Melin is celebrating the opening of its first flagship store in Laguna Beach

Melin, an Orange County company based, is celebrating the opening of its first flagship store tonight in Laguna Beach, California.  

The brand has recently launched a line with Dylan Efron, Zac Efron’s brother, called Adventure Club.  They also launched the Neon Collection of waterproof hats that have Hydrochromic Technology that reveals custom designs when wet.

Prior to attending the grand opening event, I was able to chat with both co-founders of Melin.  Inspired by the art of millinery: the craft of bespoke hat making which dates to the 16^th century in Milan, Brian McDonell and Corey Roth started their journey with Melin in 2013. 

To Brian and Corey, a hat isn’t just an accessory but it’s something beyond that.  It’s a piece of identity that tells the world who you are, what you value, your passions, where you’re from, and how you live your life.  It is the first thing someone sees when they look at your face and their impression of your personal style.

Brian and Corey share more details about the flagship store during our conversation.

How do you feel about having the first flagship store in Orange County?

I’m very excited.  It wasn’t in our initial plan to have a flagship store for the brand.  Laguna makes the most sense because the brand was the birth in Laguna Niguel and it feels like home.

We are looking at it as a place for people to come and experience the brand and try on the full assortment of the brand.  We’ve had a lot of great retail partnerships, but they only have selected sources or seasons.  We wanted a place that is accessible to consumers here on the coast where they can come in anytime and try on a complete range of all our different silhouettes, colors, and styles.

What do you think of collaborating with other brands?

We have always historically collaborated with brands such as Red Bull, Go Pro, Aston Martin, and golf course destinations such as Pebble Beach.  One of the fun projects that we’ve worked on was with Aston Martin.