Recaps isn’t your ordinary hat brand—it's the colorful, playful brainchild of founder Anneka Herndon, a creator whose globe-trotting adventures and boundless imagination shape every unique, sustainably-crafted hat the company puts out.
Launched in 2009, Recaps started as Anneka’s personal quest for headwear that could keep up with her active life of rock climbing, skiing, and paragliding—while simultaneously merging her love of creativity, design, sustainability, and adventure.
Anneka’s knack for creating kicked off early: “I learned to sew as a kid bouncing between the plateaus of a tiny ranch town and the peaks of a ski village in Southwest Colorado,” she recalls. An extracurricular school sewing class further ignited her passion, giving her the tools to stitch up gear for her everyday adventures.
After briefly dipping into art school for printmaking, Anneka quickly realized traditional college wasn't quite her jam. Instead, she dove headfirst into hands-on adventures—rock climbing across Asia, paragliding in Nepal, skiing in South America—all of which eventually led her to obtaining a certificate in sustainable design from the Ecosa Institute, perfectly blending her love for creativity and adventure with her eco-consciousness.
THE CADET HAT
The big idea for Recaps sparked during a summer landscaping gig when Anneka crafted a quirky cadet-style hat from her beloved old Carhartts. "People started asking me to make hats from their favorite old clothes," Anneka laughs, remembering the joy of giving worn-out gear a new lease on life.
As the orders poured in, Anneka recalled the small tailor shops that offered custom, small scale sewing on the bustling city streets of Bangkok. She took a leap and flew there to produce her first batch of hats—with minimal cash, zero formal business training, and a huge dose of determination.
It was this gutsy move, which Anneka playfully calls her "willingness to try," that truly launched Recaps into existence.
It didn’t take Anneka long to realize that it was too early for Recaps to support overseas manufacturing and import challenges, so she dusted off her sewing machine and started churning out every single order with her own hands.
Recaps truly took off with its quirky mini-brim Trucker hats, crafted from thrifted finds.
“I wanted to continue with my 100% upcycled theme, so I found old trucker hats at thrift stores and cut the brims down to the shape I wanted,” explains Anneka, “Then I would find cool graphics from old shirts and sew them onto the hat.”
She had just finished her first prototype and found herself at dinner with a rep from a well-known kayak company. He saw her hat and asked if she could make a custom run for his company—Liquid Logic.
“He ordered 100 on the spot, and I said yes, even though I had no idea how to do that," laughs Anneka. “After days of trying to come up with how to get his logo onto my hats, my distant printmaking skills whispered a solution: Lino block printing.”
“It worked perfectly, and, to this day, I still carve images and logos into lino blocks, print on reclaimed materials, and sew them onto my custom-designed hats,” says Anneka. “Which are not thrift store hats anymore, cause let’s face it, nobody wants to wear someone else’s sweaty hat.”
As demand for Recaps soared, it eventually led Anneka to partner with manufacturers overseas who have the required skillset as well as share her unwavering commitment to working with 100% recycled materials.
Now nestled in the charming town of Cashmere, Washington, Recaps continues to thrive with a small, spirited team who use CNC machines and hand-carved lino blocks to continue to create custom, one-of-a-kind designs.
THE SHADE SHIFTER
One of Recaps' most ingenious creations is the Shade Shifter Sun Hat, which launched in 2024 and can be found at GGG, was born straight out of Anneka’s challenges with finding the right sun coverage as an avid paraglider pilot.
“We spend so much time out in the sun on launch or walking out of remote landings, that big shade is crucial,” explains Anneka, “But we have to fit everything we need into our harness which has a very small backpack compartment built in, so every square inch of every item must be very thought out.”
In the past, Anneka would cram her conventional sun hats into the small compartment, but when it came time to use them they were so misshapen and floppy that they had become unwearable.
“That's where I got the idea for the spring steel design,” smiles Anneka. “Nobody had made one for the outdoor adventure application, and once I made the prototype, I realized that these hats could be useful for anyone adventuring outside due to the ability to pack it down so small!”
The Shade Shifter comes in at a featherweight 2.8 ounces, has a big shade brim that can withstand far more wind than regular sun hats due to the spring steel around the brim and with a simple twist and fold motion, collapses down into a 5-inch flat circle, and can fit into a jacket pocket.
“The Shade Shifter is still stylish with bright colors and Recaps' signature brim trim and block printed band,” adds Anneka. “It is also made from 100% recycled nylon, keeping with the ethos of Recaps.”
So far, the Shade Shifter has received glowing reviews, and Anneka is incredibly proud of being able to solve a problem that doesn’t just make her life better, but improves the experience of her fellow outdoor enthusiasts too.
“One of the best stories was from a guy who took his [Shade Shifter] on the Grand Canyon—a 30-day river trip,” tells Anneka. “He brought it as his back up sun hat and started with his beloved straw river hat. Day one the winds were high and quickly destroyed his straw hat, so he busted out the Shade Shifter. He said he was so glad because it was far better than the straw hat, and he wore it all day everyday on the river.”
THE HIGHS AND LOWS
“There truly has been so many rewards in this journey,” smiles Anneka. “I have made custom hats for a big group supporting a friend with Cancer, as well as for fundraising for an education fund for a girl who died in an avalanche, and for the commemoration of a professional skier who lost her life.”
Those projects are the ones that make Anneka the most proud: “that all those people are wearing my artwork on their heads to support a deeply meaningful cause.”
On the flipside, Anneka continues to overcome the challenges and hurdles that running a small company presents, albeit with passion, enthusiasm, and creativity.
“One of the biggest challenges for me as a founder is how to approach social media while staying true to myself and keep the brand authentic,” explains Anneka, “Fortunately Recaps has really sold itself by word of mouth all these years, which has provided really solid and healthy growth.”
Another big challenge has been sourcing her custom-made hats, and getting them made from recycled material. Anneka has worked with 5 different factories in a few different countries over the years —and navigating Covid and tariffs has forced her to find new manufacturers, which of course—takes time and money.
THE FUTURE FOR RECAPS
Amidst it all, Recaps charges forward, and continues to be a joyful celebration of Anneka’s commitment to authenticity, creativity, and sustainability—all stitched into every vibrant hat they make.
As for the future, Anneka keeps her cards close, but did let us in on a little company secret of what’s coming down the proverbial pipe. “I am working on some fun new printing methods,” shared Anneka. “It's cool because it's a blend of a common printing method, with something that nobody has really done before!”
With all her years of experience successfully growing and expanding with Recaps, Anneka was kind enough to share a bit of advice for fellow entrepreneurs looking to get into gear making and manufacturing:
#1. Be brave and have the willingness to try.
#2 Crunch the numbers!
#3 Start small and don’t extend yourself too far in the beginning.
“Recaps has always just been an expression of myself,” says Anneka. “I value putting authenticity before monetary growth. I focus on uniqueness before mass production, and I believe an expression of being a “little bit different” can really go the distance.”
