YAK Apparel Brightens Up Your Winter With Colorful Hand-Made Hats | BettyConfidential.com
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful…” You hear the words to that holiday song and immediately picture cold, frosty winds and snow all around you. Which is perfectly fine when you’re indoors, it’s just that when you’re outside it’s miserable!
You know you have to bundle up, but who wants to look like Ralphie from A Christmas Story? YAK Apparel’s winter hats are cheerfully printed bundles of cuteness that keep your head warm, your hair protected by nasty weather while it does good at the same time.
You see, everything that’s created for YAK Apparel is made in Nepal. Marion Surette and Sanjay Ranjit co-founded the line back in 2009. They met at an M.I.T. Entrepreneurial event. At the time Marion was importing handbags from Italy, and Sanjay was exploring the idea of importing items from Nepal. As she says, “I guess we are both Entrepreneurs to the core.”
Between their trip to Kathmandu (Sanjay’s home town) his mother visiting them in Boston, the reactions of their friends when they saw the hand-knitted hats, mittens and scarves, they just knew that YAK Apparel had to be born.
YAK apparel hats are definitely adorable (and warm) but one of the things that make YAK Apparel so different from other companies is that they were founded upon the ideals of sustainability and Fair Wage.
As Marion told us, “YAK Apparel was created because we wanted to support Nepal as a country and its people and at the same time we realized from the reaction of friends and family that everybody loved the hats, mittens and hand warmers his Mom had brought. So it grew naturally. I think people responded to the fact that these items were real: real wool, made by real people, they were based in the authenticity of the earflap hat which is a century old design.”
Each item is lovingly made by hand from artisans in Nepal. YAK Apparel is based in Boston. So there has to be a bunch of emails flying back and forth when they design them, right? And who decides a hat’s going to be pink or have a pom-pom? Marion let us in on how the design process works.
“The design process is very much driven by the creativity of the women who make the hats. Our design team here considers its role (is) to infuse some of our fashion trends into the product.
"For example, that’s how our fur pom-pom hats came to life. We fused the designs of the artisans in Nepal with what we knew to be a strong trend here and in Europe. Namely, fur accents.
"We chose to use faux-fur because we wanted to be people AND animal friendly.
Historically Nepal has been a niche for artists and creativity. Most of the historic towns are nothing less than an art studio, filled with intricate/sophisticated monuments, sculptures and buildings.”
Lately, you hear terms like “sustainability,” “Fair Trade,” and “Fair Wage” banded about all the time. But what does it really mean? What exactly is a “sustainable good?” Marion kindly explained what it is and how it fuses with YAK Apparel’s sensibilities.
She told us, “Creating sustainable items simply grows out of how you do business and what philosophical base line you have as a business.
Sanjay's desire is to help the country he is from is one baseline for YAK Apparel. And the best way he can do that is by building a successful business here which generates a consistent need for products ‘Made in Nepal.’
Sanjay travels to Nepal frequently, he knows all the people we work with personally. He also has a family history of apparel manufacturing in Nepal, so he understands what it takes to manufacture and to maintain a productive labor force. He has seen all the places where our hats are made. Sanjay’s met artisans' families and shared meals with them. It is very much a personal thing.
Beyond that, our focus is to stay with authenticity and natural materials, because we believe in quality. A product that really performs for our customer and sustaining the world we live in.
We know for example, that natural wool keeps you a lot warmer than a synthetic blend. So we don't use synthetic wool blends. We also know that wool can be itchy--so we make sure there is a lining in the hats to keep you comfortable. Once you have a baseline what you stand for, the choices and decisions are pretty straight forward.
We speak to the people who also have that philosophy. Our goal is to provide products for people who understand and value authentic, natural and sustainable. You can be all that AND have a sense of fashion.
So basically it is driven by what we as the people who run the company are and believe, and encouraged by all those who purchase our products.”
Their hats are very adorable. And who doesn’t wear a hat in winter? We wanted to know what to look for when buying one. Marion explained by stating, “Our tag line ‘Y.A.K.--You Are on of a Kind.’ It encourages everyone to be who they are.
"The fact that we have thousands of varieties, designs and color combinations that allows people to pick what works for them.
"And that is a result of the fact that every hat is made by hand and that we encourage creativity among the artisans who make them. We have seen everything from customers looking to match their winter coat, their hair color, their eye color to people wanting natural earthy colors because they felt simple is beautiful or a customer simply picking her favorite color.
"Natural Beauty - that's our motto. And be yourself. If it works for you - it's beautiful!”
If you’re buying a hat as a present, Marion says to keep these things in mind: “Think about where the person you buying for may wear the hat. Will she wear it on her walk to the office on cold winter days or to go snowboarding?
"That may influence the style and color choices you make. Better yet, buy one for yourself and one as a gift and make plans to wear them doing something fun together!”
If you’ve ever had a winter hat that got wrecked—and it’s always your fave hat—there are some tips on hat care that Marion wanted to pass on.
“Wool is very rugged. It doesn't need a lot of care. Make sure you let it dry well if it gets wet. Try not to stain it too much because you can't toss it in the washing machine. You can spot clean it with soap and water.
"If you have a faux-fur lined hat, then you can take a regular hair brush and brush the fur every once in awhile.”
Since we’re talking about the holidays, we couldn’t resist asking Marion what she wanted Santa to bring her this year. She said, “Lots of snow and a very cold winter!”
Be sure to snap up some of YAK Apparel's fabulous pieces right now at BettyConfidential Shop -- 30% off in our exclusive flash sale!
PJ Gach is Senior Editor: Style + Beauty at BettyConfidential.
Hand-made in Nepal, these knitted wonders are the perfect gift to give and get.
You know you have to bundle up, but who wants to look like Ralphie from A Christmas Story? YAK Apparel’s winter hats are cheerfully printed bundles of cuteness that keep your head warm, your hair protected by nasty weather while it does good at the same time.
You see, everything that’s created for YAK Apparel is made in Nepal. Marion Surette and Sanjay Ranjit co-founded the line back in 2009. They met at an M.I.T. Entrepreneurial event. At the time Marion was importing handbags from Italy, and Sanjay was exploring the idea of importing items from Nepal. As she says, “I guess we are both Entrepreneurs to the core.”
Between their trip to Kathmandu (Sanjay’s home town) his mother visiting them in Boston, the reactions of their friends when they saw the hand-knitted hats, mittens and scarves, they just knew that YAK Apparel had to be born.
YAK apparel hats are definitely adorable (and warm) but one of the things that make YAK Apparel so different from other companies is that they were founded upon the ideals of sustainability and Fair Wage.
As Marion told us, “YAK Apparel was created because we wanted to support Nepal as a country and its people and at the same time we realized from the reaction of friends and family that everybody loved the hats, mittens and hand warmers his Mom had brought. So it grew naturally. I think people responded to the fact that these items were real: real wool, made by real people, they were based in the authenticity of the earflap hat which is a century old design.”
Each item is lovingly made by hand from artisans in Nepal. YAK Apparel is based in Boston. So there has to be a bunch of emails flying back and forth when they design them, right? And who decides a hat’s going to be pink or have a pom-pom? Marion let us in on how the design process works.
Hand-made in Nepal, these knitted wonders are the perfect gift to give and get.
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"For example, that’s how our fur pom-pom hats came to life. We fused the designs of the artisans in Nepal with what we knew to be a strong trend here and in Europe. Namely, fur accents.
"We chose to use faux-fur because we wanted to be people AND animal friendly.
Historically Nepal has been a niche for artists and creativity. Most of the historic towns are nothing less than an art studio, filled with intricate/sophisticated monuments, sculptures and buildings.”
Lately, you hear terms like “sustainability,” “Fair Trade,” and “Fair Wage” banded about all the time. But what does it really mean? What exactly is a “sustainable good?” Marion kindly explained what it is and how it fuses with YAK Apparel’s sensibilities.
She told us, “Creating sustainable items simply grows out of how you do business and what philosophical base line you have as a business.
Sanjay's desire is to help the country he is from is one baseline for YAK Apparel. And the best way he can do that is by building a successful business here which generates a consistent need for products ‘Made in Nepal.’
Sanjay travels to Nepal frequently, he knows all the people we work with personally. He also has a family history of apparel manufacturing in Nepal, so he understands what it takes to manufacture and to maintain a productive labor force. He has seen all the places where our hats are made. Sanjay’s met artisans' families and shared meals with them. It is very much a personal thing.
Beyond that, our focus is to stay with authenticity and natural materials, because we believe in quality. A product that really performs for our customer and sustaining the world we live in.
We know for example, that natural wool keeps you a lot warmer than a synthetic blend. So we don't use synthetic wool blends. We also know that wool can be itchy--so we make sure there is a lining in the hats to keep you comfortable. Once you have a baseline what you stand for, the choices and decisions are pretty straight forward.
We speak to the people who also have that philosophy. Our goal is to provide products for people who understand and value authentic, natural and sustainable. You can be all that AND have a sense of fashion.
So basically it is driven by what we as the people who run the company are and believe, and encouraged by all those who purchase our products.”
"The fact that we have thousands of varieties, designs and color combinations that allows people to pick what works for them.
"And that is a result of the fact that every hat is made by hand and that we encourage creativity among the artisans who make them. We have seen everything from customers looking to match their winter coat, their hair color, their eye color to people wanting natural earthy colors because they felt simple is beautiful or a customer simply picking her favorite color.
"Natural Beauty - that's our motto. And be yourself. If it works for you - it's beautiful!”
If you’re buying a hat as a present, Marion says to keep these things in mind: “Think about where the person you buying for may wear the hat. Will she wear it on her walk to the office on cold winter days or to go snowboarding?
"That may influence the style and color choices you make. Better yet, buy one for yourself and one as a gift and make plans to wear them doing something fun together!”
If you’ve ever had a winter hat that got wrecked—and it’s always your fave hat—there are some tips on hat care that Marion wanted to pass on.
“Wool is very rugged. It doesn't need a lot of care. Make sure you let it dry well if it gets wet. Try not to stain it too much because you can't toss it in the washing machine. You can spot clean it with soap and water.
"If you have a faux-fur lined hat, then you can take a regular hair brush and brush the fur every once in awhile.”
Since we’re talking about the holidays, we couldn’t resist asking Marion what she wanted Santa to bring her this year. She said, “Lots of snow and a very cold winter!”
Be sure to snap up some of YAK Apparel's fabulous pieces right now at BettyConfidential Shop -- 30% off in our exclusive flash sale!
PJ Gach is Senior Editor: Style + Beauty at BettyConfidential.
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