The Mad Hatter: Journey Down the Rabbit Hole
The Mad Hatter: Journey Down the Rabbit Hole
Embedded Files
by Alfred R. Pettingill
Updated March 31th, 2025
3-minute read
In Alice in Wonderland, a girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world. While exploring this fantasy world called "Wonderland", she comes across a tea party.
At this tea party, she meets the Hatter, a hare, and a dormouse. All are switching places, asking unanswerable riddles, and reciting nonsensical poetry.
The Hatter explains to Alice that they are always having tea.
Sentenced to death for "murdering the time" by the foul-tempered Queen of Hearts. The Hatter escaped, but he didn't escape Time.
Time responded by halting the Hatter into a place where it is always 6:00 PM.
What would you do if you felt stuck in a timeless moment?
In timeless moments, my instinct tells me to play and craft. One thing I like to craft is steampunk-style hats.
I'll find small intricate pieces wherever I can and fashion them onto a hat.
It became a tradition for me to build one of these hats a year. I have designed and crafted four unique hats so far.
Each hat is in dedication to the specific person that owns them.
The Founding Idea
The Founding Idea
Junk is jenk!
It was Building Man 2018 and I was exploring the piles of jenk at Jenkstar Ranch. Building Man is a sustainable living, art, and music festival in Green River, Utah.
I was looking through the jenk with my friend Cade and I noticed a gear. It was resting on an old beat-up elementary desk.
It looked like a Top, so I picked it up and spun it.
It got me thinking about how every moment makes up the experience of the festival. How you find yourself doing a thing you never expected to do and it feels almost planned.
As if it was all part of the festival experience.
I found new inspiration and said to myself "I'm going to build a hat!"
I decided I was going to hunt for small pieces of metal on this rollercoaster ride of a festival. I took the pieces home with me and fashioned them onto a hat.
I went back the next year and offered my creation to Scotty, the festival organizer. He immediately recognized a few pieces as I was telling him about the story.
He told me to keep it.
I’ve been going every year since and I’m excited to return again this year.
I'm returning with my latest project. A trophy that I will be giving away to whoever wins this year's jenk wars.
Come join me in a timeless moment.
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