Our custom hat bar, which you may know as a patch bar, is a table of blank caps, a tray of patches and a heat press. Guests choose a cap, trucker or dad-hat style from the blanks you pick, add a patch or two from the set we've made for your event, and watch us press it on. At a DC reception it's the station people stand around and talk at, which is half the point.
What a DC hat bar includes
- A cap wall in a few colors and styles, counted to your headcount.
- Your logo as a custom patch, plus stock letters and numbers for states, districts and chapter names.
- A heat press and an operator who keeps every placement straight.
- A styled, photo-ready setup that looks at home in a Downtown hotel ballroom or a Georgetown garden.
It suits sponsor lounges, Capitol Hill receptions and cherry-blossom season pop-ups, where guests have a few minutes and want something they picked themselves. Custom patches are made ahead from approved art, so build the hat bar into your timeline early. Like every station, it ships freight from Fullerton and the crew arrives a day before load-in.
DC hat bar questions
Does the hat bar do felt hats?
No. We don't do felt hats, hatbands or burned brims. It's caps with heat-pressed patches: your logo patch, plus the stock letters and numbers guests can add.
Can guests add their state or chapter?
Yes. Alongside your logo patch we bring stock letters and numbers for states, districts and chapter names, which is why the hat bar fits a fly-in reception. A custom chapter patch is different: it's made ahead from approved art, so decide on it before your program book goes to print.
Where does it fit around DC?
Sponsor lounges downtown or at National Harbor, donor receptions in Dupont and Logan, a rooftop reception in Georgetown, and riverfront or promenade pop-ups at Navy Yard and the Wharf. On a convention day, run screen printing on the expo floor and the hat bar at the evening reception.