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Snow showers early, with a steadier snow developing late. Low 24F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 90%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected..

Snow showers early, with a steadier snow developing late. Low 24F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 90%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles with a collection of her specially made hats.     

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles models one of her specially made hats.

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles models one of her specially made hats.

A collection of Bluebird hats.

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles with a collection of her specially made hats.     

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles was born and raised in Hood River and grew up skiing and loving the snowy mountains. It was her college days at University of Utah in 2013 where she began hand crocheting beanies in her college dorm room as a hobby that her career was decided.

“People started asking to buy them, and sure enough, I was running around campus delivering beanies and shipping them out to people in Hood River. It always remained a side hustle and hobby throughout the years.” Moles began to get serious about this side hustle, believing she could make a career out of it.

“I used to play business instead of house as a little girl,” she said. She changed her degree from exercise sports science to operations management at the university and focused on setting up the business.

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles models one of her specially made hats.

The creativity and business mix works well for Moles. In the beginning, she was going by her name for the hat company, but later decided on a name that would appeal to a larger audience of men and women, particularly the ski and outdoor sports enthusiasts.

“The mountains and snow have always inspired me and how I design my beanies,” said Moles. She came up with her company name, “Bluebird Hats,” from what she calls a Bluebird day on the mountain, when there is a night of snowfall and then a sunny, clear blue sky day the next day, referred — “My epitome of happiness!”

Moles moved back to Hood River in 2020 with the plan to go full time with her company.

“I got my hands on a new hat making technique (using a flatbed knitting machine). This machine leveled up my hats 10 fold,” she said.

Moles met her husband in 2016, in Hood River, and learned his mom, her now mother-in-law, had owned a successful winter hat business back East. Moles said, “When she heard I was also a hat maker, she took me under her wing as my mentor and we combined her expertise with the flatbed knitting machine, with my design/desired beanie style, and we came up with the perfect winter beanie design. It’s a double-layered knit beanie that has an organic wool exterior, and a soft acrylic interior (so that there is no itch).

Kayla (Van Hoose) Moles models one of her specially made hats.

“I have never seen a beanie like mine, and I have never worn a hat as warm/long lasting quality,” Moles said. “I wanted to create a beanie that functioned as good as it looks, and I think I did that. I’m a firm believer that fashion doesn’t have to compromise function.”

The knitting is labor intensive. Even on the machine, there are 20-plus steps to preparing the hat, she said. It then has to be hand sewn into a hat shape. The final touches, such as label and pom pom, are added last by hand.

When Moles talked about her favorite part of running her own business she joked that she gets to wear so many hats. But really, she said, learning the many aspects of the business has been very important in how it has grown. Not only is she making each and every hat, but she handles the marketing, finance and accounting for the business.

The growth in her business has made her realize it might be time to hire some help, but she is truly appreciative of the growing pains she is having. This means her business is gaining popularity and her orders are increasing. She also enjoys working for herself and find it very rewarding to be a small business owner.

A collection of Bluebird hats.

Customers can buy Bluebird beanies online only and they generally ship in two to four business days after your order is placed. Moles stressed that the holidays are her busiest time so she does ask for a couple of extra days to fill orders.

When asked if she makes custom beanies, she said she is willing to give most ideas a try.

“This also goes for custom company patch hats. I always tell people to shoot me an email or Instagram DM, and we can see if we can make it happen,” said Moles.

Her favorite part of her business is seeing people wear her beanies. Moles enthusiastically enjoys her work and that customers keep buying her hats.

“It is truly the coolest feeling in the world to see your work being worn by someone else. Most of the time I walk by and smile, but sometimes I can’t help but tell them that I made their hat.”

For more information on these specialty made, handcrafted knit beanies, visit www.bluebirdhats.com, their Instagram

(@bluebird.hats) or Facebook (@bluebirdhats).

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