12/21/2025
TLDR; Hat wallets from happy accidents
I have always taken the Bob Ross approach when “happy accidents” come my way in a project, allowing myself to believe that basswood wanted to be a spatula as opposed to a spoon. This project mishap felt different.
A spark of genius hit me when I envisioned this cardboard circle as a template for a leather pot trivet. I’d decided to gift my proof of concept to my mother with the inscription “Tutti a tavola a mangiare” after our shared love of Channel 13 cooking… That is, if I hadn’t made a double strike 🫠
Tried as I might to believe this to be a happy accident, I simply couldn’t allow it. Then again, what would our higher power Bob Ross possibly have in store for a 15cm diameter leather circle if not a trivet? To the scrap box it was flung.
You see, I am plagued with two conditions: baby face and baby head. Much to my dismay, adult hats do not fit me out of the box, and I am therefore subjected to the additional expense of foam inserts to reduce the size of most of my hats, lest I wear hats fit for children.
I had separately been stressing myself out over the size and fit of a previously branded ETC Works hat for the last few days until another spark of genius actually ignited.
Imagine a structured panel that could maintain the shape of a hat, while also reducing its size. But why stop there? Make it hold money or keepsakes! The trivet was immediately retrieved only hours after being introduced to the scrap box.
Bob Ross (aka God) is good!