In less than two and a half years, Syanne Dominguez is proving herself to be a small business trail blazer.

From taking a simple idea she fell upon while on vacation in the fall of 2022 to her current brick and mortar storefront in downtown Oakdale, Dominguez has consistently proven hard work does indeed still pay off.

Owner and creator of Felt and Feather Hat Bar, the personalization enthusiast was first inspired to start the business after visiting one in Texas. By March of 2023 she had launched the business with at home parties. In fall of that same year, the entrepreneur had partnered with the mother and daughter team of the downtown Oakdale Cotton and Sage business, setting up shop inside that location.

Yet her hopes and dreams of having her own space never subsided.

This past July, following late nights, hard work with close friends and a lot of grit, Dominguez officially opened her own freestanding shop on North Third Avenue in Oakdale. Located at 114 N. Third, the space is inviting, spacious and not far from her friends at Cotton and Sage.

As luck would have it, the two spaces are connected through a short hallway, enabling the business owners the opportunity to have customers visit both spaces in one trip.

“It feels incredible,” the Felt and Feather Hat Bar owner said, noting that just as when she launched in 2023, the business remains a side hustle to her primary work in the corporate world.

“It was very important to me, that I stay with my people,” she shared. “We have a pretty good model here. We do a lot of private parties and those work really well for us. Bronze Beauty Bar, Cotton and Sage and now Jones Candle is in there. So now we can accommodate a lot more people between two of us.”

The small business owner shared the opportunity to gain such valuable retail space on the sought after Oakdale street is not wasted on her.

“I’m super grateful to Sarah Jones for offering this space to me,” Dominguez said of the previous occupant, Jones Candle Company.

“We found ourselves at a time where, I needed more, she needed less. It was perfect. We called in the switch-a-roo and it worked out perfectly,” Dominguez said, noting that Jones Candle now occupies her former space at Cotton and Sage.

The crafty hat slinger has entertained a number of ideas for the business, since first happening upon it. From the idea of a trailer pop-up, which never came to pass, to occupying designated space in a local business, it has all unfolded rather quickly. Her vision, however, for her own space and what it would be has never been far off.

“From the minute we talked about it and I walked in here with Joseph, to come and look at the space … I immediately envisioned this,” she said of what the space is now. “I envisioned hats on that wall, the way it’s laid out with all of my homage to Oakdale Cowboy Capital Western.”

Dominguez gives much credit to longtime partner and rodeo cowboy Joseph Shawnego for encouraging her to take big chances. He’s also lent some of his personal rodeo swag which is now used for décor in the space.

“Little nods are super important to me,” she said of the personalized décor and tribute to the western lifestyle.

“I credit him for a lot of things,” she continued of Shawnego. “For changing my life so drastically and giving me the confidence to start this business. I don’t think I would have done it before, without having the support. That support to say, you can do this.”

With that support, it is her vision, passion and creativity that has brought Felt and Feather to life. Customized cowboy hats ranging in color and stylized by the client, with everything from feathers, playing cards, chains, charms and brands can be placed on a hat by Dominguez and her team.

If you’re not one for the western look, they’ve got that covered as well, by way of customized trucker hats. They can even do denim customization.

“I always lean toward customizing anything I do,” Dominguez explained. “So when I moved into Cotton and Sage I added truckers to the line. Since I’ve moved in here, I’ve been able to expand that a little bit with some more space.”

Dominguez believes everyone can find something to accentuate their style at her shop.

“Both hats but completely different vibes,” she stated of trucker versus felt. “You can go completely snarky over here with these patches (trucker hats) or go simple and load the hat up with all the things. This leans a little more classic western (felts). A little Bougie western as I call it.”

And while she gives kudos and thanks to her partner, Dominguez is equally grateful to her “girls,” the team of Cotton and Sage and Bronze Beauty Bar, as well as her team of ladies who staff the shop and customize hats right alongside her.

“It’s important to me, that’s it’s not some random person on the wall,” Dominguez noted, addressing the poster size photos which line the accessory wall, professional photos of her people in varying hats and poses. “It’s important to me, that everybody in here are my people. They’ve also invested their time and their money. Each one of the people that are hanging up in here were down here in the trenches with me.”

They have all supported her through sweat, commitment and encouragement, but Dominguez shared there is one staffer who was there from the very inception of the business thought. Long time friend, turned employee, Laura Cunningham was alongside her on the trip that inspired the business.

“She’s proclaimed herself employee of the month, every month,” the business owner shared with a chuckle. “So it’s always a joke, that everybody’s coming for Laura’s employee of the month status.”

“They make it run during the week,” she added of her team, “I couldn’t do it without them.”

Now with a few months under their belt in a new prime location, the hat crafter confessed it remains a bit surreal.

“Sometimes it’s a little hard to accept,” she said of the new space and feeling a bit of ‘imposter syndrome’. “It really rocks my world, every time someone comes in and says this place is so cool.”

Felt and Feather Hat Bar is open Wednesday through Friday, 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Private appointments and parties can be scheduled through Instagram at felt_feather or by phone via call or text 209-678-3210.

“Every time I lock that door, I look back and smile at what it’s become,” Dominguez summarized. “It feels great. This is kind of my outlet. I call it my fun job. This is where I get to create and get to be completely my personality here. This is fun.”