Portland, Colorado, Chicago, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia and Ireland.
Liban and her mother owned Creme Boutique in Whitefish Bay from 2004 to 2008. Owning the business helped connect her with accounts and to receive feedback in the early stage of her hat making.
In the future, Liban would like to create more brand recognition and expand her wholesale accounts by selling her coats -- as well as her hats -- nationally.
"The wholesale business is really taking off," she says. "I would like to have enough labor to sell my coats in boutiques along with my hats."
Liban received a degree in culinary and hospitality management from Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) and worked in the food industry for many years prior to moving into retail. Sewing was a new direction for her, and one that she has found extremely rewarding.
"My products are handmade in Milwaukee. They are unique and I really think people appreciate knowing where their stuff comes from," she says.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
