Kemo Sabe

Kemo Sabe is a Western outfitter that Tom and Nancy Yoder opened on Thanksgiving Day 1990 in a 400 square foot shop in Snowmass Village, Colorado. They had two employees and a mixed stock of Western goods, and sales in the first month came to 1,281 dollars. The Basalt-based couple moved the shop to downtown Aspen in 1993. They built it around hats shaped and finished for each customer, along with boots and buckles. In 2015, for the store's silver anniversary, the company launched Grit, a house line of handcrafted hats and accessories. Wendy Kunkle, then general manager and chief designer, hosted a Victoria's Secret production team that borrowed hats and chaps from the flagship for its 2017 holiday campaign. In 2020 the Yoders sold the company to Wendy Kunkle and her brother Bobby Kunkle. Under the Kunkles Kemo Sabe added fine jewelry and grew to 150 employees. Stores opened in Vail, Jackson, Park City and Round Top. Hats are made at the company's own factory in Gainesville, Texas, which also produces buckles. A boot factory acquired in El Paso, Texas makes the house cowboy boots. Aspen Sojourner visited the flagship in 2017 and WWD reported on the expansion in 2023, noting hats worn by Jeff Bezos and Beyonce.