The Hats of Jacob Young

Jacob is a second generation Oregon hat maker, following close in the traditions established by his parents with the creation of Hat People. Within his full-time, interconnected work with Hat People, Jacob creates hats entirely on his own. The photographs below show some of his work. Hat People began in 1978, the year before Jacob was born. He has done various work with the business all his life - mostly in sales and shipping - but in the year 2010 he began working full-time with Hat People. Along with continuing the jobs he was already familiar with, he began the monumental task of learning all the facets that make Hat People. His ultimate goal is to shepherd his parent’s business into a long-term future. Hat People rose from the artisan market traditions of the Pacific Northwest. It was like so many other cottage industry craft business at the time, inspired by: the openness of the Eugene and Portland Saturday Markets, formative event principles that upheld local handmade products by excluding imports, and the more generalized craft fair culture of the 1960's. Often running on a shoestring budget and making it up as they went along, Hat People has become a sustainable product-based business, gathering many long term fans and supporters along the way. Looking back at the path traveled, considering only those that have made solvent businesses, the landscape of Hat People’s peer vendors is incredibly varied. As of 2023, this Pacific Northwest tradition is now in its first-to-seventh generation of presenters. Walk the paths of any of the markets (above mentioned and beyond) and you will noticed the vendors are: well worn professionals, newbie artist/artisans, visionaries just budding with their first real profit, and absolute dinosaurs, sitting in their wooden booths that saw the opening market day back in 1971. Every varied booth is there together, and if this isn’t enough, market will be available next week, next year, and the 55th Anniversary is just around the corner... Jacob believes that even with this rich living history, this is only the beginning.

“Lets do more than dip our toes in the river of time, lets get wet. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going to wear a hat while I’m doing it.”

-Jacob@thehats