Oh, so you have to order the material before you can actually fill an order? Or is the time so long because you are solo op swamped with orders? Either way, glad to hear business is booming, even if would take forever to get my hat
A bit of both. To let you guys in on the economics of hatmaking, here is a short lesson. Most hatters have to order their hat bodies in minimums. Mimimums can be as small as 60 bodies, in one color, with no mismatching of colors, like black, brown, pecan, grays, charcoal grey, etc. All liners and most sweats also have minimums, like 20 dozen. Now, in order to get any sort of return on that money that you have tied up, the majority of hatters charge 500 dollars and up on their beaver hats, just to warrant tieing up monies.
My price on my pure beaver hats is the lowest on the internet, and also the lowest priced pure beaver hat in walk in shops. So, how do I do that????
It involves sourcing suppliers that can sell you one hat body, or 100 dozen. I was lucky enough to find the felt supplier that does that, mainly because they cater to small hatters who cannot afford to tie up the big bucks. And as far as I know, this company is the only one out there that will sell you just a few bodies.
I can make and sell a pure beaver hat(for 225.00) only because I do not have to tie up thousands and thousands of dollars in bodies and parts. The only thing that I have to buy in minimums are the liners, and the ribbon.
When I started this little enterprise, I wanted to make the best looking Indy fedora, that I could not find from anywhere else. And, I tried. I have spent a couple of grand over the last 10 years, buying all of those Indy fedoras that are offered by others. And none of them, not one, was using the best felt. Most were disposable hats, IMHO. Hats were once made not as a throwaway item, but something that could be reblocked and rebuilt for years to come due to the good felt that was used to make the hat. And, I was sick and tired of paying hundreds of dollars for a hat. I regularly paid 400 bucks and even over 5 hundred for a hat. But, that was the price you had to shell out to own one.
So, I worked it out to where I could offer a great Indy fedora, using better felt than 99 per cent of the other Indy fedoras, and at a price that most could afford. Part of this involved not having to tie up money. The feltmaker allowed for this to happen.
The way that I do business, once I receive the order, I order bodies. The downside to this, is if the felter runs out of fur, due to the extra demand brought on by China, I may have to wait for more than my usual 3 days to receive the bodies. This happens during hat season, or the winter months. I am hoping once everything settles down with the new demand for fur, this wait will get like it used to be, that is, 3 days.
I know that the turnaround time can get a bit longer, at times, but another good hatter tells me, his turnaround time is 8 months now for a custom hat. If a guy can get you a custom hat, in a couple of weeks, he ain't selling many hats.
I do not keep hats sitting on a shelf. The hats leave me as soon as I finish them up. I wish I had time to make up some in various sizes, so I could just cut the brims to what the customer wanted, and then send them out. I have never had enough down time to do that. Handmaking a hat, using no machinery is very labor intensive. Of course, it would be easier for me to get a hat company to factory make my hats, but that would be against what I stand for. I want my customers to own a hat just like the ones that came from those small custom hatshops that dotted the landscape back in the early part of the 20th century. I have no lady that does the installations like some hatters do. No one touches my hats, but me. It would be so much easier and faster to just subcontract the ribbon, sweat and liners out to someone else, but then, I would not be making the hat, just the blockwork. I have have offers from other hatters to just supply me with the hat, and then I would just sell it as my own. No way Hose!!
I will always offer the handmade hats, as that is my hobby, and my love.
If the turnaround time bothers you, there are so many other options out there. But, you will not get the same quality, for the same price. That I can guarantee. No one else will make and sell this cheap, and I only do it because it is my passion, the Indy fedora.
Now, if anyone ever gets tired of waiting, I will be glad to refund your money to you, with no hard feelings at all. I understand how hard it is to wait on a hat. I used to be a hat customer just like you guys. And, I am one of a few that will gladly refund your money, for any reason at all.
I had a guy who ordered a hat late last year, and wanted it by a certain date. At the time, I saw no problem with getting it to him by that date. Then, the beaver fur shortage hit. I got behind, on all orders, through no fault of my own. IF you ain't got the bodies, you can't make a hat!! Since I literally had a ton of reblocks, mostly vintage hats, to do, I still worked on hats every single day, just not new hats. But, I just refunded his money to him, with no questions asked. And the only refund I have ever made to anyone. Because of the demeanor of this guy, it will be a cold day in Hades before I would ever spend my time on a hat for him. He will not ever wear one of my hats-period. Look, I still see myself as giving these things away, practically, and if you are ugly to me, well..............you deserve no favors from me. I almost have to like you in order to make you one, and there are even a few folks, not here mind you, that will never own something that I have sweated over and worried over to make. This is not to discourage my customers from ever asking for a refund, far from it. I firmly believe in a money back guarantee, as even 225.00 is alot of money for a hat for most folks. So, if you do not think the hat is worth the price,(or you just do not like it) I insist on refunding the funds back to you as long as you have not ruined the hat. At my prices, eating a ruined hat is expensive due to the low profit margins. If the hat is unworned, I can just strip it down, sanitize it, and use it for the next hat. No losses.
I know this is a long post, but I just want the new folks to know that I originally started making hats as a favor, and to allow my comrades to own the finest felt made-beaver, and at a steal of a price. I am not in this for the money. If I were, my hats would be priced comparable with all of the others(who mostly make factory hats using the high volume equipment once only found in big factories like Stetson, but sell them at premium prices) Nothing wrong with that, as they are making a living from the hat business. But, I am not the typical hatter, when it comes to my handmade Indy fedoras. I have been called an idiot by some hatters, and patted on the back by others. I have always said, that when I get tired of this hat deal, I will just close shop and go fishing, or spend more time on my other hobbies. But, fear not, because I figured at some point in time, I would stop the handmade business, and that is the main reason that I offered Marc Kitter the chance to make my brand of hats, using the same tradtional, handmade techniques, that were part and parcel of the small hatshops back in the day. He is a young guy, young enough to be my son,and he also shares this passion with the Indy fedora. He is obsessed, the same way that I am. A perfect partner, to carry on the AB handmade tradition that I started. And he loves it!! That was the prerequisite, and it also helped that he had the skills, and aptitude to do this. So, when I am gone, hopefully the AB hat will still be around, although you will never be able to buy this type of hat in the beaver felt at what I charge. The AB name is very important to me. It signifies who I am, and the type of guy that I am, and through hard work, and treating folks the way I want to be treated, it has been a success, although at times too successful.
But, I keep cranking these hats out, one per day.
If the next Indy film ever comes out, I know that there is no way I will ever be able to keep up. At that time, if I am still making hats, my hats will only be sold my word of mouth-the handmade ones that is.
It has to be this way, as I refuse to have help on my handmade Indy fedoras. But, I am working on a deal with another friend and fan to have a factory produce my brand of hats, as a factory hat, using my blocks, my liners, my sweats and the HJ ribbon. Not pure beaver felt, but a higher quality felt than you see in most factory hats today. It will not be a disposable hat, but a good quality hat, and as accurate as mine are now in looks. All I have to do is to come up with the money necessary to have several sets of blocks made, in reg ovals and long ovals, and the funds to buy up the parts needed, like sweats, HJ ribbon, and my liners. It will be the best looking and accurate factory hat available, or I will not sell them. My name is very important to me. It will be for the masses of new Indy fans that will join the ranks when the film hits the theaters. But, it will be a great hat. The hat factories could not keep up with the demand for those Indy hats that were sold that did not even have the right creases, or dimensions. This time around, due to the internet, new fans will become more savy with one click of the mouse.
I want to be involved in supplying at least an accurate Indy fedora, as I see that as my mission in the few years that I have left, since I ain't no spring chicken. The handmade hats will then be a perk for COW members. And, only COW members. I do not know how else I could do it really. There is just one of me!! Sorry for the long post, but I just want the new folks to know I ain't your typical hatter. Thanks!! Steve
. Unfortunately, this process is more complicated than I thought. 
, so I want to be sure to get the right one for my style at first.
, and is how I've made most of my friends: initially, they confuse me with someone else they know 
