We were lucky to catch up with Jamie Slye recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jamie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

When I started this business, I didn’t want to just design and sell hats. I wanted this brand to invite people to truly be themselves-I thought the hat is the vehicle to do just that. In the very beginning, instead of just designing a hat to design a hat, I thought about very distinct personalities of people I know in my own personal life and then designed each hat based on each personality. So, the whole idea of the brand is that you find a hat that really speaks to you, your story, and your unique personality. Every one of our hats has a name and a story. For example, The Noble which is designed after my dad’s personality (his name was David Noble Slye) is for the leader of the pack, the person who paves the way for others. My hope is that when wearing The Noble, personal empowerment and inspiration shines through.

Hats can be very intimidating for some people, and it’s my goal to keep the hat designs simple and clean. To us, it’s not about the hat but about the person wearing it. And while our entire collection was originally inspired by personalities and important figures in my own life, each hat is ready to be molded into future versions of themselves with every new owner and every new journey.

Jamie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For as long as I can remember, I was intrigued by the idea that style is a personal expression from within. Even from an early age, I loved how fabric and materials made into interesting and unique pieces of wearable art could represent something about a person. As I got older, I somehow wanted this idea to become my career, and even better, my purpose. So, I went to college and studied Fashion Design, never really knowing where that may lead me, but confident that I was studying the right thing.

After college, I gained experience in retail buying, product development, and finally people management for a global fashion and tech company. Somehow throughout all of this experience, valuable experience, I was still missing something so, I started working with silk fabrics. Silk fabrics turned into custom-made bridal headpieces for brides all over the country and the world. I even designed a piece that was worn in front of Prince Charles in London, England.

But, I wasn’t done there. I realized that I wanted everyone, not just women who had a special occasion, to feel themselves and to exude confidence every day of their lives. I knew I was setting a big goal for myself, but I was committed to it. While I was “figuring it out,” I was excelling in my other career. I was managing a customer service team for a fast and growing global fashion and tech company. On the side, I was working with one of the oldest hat makers in the US to have my hat designs produced. It was a crazy amount of years doing both, but that’s all part of the journey.

After hiring and building the first customer service team in London for that same company, I was asked to go to London again for a two-year stint. This was a pivotal moment in my career. Although I couldn’t imagine not taking this unbelievable opportunity, I also couldn’t imagine putting my purpose on hold for another two years. So I took the leap and left a highly rewarding job that I loved.

Not every step along the way has been easy, but that’s the beauty in all of this.

So here I am today, on a mission to create distinct, high-quality, US-made unisex hats that compliment unique personalities and empower individuals to express their own personal style. What sets us apart? All of our hats truly are unisex – the sizes, shapes, and colors work for men or women. Also, everything is US-made, all the way down to where the wool is sourced and the trims are made. We are truly passionate about remaining “American-made.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

We primarily sell on our website, www.jamieslye.com, We also sell directly to brick-and-mortar retailers, so we run a wholesale business as well. We do sell on Amazon and Etsy, but both of those are very small revenue outlets for us. The pros of having our own website are we have full control of our brand image, which is very important to us, and it makes it really easy for customers to find us. Also, using our own website gives us more opportunities to learn about where our customers are coming from, how long they’re on our site, and what products they’re searching for. This allows us to take a more personalized online approach too. From a small business perspective, having different online revenue outlets is actually quite time-consuming with very little reward, and we will be solely focusing on our website in the year 2023. We will no longer be using Amazon and Etsy.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Being out in the public attending local, regional, and national pop-up events have been one of our most successful strategies for growing clientele. One, people can see our product in person therefore truly getting to see the quality of our product, and second, we get to hear first-hand valuable feedback about our product. While running an online business definitely has its pros, meeting and talking with customers in person is the most valuable strategy for our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jamieslye.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamieslye/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamieslye/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-slye-94b76a33/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1R2htZ_wIuUwlVzHS3jOdQ

Image Credits
Kim Carrier Photography