After a year on the road, this hat company owner put down roots

Hailee Grisham Hampton is the owner of Hurry Slow Hat Co., a hat company with original designs by Hampton, based in New Hampshire.

Hampton went to Parsons School of Design in New York City to study fashion. But soon into her education, she realized she didn’t want to go the traditional fashion route.

“I was meant to live in the mountains,” said Hampton. “And I came to the realization that if I wanted to live where I wanted to live, I almost had to create that position for myself.”

So, she started her own company. A few years into business, she decided to take Hurry Slow Hat Co. on the road.

“My husband and I had this kind of dream about moving into a van, living on the road and traveling the country,” recalled Hampton about her decision to take her business mobile.

“And it may be old fashioned, but we always really found that the best way of selling our product was in person.”

Thirteen months and hundreds of store visits later, Hampton managed to sell her hats to 50 stores across the country.

After an adventure of a lifetime, she decided this year she was ready to lay down roots with her first brick-and-mortar store in Littleton, New Hampshire.

To hear more of Hampton’s story, click the play button above.