A Salinas couple puts a local spin on the hat industry for customers of all ages.

When a Salinas couple started their small business five years ago, they never imagined they’d end up outfitting heads from age 5 to 90. But a twist of fate and a friend’s suggestion led them to trade wellness products for stylish headwear, launching them into an unexpected adventure in the hat industry.

Now, their company Highway One Station is making waves from Monterey County to Nevada, one fashionable cap at a time.

Two years ago, the married Salinas couple – Karina Young and her wife, who goes by Tucker – envisioned their own take on the hat industry. Hats can serve as an extremely popular accessory item for many people, the couple believes.

When a friend encouraged them to focus on fun designs and fashionable quality, customers soon found their premium-branded products can be trendy and convenient.

Young and Tucker first met 26 years ago in San Francisco. Tucker was born and raised in Salinas, and Young previously worked at Hartnell College. They decided to start a small business in 2019, named Highway One Station, after the famous Big Sur coastline road and Tucker’s love of classic gas stations.

“When I was little, what I loved about gas stations was that you could get bait and an ice cream,” Tucker says. “You never knew what you would get and find. That’s how I feel my inspiration for our business has been.”

They started their company inside their home as a wellness company for people and pets. In 2022, the women switched to creating hats full-time. Tucker calls it “a happy accident.”

“We’ve had just a great pivot,” she says about their company’s abrupt change in product.

Selling hats was a learning opportunity for both Tucker and Young, as each is self-taught in their own side of the business.

Young has a background in education. She trained herself on how to use Adobe Illustrator, the platform she uses for creating the designs for the hats. Some of their most popular designs include their 831 area code hats, their otter hats, and hats from their “spicy” adult humor collection.

“I’ve always been interested a little bit in fashion,” Young says. “This was a fun move for us because now we get to actually do hats that are fun and practical. The hats sell themselves.”

With a prior career in construction, Tucker runs the laser machine, which adds Young’s designs onto the hats. On average, it takes the machine five minutes to make a hat, she says.

“We couldn’t do this business without each other,” she says. “I’m really proud of us because we figured it out.”

Highway One Station offers 22 different hat styles at one-size-fits-most. Custom orders can also be made on their website.

“We have 5-year-old customers up to 90-year-old customers,” Tucker says. “Our branding really resonates with everyone, as long as we have a flat or a curve-billed hat.”

Highway One Station is attracting the attention of local businesses and bands in the 831 area code. This year, the company attended the California Rodeo Salinas as a vendor.

The couple travels out of town for most of their events, going as far as Nevada. For each event, Tucker and Young pack around 450-600 hats in travel bags to showcase at their booth.

At an event, Tucker will leave the booth to chat with customers or other vendors, while Young sells hats.

“I contribute much of our success to my friendliness, being out and talking with people,” Tucker says. “We know people love what we do. Even if they don’t buy one, they comment. I think because we both love people, it shows. What we do is by design.”

“She’s the fearless captain,” Young says about Tucker and her role in their business.

The two appreciate the continued support they receive.

“The help of our family and friends and customers through our first iteration of our business to now is overwhelming sometimes,” Tucker says. “People are so kind.”

Learn more about Highway One Station at highwayonestation.com