Vermont Originals - Ski Hats, Winter Hats, and Wool Apparel from Vermont

Our Story

Vermont Originals was founded in 1971, by Wendell Earle, a business professor from Cornell, and one of his students, Bruce Krisiak, as a case history for the Cornell Business School.  
At first Vermont Originals sold ski hats only to shops in New England. On fall weekends and over Christmas vacation young Bruce, still a graduate student at Cornell, would load up his station wagon with hats and visit local ski shops. Retailers were extremely impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the hats. Bruce usually returned home having sold everything he could carry.

In 1984, Margaret Krysiak, Bruce's mother, joined the company and became the designer for Vermont Originals. She created a whole new line of traditional Nordic designs in several different styles and in many different color combinations. Vermont Originals also began expanding its distribution beyond the Northeast and into the Mid-west and Rocky Mountains. The company began  knitting monograms and logos into the hats, a tradition that continues today.

In the early '90s Vermont Originals added another design innovation. The company began lining its hats with Malden fleece. This non-itch fleece not only added warmth, on cold winter days, but made the hats extremely comfortable.

In January of 2004, Margaret Krysiak decided to retire from running the company and Vermont Originals was purchased by Jane and Tad Washburn. They are carrying on the traditions of Vermont Originals.

We think you will find the quality and craftsmanship of Vermont Originals superior to any knitted ski hat you have ever owned. Because all our hats are hand made on home knitting machines, no two are exactly alike. Each one is a Vermont Original.