Category: Featured Design

Splash back in black

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Splash classic hat trio in blue, orange and lime green.

Updated 09.22.22 at 12.20 am & 09.15.25 am.

Hello there. Vivian whipped up a new classic hat design and called it Splash. It is inspired by the work of renown creative artist Jackson Pollock. She recently renamed the design Jackie Splash in honour of Mr Pollock. You can use either one.

Splash Classic in black updated 2025.
Jackie Splash in Black. ©Vivian J Grant.

Vivian has always been a huge Pollock fan. Take a look at some of the the work of this fascinating artist.

Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter, and the leading force behind the abstract expressionist movement in the art world. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety.

Jackson Pollock’s greatness lies in developing one of the most radical abstract styles in the history of modern art, detaching line from color, redefining the categories of drawing and painting, and finding new means to describe pictorial space.

Even more than a century since his birth, American “splatter artist” Jackson Pollock still provokes heated debate about the very definition of art. Was a man who placed a canvas on the floor and dripped paint straight from the can actually creating a work of art? Watch WBUR.org »

Here are a few examples from this exciting, groundbreaking artist. The first is Vivian’s all-time favourite.

By © JACKSON POLLACK
By © JACKSON POLLACK
By © JACKSON POLLACK

He worked in black and white as well.

By © JACKSON POLLACK

Wonderful. By the way . . . have some fun creating something of your own. Go to Interactive Paint-Drop Animation at http://www.jacksonpollock.org/»

Happy Classic Hat Monday.

Hattingdon H Logo in her signature brown.

August 5th is Nat’l Blogger Day

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Curtis Hattingdon peeks out from this banner. So handsome!

Wow. It is National Blogger Day, but what to blog about? How about Hattingdon’s beginning, how she got started, and the first two Hattingdon cartoon horses Vivian created? Let’s go!

It was a dark and stormy night . . . . ha, ha, ha. Just kidding. Wink.

IT was late December, and Vivian was still in Washington DC lobbying on horse protection bills, waiting for Congress to adjourn for the Christmas holidays so she could go home. Everybody else in her organization had already gone, so she was on her own.

To pass the time, she got on her computer, opened up Photoshop and started layering shapes, until she had what you see below — her very first ever cartoon horse. She named him Curtis.

Curtis Hattingdon.
Curtis Hattingdon.

She put Curtis on t-shirts to sell, and away we went. He was a wonderful success, helping to raise money to defray lobbying expenses, and rescue, rehabilitate and find homes for horses with what was left over.

The following Spring, Vivian made another hat wearing cartoon horse — this time a lady. The hat she created was inspired by the fashions seen on the Paris runway. Vivian named the new addition Harper.

Harper Hattingdon.
Harper Hattingdon.

Vivian wondered, what if her creations got popular and became a series — what in the world was she going to call them? The only thing she knew for sure is that she wanted the word “hat” somewhere in the it. Nothing came to mind.

Then one day, lo and behold, when she was not even thinking about it, the name Hattingdon popped into her head. And that is how it came about.

Not long after that, Vivian created Hattingdon’s first blog. And that, as they say, is history!

About Nat’l Blogger Day

Nat’l Today writes:

“Blogger Day is celebrated on August 5 every year. This day celebrates one of the most popular platforms in the world, Blogger. Anyone who has ever created a blog before has most likely used Blogger. This platform allows people to express themselves for either personal or commercial reasons.

“Some bloggers use blogs to disseminate information and it has been a very good way to consume news ranging from politics to sports, technology, lifestyle, and a host of other topics.

“This day should be well celebrated, especially by the blogging community as it celebrates one of the platforms that contribute to our freedom of speech.”

Thank you for spending time with us. Love, Hattingdon & Co.

Hattingdon H Logo in her signature brown.

© Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.

Blog updates

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Lady typing on laptop.

For those of you who stop by regularly, you must have thought us schizophrenic. We have been chopping and changing things here for such a long time. Alas! We believe we have finally gotten it together. How?

Hattingdon creator Vivian Grant recently went on a really cool course on the use of color — what it means and what it does — how to use it in the right way etc. She came away refocused and ready to go. The look of the blog now is the result of that.

Bobbie Hattingdon
Bobbie Hattingdon.

“Finally, I have Hattingdon’s blog in good shape but still with many of the things that I like,” she says. “The course taught me to pause, take a step back, think about it for awhile, then decide. My previous approach had become the old ‘throw it against the wall and see if it sticks’ method”.

Another of the things Vivian learned was that her favorite color is orange. There is a really good reason for that. Bourne Creative (cool name, huh?) writes:

“Orange is associated with meanings of joy, warmth, heat, sunshine, enthusiasm, creativity, success, encouragement, change, determination, health, stimulation, happiness, fun, enjoyment, balance, sexuality, freedom, expression, and fascination. Orange is the color of joy and creativity.”

Perfect! More about the color orange here »

Thank you for staying with us! Warm regards. Hattingdon Horses.

Hattingdon H Logo in her signature brown.

©Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.

Classic Katie

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Katie Classic blog featured image.

Greetings and salutations! Happy 1st of August. And another Classic Hat Monday. Let’s go!

This hat is one of the very first classic hats ever made. Vivian named the design “Katie”.

Katie Hattingdon.
Katie Hattingdon.

The dome features polka dots in fuchsia pink, aqua blue, creamy yellow and pea green. The hat is banded in aqua blue. The brim and “nosebobs” are in fuchsia pink. It is bright and cheery and just what we need to brighten our Monday.

See you again here soon, on August 3rd for National Watermelon Day. Yes, Hattingdon has a hat for that. It was made for her years ago to wear to picnics and barbecues. Can you guess which one it is?

Bye for now.

P.S. Thank you everyone who wrote us saying how much you enjoyed the yellow hat parade, and for being part of the Hattingdon family. We will have some good news for you very soon about something you have long been waiting for. —HH

Hattingdon H Logo in her signature brown.

© Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.