I have been asked several times to start crafting western hats. I mean real western stiff quality hats. Western hats that can stand anything you throw at it and still keep you looking as if you just rode out of the store on your horse. I love the natural weathered look. The kind you get from wearing a hat for decades and out in nature. Not the fake burn-your-hat-because-it-looks-tremendously-awesome look. Why place that kind of stress on a perfectly good hat when you will have the natural look by simply living life. That explains it, the younger generation is mostly too lazy to live properly. Everything has to be now and yesterday. I am fortunate that I grew up in the 80s/90s and learned about patience and the meaning of old things. Back to the hats!
I am sourcing a stock of western felts to start to take on custom orders for western hats. I love the way they look and feel and there is a whole world of styles just for western. Obviously, there are the most common styles of Open Road, Cattleman, Gus, Montana, etc. The list goes on, and then there are more! Unbelievable, isn't it? Hold on, am I not taking on too many things at the same time? What happen to my current projects of Top Hats, Bowler and so on? Still very much on the table, but I am waiting on additional tools to complete the hats properly. Patience comes in handy here. But I can't simply sit still. I need to continue my journey of being able to craft any kind of hat style there is. More or less. The journey is all about the craftsmanship
There is the issue of getting your hands on more felts as factories still are having long queues for delivery. I still have enough stock to craft hats, but 2023 will be the year of scarcity. Restoring older hats has become a great passion as of late. Older hats have great quality felt. The leather sweatbands are the things that break easily after a couple of decades. But the felt is as vibrant as it was decades ago. Once you know how to properly care and restore old hats, it's as much fun as to craft hats from scratch.
I hope you enjoy the videos and photos from my work this week. I still have a couple of more hats to show you before the end of the year. We still have two weeks to go of the year. Many things can happen!
As always, I appreciate your support and contribution to my craft. I want to take the opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays!
Regards,
Mikael Einarsson | HUFVUD HATMAKER | Lund (ah, moving soon!!), Sweden.
