We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tammi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tammi below.

Alright, Tammi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

This question comes up a lot in my world… and I get it. When I started Cowtown Wild Rags, I knew there would be challenges. Like most new ventures, the excitement pulls you in at first. Then reality rolls in like fog over the ocean, and suddenly you’re navigating unfamiliar waters, just doing your best to stay on course.

The truth is, you can’t predict the problems that will show up. And the ones you do expect? You often move through those with surprising ease. It’s the curveballs that test your grit.

Thankfully, I’ve spent the last 25 years deeply rooted in mindset work. So when the doubts, fears, and “what ifs” came up, I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t let them take over. One thing I’ve learned is that the mind will do everything it can to stop you from going after what you say you want. It takes awareness, discipline, and a lot of trust to keep going anyway.

There are a couple of books that made a big difference for me. The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews taught me that success begins when you take full responsibility for your life. Once you adopt the mindset of “the buck stops here,” everything changes. You stop waiting. You stop blaming. You start building.

Then there’s Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander. It’s quirky and cartoonish, but it hit home in a big way. He talks about growing thick rhino skin as an entrepreneur, because the truth is… not everyone is going to cheer for you. That book gave me permission to move forward with boldness, resilience, and a sense of humor.

Those books, along with years of inner work, have helped me stay steady on the path. But I also have to credit my husband. He’s been my sounding board, my strategist, and someone I regularly brainstorm with about how to become the best version of ourselves. We talk often about the values that matter most — honor, integrity, kindness — and how to live them out in real time.

To me, success isn’t about finding a perfect formula. It’s about becoming the kind of person who’s willing to keep showing up, especially when it gets hard. That’s what I believe it really takes.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi, I’m Tammi Putnam, owner and designer of Cowtown Wild Rags. My journey started with a deep love for Western tradition, history, and cowboy style.

I’ve spent most of my life immersed in the Western world. One day, I ordered a silk scarf online. I’ve always loved wearing silk… if you’ve never tried it, it’s the perfect fabric. Cool in the summer, warm in the winter. When the scarf arrived, I was excited. It was beautiful… a rich blend of turquoise, maroon, and red. But when I turned it over, I noticed the backside was dull and almost white. They had only printed on one side! It was so frustrating to receive something that looked stunning, only to be disappointed the moment I held it in my hands.

Curious, I went to my scarf collection… I probably own over 50 that I have collected over the decades. It was annoying to realize how many had that same pale, unfinished backside. All this time, I had been wearing sub-par scarves. I should have noticed it sooner because every time I took a pic wearing a scarf, that pesky pale back always showed in the image! Receiving that silk scarf in the mail was the catalyst for starting my own silk scarf company. That idea eventually became Cowtown Wild Rags.

Cowtown is Fort Worth’s nickname, and “rags” is what old cowboys and vaqueros used to call their scarves. They wore them to protect themselves from wind, rain, dust, and sun. What started as a practical use for cowboys has evolved into a staple Western fashion accessory, still used today by cowboys and cowgirls. I love the history of the American cowboy!

Cowtown Wild Rags was born in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas. We specialize in premium, double-sided 100% silk wild rags… vibrant Western scarves that are as functional as they are eye-catching. Whether you’re riding in the arena, heading to a concert, or just adding a bold Western touch to your outfit, our wild rags are made to stand out.

We offer two sizes, 36″ and 42″ – with hand-rolled edges and full-color printing on both sides. That detail alone sets us apart. Most brands skip it, but we believe it makes all the difference.

Our customers range from Western men and women to people who aren’t interested in the Western world but are searching for a fabulous silk scarf! I love the mix of people who show up on our website and social media. One of the biggest problems we solve is color and sizing. We hear it all the time… our customers are excited to finally find full-color prints and larger scarf sizes that actually work for them. And men, especially, have told us they’ve been overlooked by silk scarf companies for years. Not anymore. About 1/3 of our customers are men.

What makes Cowtown Wild Rags different is our commitment to quality, our bold original designs, and our deep roots in real Western culture. We’re not chasing a trend. We live this life. And we care deeply about what we create… because we wear them too!

When you put on a Cowtown Wild Rag, you’re not just wearing a scarf. You’re wearing something made with purpose, pride, and a whole lot of Western heart. That’s why our motto is… “Get Your Wild On!”

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Great question. In the beginning, I started briefly with the idea of a one-sided print scarf. To be honest, all the competition offered one-sided prints, and it’s significantly cheaper to manufacture compared to double-sided. At the time, I was building the website but not promoting it. I was staying off social media. And the truth is… I didn’t believe in the product. That was a hard conversation I had to have with myself.

When you’re avoiding something in business that you know you should be doing, it’s worth asking – what’s really holding you back? For me, I realized I wasn’t happy with the product. I didn’t enjoy wearing a one-sided print scarf, so why would I want to sell them? Wasn’t that what bothered me the most…the one-sided print? I had to go back to my initial feeling of receiving that pale-backed silk scarf. I had forgotten that feeling along the way because I was following others instead of leading Cowtown Wild Rag. Once I made that change of running our race, things changed for us because we weren’t born to follow. Our silk scarves are the best on the market (in our opinion), and once we decided to “get baby out of the corner,” we’ve thrived.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

One thing that really helped me in building Cowtown Wild Rags was my background as an Amazon seller. I already knew how to create products, bring them to market, and structure a website with strong SEO. I understood how to make photos stand out and how to build listings that convert. For a while, Amazon was our biggest sales channel… but this year, Shopify is set to surpass it. I honestly didn’t expect that to happen… but here we are!

In the early stages, I was juggling everything: building the website, designing the products, overseeing manufacturing, launching social media… it was a lot. But it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch a simple idea grow into something real. Now we’re growing on TikTok and Instagram, getting ready to launch wholesale, and seeing our products ship across the U.S. We’ll be adding Australia and Canada next.

There’s still a lot ahead, but watching Cowtown Wild Rags grow and thrive has been one of the most exciting and fulfilling journeys I’ve ever taken.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cowtownwildrags.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowtownwildrags
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowtownWild/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cowtownwildrags
• Other: tiktok.com/@cowtownwildrags
  pinterest.com/cowtownwildrags

Image Credits

Cowtown Wild Rags owns all the images.