Life & Work with Brandie Newman of Los Angeles / OC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandie Newman.

Hi Brandie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in a small farming town in Arkansas, and I think that upbringing shaped so much of who I am today. I grew up with a strong work ethic and learned early that if you wanted something, you worked for it. At the same time, I always had really big dreams. I loved where I came from, but I knew from a young age that I wanted to see what else was out there and create a life that was a little outside the box.

I graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2001 and moved to Texas, where I opened my first retail business at just 23 years old. That was really my introduction to entrepreneurship. I learned by doing, taking risks, making mistakes, figuring things out and realizing that I loved building something from the ground up.

In 2006, I took probably one of the biggest leaps of faith of my life and moved to Los Angeles. I eventually signed with Sirius XM and hosted a nationally syndicated radio show that reached millions of listeners around the world. It was an incredible chapter of my life and gave me the opportunity to meet and build relationships with so many talented people in the entertainment industry. More importantly, it taught me how to connect with people, understand an audience and create experiences that people remember.

That eventually carried over into hospitality and live entertainment. My husband, Ken, and I shared a love for live music, entertaining and bringing people together, so in 2016 we founded Newman Hospitality Group. What started with hosting concerts and events grew into our first restaurant and live music venue, The Canyon Cowboy, followed by the opportunity to purchase the Temecula Stampede in 2020. The Stampede is a 30,000-square-foot country western venue and has allowed us to produce everything from concerts to large-scale music festivals.

We later created Old Town Ranch in Temecula Wine Country, which has become incredibly special to me. The ranch brings me back to my roots and has given me the opportunity to combine my love of Western culture, horses, animals, hospitality and community. Over the years, I’ve rescued and given a home to a variety of animals there, including horses, donkeys, cows, pigs and others. There’s something pretty special about being able to give an animal a safe place to land.

Giving back to my community is also a huge part of what I do. I host and produce a lot of charity events through our venues and at the ranch, bringing together entertainment, local businesses and the community to support causes and families who need it. I’m so proud to use what we’ve built to make a difference for someone else.

Most recently, I’ve stepped into another creative chapter of my life. I’ve always had a love for Western fashion, and I recently launched my own line of custom cowboy hats through Brandie Newman Designs. I wanted to create hats that felt different from what I was seeing…Western, but elevated; bold, feminine and a little unexpected. I love taking a traditional cowboy hat and turning it into something that feels like a statement piece.

Looking back, my career probably doesn’t make a lot of sense on paper—retail entrepreneur, nationally syndicated radio host, entertainment, hospitality, events, animal rescue and now fashion designer—but to me there has always been one common thread: I love creating things, bringing people together and turning ideas into something real.

I’ve never been afraid to reinvent myself or start something new. I don’t believe you have to choose one dream and stick with it for the rest of your life. Every chapter has taught me something I’ve carried into the next one. I still have that small town Arkansas work ethic, I just have a few more animals, businesses and cowboy hats these days.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always going to be struggles in life, and my road definitely hasn’t been a smooth one. I’ve had businesses that were extremely successful, and I’ve had businesses that were complete failures. I’ve made great decisions and I’ve made some really expensive mistakes, but I’ve learned something from every single one of them. You take the lesson, make the adjustment and keep moving forward.

Being an entrepreneur means carrying a lot behind the scenes that people never see. There are moments of uncertainty, disappointment and plenty of times when things don’t go according to plan. I’ve learned to keep my head high, stay focused and not let difficult moments define me.

I was raised to be strong, work hard and figure things out. So when something knocks me down, my instinct has always been, “Okay, what’s next?” I learn from it, regroup and move forward. I think resilience has probably been just as important to my success as any business decision I’ve ever made.

At this point in my life, I’m not afraid of failure. I’m much more afraid of looking back and realizing I didn’t try.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Western culture has really become a common thread through everything I do. Between owning the Temecula Stampede, producing country music festivals and events, and spending so much of my time at Old Town Ranch with our horses and rescue animals, the Western lifestyle isn’t something I discovered because it became fashionable, it’s genuinely part of my everyday life.

Brandie Newman Designs actually started as a hobby. I’ve always loved Western fashion and creating things, so I began designing cowboy hats for myself and friends. I started experimenting with leather, different textures, statement hat bands and unique details, and I personally hand-stitched each hat. Eventually, I decided to put a few designs on my website. I honestly didn’t know if anyone would buy them.

Then orders started coming in, and not just locally. Suddenly I was shipping hats across the country and around the world. The growth was completely unexpected and happened much faster than I ever anticipated. What began as me sitting down and making hats because I enjoyed it quickly turned into a real brand.

I recently built a large studio and hired help just to keep up with orders, which is pretty surreal when I think about how it started. Even as we grow, I’m very protective of what makes the brand special. I still personally hand-stitch each hat and am very involved in the design and finishing details. I never want Brandie Newman Designs to feel mass-produced. The craftsmanship and individuality of each piece are a huge part of who we are.

What sets our hats apart is really in those details. Many of my designs incorporate leather under the brim, premium hat bands, unexpected textures and finishing touches that turn a traditional cowboy hat into a statement piece. I don’t want to create the same hat you’ve seen a hundred times. I want someone to walk into a room wearing a Brandie Newman hat and have people ask, “Where did you get that?”

What I’m most proud of is that none of this was really planned. I wasn’t sitting down trying to create the next business. I was doing something I genuinely loved, put it out into the world and people responded to it. Seeing someone across the country, or across the world wearing a hat that I made with my own hands is still pretty incredible to me.

After all these years of owning businesses, I think it’s also pretty special that I can still surprise myself. Brandie Newman Designs has brought together so many different pieces of my life… my Arkansas roots, entrepreneurship, entertainment, country music, the ranch and my love of Western fashion.

I don’t just design Western. I live it, and every hat has a little piece of that story stitched into it.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think people would be surprised to know how much I actually do myself! I wear a lot of hats, no pun intended.

People may see the finished product, the businesses, the concerts or the events, but behind the scenes I’m incredibly hands-on with all of it. I might literally be sitting in my studio hand-stitching a cowboy hat while I’m on a Zoom call planning the next concert at the Temecula Stampede. An hour later, I could be at Old Town Ranch checking on the animals, working through details for a charity event, and then back in the studio filling orders.

I’ve never been very good at just sitting back and overseeing things from a distance. I like being involved. I love the creative side, but I also love the business side and the challenge of figuring out how to make an idea actually happen.

My days can be a little chaotic, and there’s definitely no typical schedule, but I think I thrive in that environment. I’m a designer, business owner, event producer, animal caretaker, and sometimes all of those before lunch.

So yes, I really do wear a lot of hats. The funny part is, now I actually make them too.

Pricing:

• 100% wool cowboy hat with hand stitched leather $320

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandienewman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandienewmandesigns/