The Story of Ingrid Jeffs and Ole Puerto Rico

It all started 45 years ago.

Ingrid Jeffs was just a small child when her parents traveled to Ecuador, found hats and started selling them “by the dozen.”

But before hats became a “big hit,” her parents ran a small handicrafts business where everything was handmade.

“My dad moved to Puerto Rico 50 years ago,” Jeffs said, “maybe a little bit more, because his brother was here first. It was a good opportunity. So he moved, then my mom moved and they started this store.”

The Process

The store’s mission is clear. You arrive at Ole Puerto Rico, come in to choose a hat and grosgrain ribbon color and Ingrid or her sister adjusts the size of the hat to fit your head perfectly. The hats are handwoven in Ecuador.

They use “the same tool shoemakers use to poke holes” in shoes; rivets, to attach the ribbon to the hat before putting it on a heating machine and waiting for it to dry; finishing the process. 

“So we put the hat, the ribbon, and then we put glue and set it all nicely,” Jeffs said. “ And then we wait to dry for a few minutes.”

They don’t use tools to measure your head, their trained eye can guess your head size and make the hat fit accordingly; “snug but not too tight.”

The entire process takes all but 10 minutes to complete.

And if you do ever choose to visit Ole Puerto Rico, you’ll likely walk the same path as many celebrities. Like a guy; you’ve probably heard of, he goes by the name of Mick Jagger.

“The other one was a few years ago,” Jeffs said.  It was Carlos Santana. He bought a hat here and he wore it in the concert here the next day. Then we saw the picture in the newspaper. My father didn’t know it was Carlos Santana.”

But one of the most memorable moments for Jeffs was when Ole Puerto Rico was brought Captain Jack Sparrow’s hat so they could stretch it to make it fit. 

“They brought us the hat for Pirates of the Caribbean,” Jeffs said. “The big, pirate hat because it was too small for him. They didn’t consider the wig. So they brought the hat here so we could make it fit.”

However, stretching Johnny Depp’s hat isn’t the only memorable event Jeffs recalls.

Hurricane Maria

“Well, [Hurricane] Maria was a very big and bad experience,” Jeffs said. “Of course, the business had to shut down for months.”

Jeffs said she didn’t get assistance and she didn’t look for it. Thanks to her savings fund, she was able to “stay afloat.”

“We just came here to open the store just to preserve the hats not to get damaged because of the humidity and all that,” Jeffs said. “But besides that, no, we just stay afloat with our savings because we were lucky enough to have savings for that and the landlord gave us a hand. Then they gave us power, gas and electric. And with that, we started opening before the power came. So that was some help that we received; just a power machine.”

The loss of power and inconsistent water made it impossible to run a business and caused more challenges in her personal life.

“And personally it was really hard not having power,” Jeffs said. “ Not having basically water sometimes for two days. You have water then you don’t. And then food in the supermarket was hard to get. You have to  wait until there was something coming because everything was closed. Everything.”

Jeffs and her husband watched water burst into their apartment on all sides however unbeknownst to Jeffs’ parents and son as they were sleeping.

Finding food to eat was a nightmare as restaurants and stores were all closed due to the hurricane damage.

But what she was most concerned about was her children’s education. Carlos, 18, and Christian, 21, were forced to miss months of school and they still don’t have a full education. 

“It was hard for them, especially the younger one, he has aspergers,” Jeffs said. “I had to change schools because I had problems in the other one…I know they have gaps in certain areas. The older one  graduated anyway. He did good. The public education is not the best.”

Carlos had to deal with the hurricane and then the pandemic shortly after.

Christian is now a tour guide and is “very happy.” Carlos just graduated and Jeffs said we’ll “see what happens.”

Statehood

When it comes to statehood, Jeffs believes Puerto Rico is fully equipped to handle it.

“I think Puerto Rico can be independent, we have the resources, we just have to work on them,” Jeffs said…We’re a small island, but we’re a big country on our own. We have beautiful places to visit. I love living here.”

Although Jeffs was born in Chile, she considers herself Puerto Rican as she’s lived there basically her whole life.

“I feel Puerto Rican. I lived in Chile only for 10 years,” Jeffs said. “But I like it here more. I identify more with Puerto Rico.”