Where have I been for the past year? The last post I wrote was on May 19, 2024. I was undergoing fireman training and renovating our kitchen while crafting custom hats. I can probably add more events that were going on around me at the same time that just piled up on the already high stress level.
Regardless, 2024 was a great year. The business grew by 30% compared with previous year and 2025 is already ahead with another 25% vs 2024. Much of the success has to do with the new studio space and our home. The move from the city was not only a great lift for our wellbeing but also a huge help in growing the business by adding on floor space for new machines and ways to improve the efficiency of the business.
The space can even hold employees now, additional people crafting hats. That would be amazing but in it self is another mountain to climb. Hiring in Sweden is expensive but I am sure I could provide a much better working environment than many other companies out there. Who wouldn’t want to be creative and just step out in nature for a much-needed break before continuing on crafting?
One of the more anticipated changes I made to Hufvud in 2024 was to add handwoven straw hats. Hufvud is able to craft any style that I have on the website into a straw hat. That has been much appreciated in the hat community because it is missing from the market. Most straw hats you see today are not handwoven straw and they don’t have the height or brim width that one might desire. I am definitely one of them looking for a better-looking straw hat to wear this summer. I have great plans for the straw as I love working with this material from Ecuador. Imagine various colors and styles blended together in a symphony of colors.
I know that the website is in need of an update. Photos are missing, more details for the custom form and the addition of straw hats embedded in the custom form. All in due time. Sometimes customers think there is an entire team behind Hufvud crafting, handling IT, an HR department, and an accounting team. Sadly no, it is just me. I do have an outsourced accounting team so that part is taken care of.
Another update which I would like to mention is the addition of a new Adventure Fedora. Western Beaver Twenty all weather hat that is meant to be with you on your outdoor adventure. Western weight and stiffness that handles anything your throw at it. New colors will be available later this year and more updates to come.
I am happy to be back writing posts and sharing photos with you! Thanks Morgan for the encouragement, it means a lot.
There has emerged a lot of fraudulent sites using Hufvud hat photos to sell fake hats out there. There is not much I can do about it other than embedding more Hufvud logos in the background. Rest assured, Hufvud hats is only sold on Hufvud.com and not through any other third party site. I am not in any brick and mortar store. I appreciate all of you who report the posts with fake hat sales as it is difficult to keep up with and it makes me sad to see customers being tricked to fund these criminals.
Thank you very much for following my craft, placing orders, purchasing ready made hats direct from the website. Words of encouragements are always helpful. Send me an email and strike a conversation regarding hats. I appreciate all of it! Until next time, have a wonderful Sunday!
Mikael Einarsson | HUFVUD HATMAKER
Comment
It’s hard not to believe there’s a team Hufvud everything marking work, you’re right about that. Your presentation is amazing.
Incidentally I really like the sweat band on the second hat. Which one is it?
Always mentally planning my next hat.