“I like your hat.”
It may have sounded like a simple compliment, but those four words would change Derek Welborn’s life—ultimately leading him to create Saints Western, a Dripping Springs-based brand known for handcrafted hats, boots, and timeless Western style.
Ironically, the first hat Welborn wore wasn’t designed to make a statement. It was meant to help him hide.
In 2020, Welborn started losing his hair. It came out in clumps. First came one bald patch, then another, until the top of his head was completely bare. He was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicles. Steroid injections, creams, and other treatments offered little relief.
To hide the hair loss, Welborn began wearing hats—ball caps, trucker hats, anything that covered his head. Eventually he bought a Stetson he loved and wore it every day for a year.
Intrigued by quality hats but unable to justify the cost of a custom piece, Welborn decided to make one himself. He ordered a felt blank and a single hat block and, with the help of online tutorials, he crafted his first hat.
“It was actually wearable,” he laughs, “so that was cool.”
Everyone thought it was cool. Friends and family members wanted one. Then people at church started asking for them. At the time, Welborn wasn’t trying to start a fashion brand; he was serving as a full-time pastor at Life Family Church in Austin.
But before long, someone in his congregation insisted on buying him a complete set of hat blocks, and his church community hosted a launch party where Welborn sold about 30 hats. He was officially a hat-maker.
Over the next several years, the right people began showing up at just the right time. Round Top veteran Clint Hough recognized Welborn’s talent and invited him to sell hats in his booth at the renowned antique show. Hough became a mentor, investing in professional equipment and introducing Welborn to a 100-year-old bootmaker in León, Mexico, where Saints Western’s boot line first took shape.
Then came another unexpected opportunity. Grammy Award-winning singer Brandon Lake admired Welborn’s work and posed an unexpected question: “What if we built Saints Western together?” Joined by additional business partners, Welborn and Lake transformed a side hustle into a full-fledged company.
Around the same time, Welborn had purchased a vintage 1976 Airstream with dreams of creating a mobile retail shop. So Saints Western went on tour, traveling with Lake to concert venues across the country and introducing the brand to thousands of fans. They even landed at CMA Fest in Nashville this past June, hosting a pop-up shop at one of country music’s biggest annual celebrations.
As Saints Western gained momentum, Welborn faced a decision. After 15 years in ministry, he stepped away from full-time pastoral work to devote himself to the business. “God was closing a door at the church,” he says, “and we stepped through this door that God had opened.”
Only in hindsight is the path clear to Welborn. “I can see God weaving this beautiful story together out of something that I couldn’t have manufactured,” he says. “I didn’t know what the plan was, but I knew He had one.”
And one final surprise. The alopecia that had set everything in motion began to heal. Thanks to a new medication, Welborn’s hair has now fully grown back—a reminder, he says, that God’s timing doesn’t always match our own.
“He brings all things together for the good,” he shares.
Timeless Style
While Welborn’s journey to Saints Western was unexpected, his love of style wasn’t. He had long been drawn to art and design. “I’ve always loved style and fashion,” he says. “I was the kid growing up who laid his clothes out the night before.”
That lifelong appreciation became the foundation of Saints Western. Every hat, boot, and garment reflects Welborn’s eye for craftsmanship and style.
“Western has always been cool,” he says. “It’s just timeless and classic.”
While television shows like “Yellowstone” have introduced a new generation to cowboy boots and pearl snaps, Welborn says it’s more than just a fad. Western style, he believes, has never really gone out of fashion.
“It translates all over the world, and it has influence across all different genres,” he says.
Welborn’s own interpretation reaches beyond traditional cowboy wear, merging classic Western with inspiration from the 1970s, military apparel, and vintage motorsports culture. Welborn is also an avid vintage picker, and many of his pop-up events feature carefully curated vintage pieces alongside the Saints Western collection.
The brand continues to grow beyond hats and boots, with trucker hats, pearl-snap shirts and T-shirts joining the lineup. But regardless of the product, Welborn is guided by the same principle: Make something worth keeping.
In an era of fast fashion, he takes the opposite approach. Saints Western high-quality hats and apparel are made in the United States, and its boots are still handcrafted in Mexico using full-grain leather that molds to the wearer’s foot over time.
“People want something that’s going to last,” Welborn says. “I think about legacy. We’re very intentional about that piece.”
When he talks about hats, this philosophy is clear: They’re meant to be lived in.
“If it gets dirty, leave it,” he says. “That’s part of its character.”
“A hat’s supposed to be worn, and it’s supposed to tell a story, so live in it, go outside in it,” Welborn continues. “That’s what makes a great hat—it’s got the scars of a life well lived.”
Today, Saints Western can be found at Round Top Antique Shows, pop-up events throughout Texas and beyond, and online. But for Welborn, the business has always been about more than hats and boots.
“One of the things I love about the retail side is that we’re connecting with people,” he says. “I’ve been able to share my story and hear other people’s stories.”
And although he is no longer a pastor, Saints Western has become its own ministry: “I’ve been able to minister to people in my booth at Round Top, and I’ve prayed with people in a pop-up setting. It’s been a cool way to connect with people on a different level.”
These connections have proven that, like every hat, every person has a story. Welborn’s began with loss, grew through unexpected friendships and faith, and became something far bigger than he ever imagined. You just never know what might happen when someone says, “I like your hat.”
SaintsWestern.com | @saintswestern