Hi, I’m Sophie — the Sewing SailoR here at Faustine Fine Goods.

Faustine (pronounced Faw-steen) is my middle name, passed down through generations. The story goes that my grandparents, a painter and an architect, fell in love with the Temple of Faustina in Italy in the 1960s. They named my mother Chelon Faustine, who then gifted the name to me. It carries creativity, history, and a little romance and now, it names the hats I sew.

I’m also a fourth-generation Floridian, and there’s a thread of Old Florida woven through everything I make. Think breezy porches, palmetto, citrus groves, seashells, and the kind of sun-drenched summers where terry cloth towels were practically a family heirloom.

Faustine Fine Goods is a one-woman workshop, based on a floating millinery on my 52’ sailboat. Every hat begins with a rescued vintage towel, sourced by me and often lovingly scouted by grandmothers and aunties across the U.S. and Australia. These towels, once destined for landfill, are transformed into wearable sunshine.

I first began stitching hats after craving something functional yet joyful, a brim with both flair and protection. With my grandmothers’ quiet sewing wisdom in my hands, I shaped the earliest versions for myself. They made me feel like summer, even when sailing the depths of the Southern Ocean. When strangers started stopping me on land to ask, “Where did you get that hat?” I realized the joy could be shared.

Each Faustine hat is a tribute to craftsmanship, slow fashion, and the playful spirit of reinvention. Practical enough for the sea breeze, whimsical enough to spark a smile, with just a touch of Old Florida nostalgia stitched into every seam.