Hi, my name is Josh and I make squids, that you wear on your head, as hats!

I made my first squid hat in May of 2008 as a wedding gift for my sister. I had decided that I wanted to make something by hand rather than give a generic store-bought forgettable. Why a squid hat? Well, the idea popped into my head while driving home one night. Thinking back on it later, I had made a drawing of a pirate with a squid on his head about a month earlier.

The gift went over so well that I decided to try selling them on Etsy. The first sold in a week, the second a week later. The third took another month. It wasn’t until September that sales really took off as Halloween rolled around. After that thing just kept rolling.

I have since expanded my designs to include sharks, octopuses, jellyfish, angler fish and mushrooms. I have also started making a range of small plush, non-hat, creatures. Whenever I design something, I try to imbue it with a feeling of fun and enjoyment. I mean, how can you feel bad about something if you’re wearing a stuffed jellyfish on your head?

My Etsy store has been a tremendous help in getting my hats out there. I don’t know if I could have made it without it. Especially since when I started making them I was suffering from near constant migraines and the Etsy store allowed me to make some money in the times I was able to sit upright. In 2010 one of my small squids appeared in season 4 of the web-series, The Guild, it was an incredible boost both to my ego and in people finding my work.

I will keep crafting and no matter what I make in the future, it will be to make someone smile and laugh.