The Little Hat Company is a fun place to go. It is full of colorful toys, books, fuzzy puppets, and the very sweet and unique hats that are the core of its business. But that’s only part of the story; the other part is that the Little Hat Company is a company on the move, adding daily to the economic vitality of South Berwick.
On the day I visited, Jennifer Houghton and her son were putting up new shelves to showcase the hats. A designer had just dropped off the prototype for a strawberry hat that Jen expects will be a big hit at the Strawberry Festival, and Jen shared the news that Little Hat Company will be featured in Yankee Magazine’s summer travel issue.
The growth of Little Hat Company has been an exciting journey for South Berwick resident Jen Houghton. It all started when she sewed a hat for her own child. Soon friends and then retailers were requesting hats and Jen was trying to figure out production processes and working late into the night to fulfill orders. Over the next two years the business grew quickly and reached several milestones: joining with business partner, Susan Page, incorporating as an LLC, opening the retail store in South Berwick, expanding retail sales to include toys and gifts, internet sales, the first catalog, a second location in Cape Neddick, and now the business is getting ready to launch a new website with a new more professional look.
“We are on the cusp,” says Jen Houghton, “We are on track to double sales of hats this year from last. We’ve shipped hats to five continents.” She explains that right now the two retail locations are supporting the growth of hat sales. Over the past few months the partners have stepped back to think about how to market the hats nationally and grow their internet sales. She feels the launch of the new website coupled with the feature in Yankee Magazine will move the business to a new level.
Jen admits she works 70 hours a week but speaks with pride about what the hard work is achieving. Little Hat Company now has ten part-time employees. Jen is pleased that Little Hat Company has been able to offer employment opportunities that allow people to work locally and provide a flexible situation for people who are trying to balance work and family. The company recently had a planning session where everyone involved set goals for what they hope to be doing in the company five years from now. “Coming together as a group to meet both shared and individual goals doesn’t feel like work.” says Jen.
Jen expects that Little Hat Company will always be based in South Berwick. She is pleased with the synergy that is occurring downtown. She recently heard from a customer about how great it was to come to downtown South Berwick and buy vacuum cleaner bags, get a prescription filled, shop for dinner, and then stop by Little Hat Company to pick up a gift. Little Hat Company opens their second floor meeting room to the community for story times, play groups, and other events, bringing a constant stream of people to the downtown. She expects the Yankee Magazine article will draw some tourists to the store and to South Berwick this summer.
When asked about what issues face downtown merchants, Jen Houghton says that parking doesn’t seem to be a problem. She counts how many parking spaces are open when she is at the store and there are almost always available spaces. She says she gets quite a bit of walk-in traffic. “I just want people to let change happen” she says when asked what will make downtown better.
Jen’s dream for herself is that Little Hat Company will become profitable enough so that she can buy a home on the ocean so her children will always have a family place to retreat to and enjoy. The fortunate thing for South Berwick is that as Jen Houghton pursues her dream, she is providing employment and economic opportunity to local residents who work at Little Hat Company and adding to the downtown economy. The next time you drive downtown and see the colorful flags flying and the herd of very large stuffed animals on the sidewalk in front of Little Hat Company think to yourself, “This is what economic development looks like.”
The Little Hat Company, 10 Portland St., South Berwick, Maine, (207) 384-0080
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