Tumwater Hats

[Geno]

I've been looking around at various hat companies recently, and came across Tumwater Hats out of Olympia, WA

They do all of their fedoras in 100% Beaver felt starting at $275

While there doesn't appear to be preset models to choose from and there isn't a strictly Indiana Jones type fedora in the gallery, the page does state that

"We specialize in the hats we prefer to wear ourselves – fedoras with tall, full, relatively straight-sided crowns, the profile commonly seen in films and street scenes dating from the 1920s through the early 1950s. These are the styles we have learned to make, have equipped our shop to make, and like to make."

They also use vintage grosgrain ribbon.

I've seen only a few references to Tumwater while doing a quick search, but I'm willing to guess an Indiana Jones fedora is within their ability to make.


links: http://www.tumwaterhat.com/pages/about.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.tumwaterhat.com/pages/gallery.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'd be interested to know what kind of experiences anyone on here has had with these hatters, Indy or non-Indy.

[RJR]

Go over to Fedora Lounge and do a search.Tony is very well thought of....

[Chewbacca Jones]

Indeed he is. I have actually done business with him after reading about him at the Lounge. Tony does nice work, and he's a pleasure to deal with. He can definitely handle "tall and straight." I do not know if he can do an Indy bash, but his felt is easy to shape by hand. My hat budget has been non-existant for a long while, but I am planning to call on Tony for a Toht fedora when I can afford it.

Just a heads up, though - when I was dealing with him, his color names didn't always match the names used by Steve, Marc, and Art Fawcett. So, one man's Sahara may be another man's Sand, and vice versa. Get pictures and swatches if they are available.

[Indiana Jeff]

This alone from their website is reason enough I'll be placing an order with them.

We’ll never say that ours are the best hats available anywhere. For to do so would not only be less than 100 percent accurate, it would be an affront to the fine custom hatters currently practicing the craft, many of whom produce hats every bit the equal of ours. And we limit our production to only those styles we feel well equipped to make. When a customer requests a style we feel another hat maker would do better, we gladly make the referral.

I gotta dig through the old pictures my parents have of my grandfather and find a hat to be reproduced. He wasn't a hat wearer when I knew him, but back in his youth there's photos of him and his buddies sporting great lids.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[A.J. Cairo]

This place is right in my back yard! I can't believe I never knew of it! Looks like I'll be saving up again!

[david_h]

Tony is a really nice guy and makes super hats, I have several and another planned.
As it happens, today I was wearing my Silverbelly Tumwater