In the spring of 2020, as the world remained quiet, Kerr Hager found himself back at his sketchbook. He'd spent nearly two decades designing and building custom ranch homes, but the challenges of the business began to wear on him. During those quiet moments, he and his wife Sarah decided to design an original bandana to hand out to friends visiting the ranch.
"The response to that first design was unexpected," Kerr says. "Seeing how much people connected with it, and realizing how much I enjoyed the process of drawing, was all the encouragement I needed to keep going."
For Sarah, the shift in Kerr felt palpable. "He was genuinely excited in a way I hadn't seen in a long time," she says. "It started as a fun idea, but it quickly became clear that this work brought him so much joy. As his wife, seeing him so creatively fulfilled made it an easy decision to encourage him to pursue it."
A Lifelong Team
Sarah and Kerr had already spent years as business partners, building ranch homes together with Kerr on design and construction and Sarah running operations and finish-out. Turning his artwork into a company felt like a natural next step, though getting the product right took a couple of years of trial and error on fabric, printing, and construction.
Kerr owns the art from the first sketch to the final line work, and Sarah joins the process once it’s time to choose background colorways and take over marketing, sales, and operations. "It's pretty special to get to build something together," Sarah says. "It's made the business feel less like work and more like a shared adventure.”
From Sketchbook to Silk
The entire process is intentional craftsmanship. Ode to Bird Hunting, one of the brand's signature designs, took nearly 800 hours to complete. Kerr starts with a small thumbnail to work out the composition, then redraws the full piece at 24x24 inches by hand using pen, watercolor, and colored pencil. A San Antonio fine-art reproduction specialist captures every brushstroke at ultra-high resolution before a graphic designer vectorizes each element for print.
Each collection begins with a theme. "I think of as many things as I can that have to do with that region," Kerr says. “Trees, birds, fish, culture, and history.” Sometimes personal touches slip in throughout the designs, such as the couple's English Cockers, Topple and Ghillie, who appear in Ode to Bird Hunting alongside Kerr's own shotgun.
The choice of fabric follows the same logic that drives the designs. “Whether it's a cotton bandana that can be tossed in the washing machine or a silk scarf, necktie, or cashmere wrap for a more formal occasion, the artwork remains the same. The setting may change, but the person doesn't. Every design is created to feel equally rugged and refined, making it just as at home on the ranch as it is in the city,” Kerr says.
Looking Toward the Future
Kerr is currently at work on Bison Hunt, a new design drawing from Plains Indian history and symbolism. On the business side, Sarah is eyeing an expansion beyond wearables, including fabric by the yard, wallpaper, and home goods.
"Kerr-Chief is my artistic interpretation of the natural world — thoughtfully composed illustrations inspired by the wildlife, landscapes, and heritage of a place, all viewed through the lens of the Western bandana and its rich history of utility and storytelling,” says Kerr.
Photoshoot Credits:
Scarves, twillies, pareos, pocket squares: Kerr-Chief
Wardrobe: Le Spur and Chieffalo Americana
Styling: Kerr-Chief and Chieffalo American
Beauty: House of Tesla