Wild Thing, Deanna Christy

“I always joke with my friends and call myself a saltwater cowgirl because I love my boots and hats and I also love to surf,”

says 37-year-old Deanna Christy, who launched her Saltwater Cowgirl Co. last year after a career spent in retail with brands like David’s Bridal, Anthropologie, Free People, and now West Marine. “If I’m going to work that hard, I’m going to do it for myself.”

A lifelong lover of western wear, Christy remembers putting on her first pair of boots at her aunt’s place in Fort Worth, Texas, and feeling “wild-hearted.” Now she’s determined to make cowboy hats a thing in Fort Lauderdale. After a lot of careful research on where to source the best materials, Christy, working out of her apartment, got down to business every night after leaving her day job, steaming brims, hand-cutting leather bands, and custom-fitting each hat to suit her customers’ face and height—because quality matters: “This is Florida—you’re going to sweat,” she notes. “I don’t want dye dripping down anyone’s head.”

Christy’s brand name is more than a vibe.

“People don’t know Florida was one of the first places cowboys settled,” she points out, referencing the “cracker cowboys” who brought cattle to the state in the early 19th and 20th centuries, herding them through swamps and hammocks. “I’m just bringing the history back, one hat at a time.”