Haley Nelson started her business in November 2023 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Since moving to Montana, she has remained busy fulfilling online custom orders and shipping hats to customers across the country.

Next year, she plans on being at more rodeos around Montana, but this year, she's staying close to home, getting a feel for the culture and what customers want to shop for in Mineral County. 

Her husband, Jacob, gifted her a hat bar experience while they were in Montana back in 2023, and it sparked the idea that would eventually become her business. 

"Oh my gosh, this is so cool!” she said remembering the experience. “I’d never even heard of a hat bar before. So, when I went back home to Arizona, I realized there wasn’t anyone doing anything like this in Lake Havasu. So, I sat down and penciled out a business plan, ordered what I felt I needed and was in business a month later,” she shared. 

Before starting Desert Hat Bar, Nelson worked for a medical alert company originally owned by her father. After the business was sold to new owners out of Pennsylvania, she continued helping manage operations from Arizona remotely while building her hat bar business on the side.  

While retail was a new venture, she quickly adapted. She launched an Instagram account and soon began booking private house parties, birthday celebrations, rodeo events and other gatherings. As demand grew, Nelson made the decision to pursue the business full-time. 

“Even people that really don’t wear hats said, ‘I want to go to a hat party,’ so it took off big time and was very successful,” she said. 

Her mother is involved with Pampered Chef, so she knew and understood how house parties operated.

Her hats are not custom made to everyone’s head size. 

“I purchase the hats in sizes small, medium, large and extra-large. They are unisex and pre-shaped. I do the designing to the customer’s specific request. The branding, the hat bands, the charms and feathers.” 

A selection of hat bands are on a table so the customer picks out the color and style along with the ‘bling’ she has laid out and Nelson puts them together. No two hats are the same because everyone picks what they want to truly customize it to their personality. 

Flat brim and cowboy styles are in stock in suede or wool which are sturdy and much less in cost than beaver-made hats. Her straw hats are selling strong for summer as they aren’t as hot and ball caps are also available. 

In addition to custom hats, Nelson has begun offering women's clothing and is using her storefront to learn more about local fashion preferences before expanding her inventory. 

“My primary customer tends to be women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond,” she said. “I try not to carry clothing that's overly trendy or youthful. I choose pieces that I would wear myself. The clothing is more modest, comfortable everyday styles.” 

Because a storefront is new to her as she’s learning the ropes on hours of operation, pricing and ordering inventory, holding hat parties is on hold for now. 

Desert Hat Bar & Boutique is located at 204 4th Ave., Suite 2, in Superior, across from the S & S Foods and the Conoco gas station. It will be open Wednesday through Saturday, starting July 1.