Club Obi Wan

Hello Indy fans!

Part of what I love about working at Herbert Johnson is talking to you guys about why and what you love about Indiana Jones.
Here is the link to one of many interviews and fan experiences I am sharing as I build an archive relating to the Indiana Jones Poet, HJ and Richard Swales. If you have stories, experiences and fun facts to share that you would like to add to this archive then let me know as I would love to hear and share them.

This story starts with my conversations with Mark. I have shared lots of photos of his collection of Richard Swales original Indy Poets and also have one of his hats kindly on loan which we have some studio lit shots of. Enjoy!

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Be part of the adventure!

Regards

Michelle & team @ HJ

Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

I'm surprised that Herbert Johnson is making such a strong push for publicity and to reconnect with the Indy fan base... Makes me wonder if this is their way of throwing their hat in to the ring for Indy 5

I gather from the photos that the fellow who has been collecting these hats is quite a Star Wars fan as well.

Is Mark a member of this forum?

What I find particularly interesting here is that the original Indy Poets were "off the rack" hats, which we already knew, but they were also considered to be one or two season "disposable" hats. What they say here about shrinkage and "rot" suggests that if any screen-used hats actually survived, today they would not necessarily look anything like they did originally. The dimensions would likely have become significantly distorted.

So Indiana Jones, the character, was not wearing custom, bespoke, or "high end" hats. He was wearing a "workmanlike" and affordable hat. A hat that would have survived only a year or two in the field.

How much did a standard Poet cost back in the early 1980s, I wonder? How much is that translated into 2018 dollars (or pounds)? How does that original price compare to the price of the new Indy "custom" Poets?

Does HJ still sell a standard, unmodified Poet similar to the early 1980s design?

Thank you for all your comments...

Castor Dioscuri - Hi. I believe in what I do and I am also a fan. I am not JUST a hat-maker and I am here on the forums and sharing my passion in hat making and of Indiana Jones because of that. Plus I strongly suspect that Bernie and the studio has by this stage secured a supplier for the hats for Indy5. We were likely too late on our department reboot to be involved. The reasons behind Herbert Johnson rebooting was to breathe new life into the Uk hatting industry by offering high quality handmade bespoke hats.

Davidd - HI to you too. Yes, Mark who I interviewed was a huge Star Wars fan also. The room at his parents' house where his treasured gear was kept had Star Wars wallpaper! Mark isn't a fan of forums though so you won't find him here.
Yes the Poets made for HJ back in the 80's and 90's were all outsourced to factories just as many other well known hat brands still do today. Richard Swales had made the point to Mark that it was his opinion that these offerings were disposable and with high levels of wear would last a season or two. Of course the character of Indiana Jones comes from an earlier time when hat wearing in society was more popular and there were more facilities available for upkeep of your hat before finally replacing it. Different times indeed.
Mark tells me he would spend between £120-£150 a hat back in the 1980's/90's and that he would get a couple of years out of them. This is in stark contrast to what I make now and the direction Herbert Johnson is taking today. I believe the world is overflowing with too much of what is considered disposable and we are better off making products of higher quality that are built to last rather than for filling up landfill sites. I would like a return to the old attitudes where we would buy quality items and look after them, maintain them, enjoy them of course and take them on MANY adventures. I am trying to buck the disposable trend in today's world but that wasn't the world we saw in the 1980's. I do however love the nostalgia that comes with looking back and Mark's story was wonderful for that. I love the history and the stories and I share them because it is important to remember but it also brings us opportunities to change things and do better than yesterday.

Mark tells me he would spend between £120-£150 a hat back in the 1980's/90's and that he would get a couple of years out of them. This is in stark contrast to what I make now and the direction Herbert Johnson is taking today. I believe the world is overflowing with too much of what is considered disposable and we are better off making products of higher quality that are built to last rather than for filling up landfill sites. I would like a return to the old attitudes where we would buy quality items and look after them, maintain them, enjoy them of course and take them on MANY adventures. I am trying to buck the disposable trend in today's world but that wasn't the world we saw in the 1980's.

So refreshing to see this from an established brand like Herbert Johnson. Wish Stetson and the like would follow suit. I have a few vintage hats from the 50s and they still hold their shape and will outlast most anything from the big name hat companies.

When I bought my HJ Poet from Swales back in the spring of 1999, it was approx. $300 shipped, and I received it less than a month after I placed my order (via snail mail, with a written order form & check). My hat arrived in that bulletproof waxed cardboard shipping box, along with 2 other Poets! All three hats were open-crown, nested within each other like measuring cups! Fortunately the receipts were folded inside each respective hat, so I was able to contact the others by telephone and get everything sorted out. They both sent money to cover shipping costs, and I boxed up their hats and sent them along. Someone phoned HJ to find out how on earth three orders were sent out in one box, and received a profuse apology from the shop, with the assurance that there was a terrible mix-up in the shipping department. I theorized that HJ was trying to save on shipping and let the end user worry about it. I was told by one of the other guys (Stephen Yachanin or David Zaritsky, not sure which now) that HJ promised to send each of us a special gift to make up for the mistake. I had hoped for a nice HJ monogrammed wooden hat brush, but we never received anything.

I still have the hat, a beautiful sable Poet, crafted my Mr. Swales himself. He included a brief handwritten note on a HJ business card, wishing much happiness with my new Indy hat. That Poet was the very first thing I ever purchased with my first (2) work paychecks ever. I've worn my Poet on all of my travels, always stored properly on its crown in a cool, dark cabinet to prevent shrinkage when not in use, and although it has tapered minimally over the past few decades, it still fits me - though somewhat snug, and the crown looks a bit short now. Several years ago, I bought a HJ hat box on eBay, and had a friend in the U.K. send it over to me. Like Mark, I have since retired my vintage Poet due to its historical provenance, but I still treasure it as my first genuine 100% authentic Indiana Jones hat, crafted by The Master himself. Bravo, Mr. Swales! You were a gentleman of the highest order, Sir. Thank you very much for creating what is most certainly the Holy Grail of Indiana Jones hats.

NoBadDates wrote:Thank you for all your comments...

Castor Dioscuri - Hi. I believe in what I do and I am also a fan. I am not JUST a hat-maker and I am here on the forums and sharing my passion in hat making and of Indiana Jones because of that. Plus I strongly suspect that Bernie and the studio has by this stage secured a supplier for the hats for Indy5. We were likely too late on our department reboot to be involved. The reasons behind Herbert Johnson rebooting was to breathe new life into the Uk hatting industry by offering high quality handmade bespoke hats.

Davidd - HI to you too. Yes, Mark who I interviewed was a huge Star Wars fan also. The room at his parents' house where his treasured gear was kept had Star Wars wallpaper! Mark isn't a fan of forums though so you won't find him here.
Yes the Poets made for HJ back in the 80's and 90's were all outsourced to factories just as many other well known hat brands still do today. Richard Swales had made the point to Mark that it was his opinion that these offerings were disposable and with high levels of wear would last a season or two. Of course the character of Indiana Jones comes from an earlier time when hat wearing in society was more popular and there were more facilities available for upkeep of your hat before finally replacing it. Different times indeed.
Mark tells me he would spend between £120-£150 a hat back in the 1980's/90's and that he would get a couple of years out of them. This is in stark contrast to what I make now and the direction Herbert Johnson is taking today. I believe the world is overflowing with too much of what is considered disposable and we are better off making products of higher quality that are built to last rather than for filling up landfill sites. I would like a return to the old attitudes where we would buy quality items and look after them, maintain them, enjoy them of course and take them on MANY adventures. I am trying to buck the disposable trend in today's world but that wasn't the world we saw in the 1980's. I do however love the nostalgia that comes with looking back and Mark's story was wonderful for that. I love the history and the stories and I share them because it is important to remember but it also brings us opportunities to change things and do better than yesterday.

Very well said, Michelle! Agree with you completely!

Mikael
HUFVUD HATMAKER