Comfort Beanie
Comfort Beanie is the passion project designed by Jami through her journey with breast cancer. She is excited to offer a fun and exciting product to those experiencing hair loss from medical treatments. But Comfort Beanie isn’t just for those experiencing hair loss; they can be styled by anyone, regardless of hair length.
Jami received her breast cancer diagnosis in March of 2024 and immediately began treatment with chemotherapy and later a double mastectomy. While she was in active chemotherapy treatment, she experienced many side effects of the drugs being pumped through her veins. The most visible side effect was the loss of her hair. This was a huge blow to Jami because she had always had fun and lively hairstyles. She often wore her hair in alternative ways with fun and funky vibrant colors. Add to that disappointment the fact that she just couldn’t find any head wear on the market that fit what she wanted: comfort, style, and ease.
Comfort: As you can probably assume, losing hair from chemotherapy does affect a person emotionally. But most people don’t realize that the loss of hair is also somewhat painful and dealing with a bald head after the hair loss can be a daily struggle. When Jami began to lose her hair, she described the uncomfortable feeling she experienced on her scalp. It was tender and most of the hats, wigs and other things she put on her head just exacerbated the problem. She wanted something soft. She wanted gentle compression and weight without elastic or rubber. She struggled to find anything that met her needs.
Style: As mentioned earlier, Jami loves to express herself with fun styles and funky fashion. When she began to look for head wear after her hair began to fall out, what she found fit into two basic categories: sporty or geriatric. Neither of these descriptors fit her style. While she did find a few cute and stylish hats, they didn’t fit her head after hairloss. The hats that did fit were more of a sporty style which doesn’t fit Jami. As for the beanies and turbans, most of the ones she found looked like they were created for a woman twice her age. While they might have been cute for Gertrude or Ethyl, they just weren’t for her.
Ease: When someone is going through active treatment for cancer, namely chemotherapy, the last thing they need is something that takes time and effort. On the days that Jami felt good enough to roll out of bed and enter society, she wanted something that she could easily grab and just pop on her head. She also didn’t want to stress about the care of head wear; she needed something easy.
So obviously, Jami struggled to find anything that fit the bill for what she was looking for as far as head wear. She had tried wigs, but while they looked like she was playing dress up, they were also hot and itchy and just plain uncomfortable. Next came her attempt with scarves. If she got them to stay on her head without slipping off, she said she looked like an extra on Pirates of the Caribbean or even a back up dancer for Gangster’s Paradise. After that, she tried working with hats. Either they didn’t fit because her head was so small after losing her hair, or they were also uncomfortable on her tender scalp. She knew beanies were most likely going to be the best way to go, but she struggled to find beanies in fun prints and vibrant colors.
Jami has been sewing and crafting most of her life. In fact, her first job at the age of sixteen years-old was at a fabric store. So, since she knew her way around a sewing machine, she decided to try her hand at creating some beanies that fit all the things she desired. First stop: Hobby Lobby for some cute fabrics. Her first choices were leopard print, black & white checked, and a fun watercolor floral. The first few attempts were somewhat comical, but she refused to give up and finally found the perfect measurements and techniques to make a beanie that fit the bill! These beanies were cute, comfortable, and easy to wear and take care of.
As she began wearing her beanies around town, people began asking her where she got them, especially while she was at the clinic receiving treatment. She would watch their expression sink when she explained that she made it herself. They wanted to find cute beanies too, but Jami was not in the place to be able to make them while she was in active treatment.
But these interactions proved to Jami that she was on to something good! She knew God had taken this awful situation and paired it with her talents to create something amazing. The next question was:
Is this a business or a ministry?
Jami continued to think about it and pray about it while she finished treatment. One day, out of the blue, the answer was clear. It was both a business and a ministry! You see, Jami had had the cool opportunity to pass out Toms shoes in Honduras. She saw what that company was doing to give a small gift that could have a huge impact and she knew that Comfort Beanie could do the same thing.
So here we have Comfort Beanie! Comfort Beanie creates comfortable, stylish, and easy head wear for those experiencing hair loss. When you buy a Comfort Beanie, you are helping us to gift a beanie to an area cancer clinic or hospital. We have already partnered with a few area ministries and clinics in the Tulsa area and are living out our mission even in the early stages of business.
Comfort Beanie is a living example of God taking ashes and turning those ashes into a beautiful story. I hope this story encourages you to look for beauty when you encounter ashes or pain. God sees you and wants to use you to be His hands and His feet.