- Joey Morin is the owner of Joe's Hat Co. in George West.
- He started his business by accident. He learned how to use a vinyl-cutting machine and started making caps.
- Seven years later he turned that hobby into a storefront business.
One family’s cost-cutting move to buy clothes has led to an accidental hobby. George West native, Joey Morin, is working with a vinyl-cutting machine to make money.
People in George West often work in oil fields. After decades, Morin gave up working the fields for a hobby making Tex-Mex hats some consider funny.
Seven years in, Morin said the laughs have turned into his livelihood.
Morin owns Joe’s Hat Company in the George West neighborhood.
“We’re a small town. We’re family-owned and operated,” he said.
But before the business became a storefront, Morin was making his custom oilfield caps that he’d wear to work.
“And a while after I started making my own caps, people started asking me. And it just happened from there. My first hat design was I called it Texas oilfield. Which was a silhouette of Texas with a pump jack cut out on the inside of it,” Morin said.
As his business grew, he knew he needed a store front business to showcase his uniqueness.
“The things that make my caps different is the application method. I use vinyl-based materials. I have my own original design. I do a lot of Tex-Mex humor-themed caps. Those sell very well being that we’re from South Texas,” Morin said.
He does get local business. However, his business is thriving with online orders.
“Most of those, actually, sell all over the state of Texas and all over the nation. We’ve shipped our caps to all 50 states. And even shipped overseas to other countries,” Morin said.
Morin said he plans to keep selling his Tex-Mex humor hats for years to come.
Anyone who would like more information on his business at 605 Nueces Street in George West, on Facebook at Joe’s Hat Company, or his website at joeshatco.com.
