A weekend idea that turned into the family brand
How a trail ride in the Tetons, a hat shaping class, and a whole lot of "let's just try it" turned into Hangman Hats.
It started with a trail ride
We get asked all the time — "how'd you get into making hats?" — so we figured enough people asked that we should just add that story! Growing up in Colorado, Justin has always loved cowboy hats and the western style, so when Jen took the family on a week-long trail ride adventure in the Teton Mountains, he was set! Jen and the girls…not so much.
They needed hats of their own, so we bought some hats and had our first custom hat experience. It was SOO much fun. Jen and the girls had a great time, and the family love for the lore of western headwear was born.
Then came the course
When we got home, we started the discussion about how we could start a little side gig together and dip our toe in the entrepreneurial waters. We kept thinking about how much fun the custom hat experience was, so we found a course and Justin learned to design, steam, shape and customize hats!
He also learned about how hats are made, materials used, hat care, and how tough a good hat can be. A 3-day course in Colorado, a return trip home, and we started the process of forming a business.
Hangman Hats was born
Doing all the paperwork and administrative work to form a company was one thing, but coming up with a name and the image that represented us and what we wanted to create?!? MAN, that was nearly impossible!! We thought up dozens of names and hundreds of ideas, but nothing seemed right.
Then one day, Justin was doodling some thoughts for a company logo, drew a stick figure, and had an idea… He needed counsel, so he called a close friend and asked, "Hey, what about ‘Stickman Hats’?" "Stickman? Like the guy from Hangman?" BOOM!! And so, Hangman Hats was born!
We had the name, the rest just fell together, and it's been a wild ride ever since! What started as a "hey, maybe we could just do this sometimes on the weekend when we're bored" has turned into a real company!! We can't thank our family, our daughters, our mentors, and our community enough for supporting and promoting us. We don't take it lightly!
Community Through Hats
Hangman Hats doesn't stop at custom orders and hat bars — it shows up in the rest of our life too.
The Grit Hat
When he's not shaping hats, Justin may be found coaching wrestling. His fellow coaches and he had the idea to create a "Grit Hat" — a custom hat that is awarded to the wrestler who shows the most heart on the mat during a competition. Not the one who dominates, but the one who never quits and fights the whole time.
Standing With FFA
Jen accepted the award when Hangman Hats was honored by the Lodi FFA chapter for our work supporting their program — another way hats have connected us to the community around us. These kiddos are incredible and we're proud to support them however we can!
Meet JIM
We Ride for the Brand
Out where cattle and cowboys roam, a brand tells folks who you are and where you're from. Ours is family, through and through — two J's in the brim, an M in the crown, a G in the face.
And those brushstroke A's in the name? Filled in like the Hangman game! Anyone who knows us knows we love to have fun, so what better way to show that than adding a hat nod to a game in our name? We're clever like that 😉
Justin & Jen — The Hangman Hats founders
