HNC Hatworks (formerly known as Agnoulita Hats)

[deadlyhandsome]

Mr.Pappa, the proprietor, is recovered enough to get back to making hats. I have two velours on order that I’m excited to receive even if the weather means they won’t see use until the Autumn.

Unfortunately, Mr. Pappa is also back to his old ways of not answering emails. This is a quirk of the shop that you’ll need to expect if you order a hat from Agnoulita. There is no consistency with his communication and despite being a good customer of his he apparently has no compunction with ignoring me. Strange.


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[RJR]

Mr.Pappa, the proprietor, is recovered enough to get back to making hats. I have two velours on order that I’m excited to receive even if the weather means they won’t see use until the Autumn.

Unfortunately, Mr. Pappa is also back to his old ways of not answering emails. This is a quirk of the shop that you’ll need to expect if you order a hat from Agnoulita. There is no consistency with his communication and despite being a good customer of his he apparently has no compunction with ignoring me. Strange.


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I guess you tend to expect quirks with artists.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Latest: short nap navy velour

I also ordered two of his excellent sweatbands for vintage hats with sweats in need of replacement.


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[RJR]

Latest: short nap navy velour

I also ordered two of his excellent sweatbands for vintage hats with sweats in need of replacement.


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Love that color.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

While he is sourcing my golden honey velour (his long retired teacher possibly has the velour we need) I gave him the go ahead on another. This is the photo I sent him, no doubt a fellow lounger’s hat, to use as a guide. I went with latte colored rabbit fur felt stiffened to be between a fedora and a western.

A 6.5” open crown and a 3.25” brim. We’ll see



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[deadlyhandsome]

I feel the need to address Agnoulita’s poor email response time as it is the thing I dislike the most about the company. I’ve bought nine hats from them so I consider myself a good customer and I’m not just wasting their time. This is the email I received from the owner earlier today:

“Things have been really crazy busy after my return and I am doing my best to catch up with orders. I work from 06:30 till 21:30 every day, 7 days a week. I hate leaving your messages unanswered for so long, so once you send me a new message please give me a ring on my cell phone and I will get back to you in a couple of hours.”

Sounds more than fair to me. I just wanted to clear the air on his lack of communication. I’ve had his cell number for months but I’ve never called it as I prefer a written record that email affords.

I’m going ahead with my wide brim latte.





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[Perry Underwood]

Brent, thank you for the information. One thing I've thought is that we don't know how many hats he's working on at one time. Since our focus is on the hat we've ordered, it's natural to think he's only working on ours when, in fact, he's probably working on at least several during the day. The message he sent you helps to put his workload in perspective.

I'm looking forward to reading a review your new hat.

 

[RJR]

Brent, thank you for the information. One thing I've thought is that we don't know how many hats he's working on at one time. Since our focus is on the hat we've ordered, it's natural to think he's only working on ours when, in fact, he's probably working on at least several during the day. The message he sent you helps to put his workload in perspective.

I'm looking forward to reading a review your new hat.

+1

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Brent, thank you for the information. One thing I've thought is that we don't know how many hats he's working on at one time. Since our focus is on the hat we've ordered, it's natural to think he's only working on ours when, in fact, he's probably working on at least several during the day. The message he sent you helps to put his workload in perspective.

I'm looking forward to reading a review your new hat.

Perry, I know his business is growing and he makes hats wholesale for stores to stock and not just customs. He is also a major supplier of leather sweatbands. I think he’s burning his candle at both ends. His wife did the accounts and shipping but he has had to hire someone since the accident. He’s also going on vacation for the last week of July and the first two weeks of August.

I was handling one of my Agnoulita’s today. I can see minor nit-picky “flaws” if I look hard enough, but his hats make me smile. They are nice, and even hat affectionados would have to look close to tell the difference between them and a $300+ Custom. My caramel hat has nicer felt than hats costing double. I love my beaver custom hats, but I’m thinking that Agnoulita is all I need for “cheaper” hats.


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[Just Daniel]

Brent,

I have an idea.

Why don't you design a Fedora Lounge hat for him. A special collector item, limited edition. If the FL leadership does not go for it, just call it the "Deadly Handsome" and put that stamp on the sweatband and liner.

I will throw in for one. Why wait?

Daniel

 

[Just Daniel]

....and I vote for a navy blue homburg

Brent,

I have an idea.

Why don't you design a Fedora Lounge hat for him. A special collector item, limited edition. If the FL leadership does not go for it, just call it the "Deadly Handsome" and put that stamp on the sweatband and liner.

I will throw in for one. Why wait?

Daniel

....

 

[deadlyhandsome]

....and I vote for a navy blue homburg



....

I do like blue hats and I like homburgs. I’d go in for one, but I think the appeal would be limited.


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[deadlyhandsome]

Brent,

I have an idea.

Why don't you design a Fedora Lounge hat for him. A special collector item, limited edition. If the FL leadership does not go for it, just call it the "Deadly Handsome" and put that stamp on the sweatband and liner.

I will throw in for one. Why wait?

Daniel

I haven’t asked Mr. P about this possibility for a while. Right now he has more business than he can keep up with and he’s dealing with his wife’s injuries and her absence from the business. Once he works out some personnel issues I’ll bring it up again.

Even without a discount his prices are incredibly reasonable.


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[RJR]

I do like blue hats and I like homburgs. I’d go in for one, but I think the appeal would be limited.


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I agree;something along the lines of the Lounge Campdraft would likely find more interest.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I agree;something along the lines of the Lounge Campdraft would likely find more interest. View attachment 126543

The Fedora Lounge won’t authorize their name being used for the hat. Over a month has gone by without a response. Agnoulita doesn’t want to run afoul of copyright laws so he decided to just offer a discount to Lounge members. That’s where we left it. I’ll bring up the matter again when it looks like he has more time. We had thrown around a price of $125 including shipping to the US. Rather than one model he proposed a semi-custom where members could chose color, crown height, brim width, brim treatment, and ribbon color and width. I think there would be interest and I know I’d buy another.

If/when this works out I’ll post details here.

 

[RJR]

The Fedora Lounge won’t authorize their name being used for the hat. Over a month has gone by without a response. Agnoulita doesn’t want to run afoul if copyright laws so he decided to just offer a discount to Lounge members. That’s where we left it. I’ll bring up the matter again when it looks like he has more time. We had thrown around a price of $125 including shipping to the US. Rather than one model he proposed a semi-custom where members could chose color, crown height, brim width, brim treatment, and ribbon color and width. I think there would be interest and I know I’d buy another.

If/when this works out I’ll post details here.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Mostly because I wanted to try one of Agnoulita’s long hair finishes:

90% completed. I went with a very large brim and the felt color is “Abalone.”

The brim will be just over three inches wide and finished with an underwelt.



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[deadlyhandsome]

This is another larger brim hat:

The rabbit fur felt color is “Latte” and the crown height is 6.5 inches. I ordered it with a thin ribbon and campaign bow. The narrow 12 mm brim binding (not shown) will match the crown ribbon color.

I can’t say enough good about Agnoulita. The hats are a great value and the owner/hatter goes out of his way to ensure you are happy.

Hoping both hats ship this week and expect 10-14 days for shipping.

I want to add that the owner of Agnoulita has expressed concern that his photos of his hats provided via Etsy do not do the hats justice. I agree. The Etsy photos of the hats are not great, but I hope my photos of the hats once received are better representations of his hats and his skill as a hatter.

As always, feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions or concerns or if you would like additional photos once these hats arrive.

Brent




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[deadlyhandsome]

I spent a very pleasant 30 minutes on the phone with Mr. P, the proprietor of Agnoulita. What struck me was his sincere desire to make great hats. He currently makes around 5,000 a year (men and women’s) and is looking for anything he can do to make his hats the equivalent of the best custom hatters. He certainly has a passion for is profession.

He also asked me about Winchester beaver hat bodies and has stated he plans to start using them as they are less expensive, and in his opinion, better than the beaver he can source from Europe. He confirmed that his hats are mostly Tonak rabbit fur felt and he echoed the opinions I’ve heard lately that FEPSA is a royal pain to deal with and they don’t respond to his emails (sounded very familiar). I let him know that I would buy his first Winchester beaver hat.

Mr. P also told me that he has found an even better leather for his sweats which astounded me because they already were the equal or superior to any I have from any hatter. He makes his own sweatbands after hand selecting the leather. He also said he found a new and better reed material. I was quickly out of my depth and lacked the vocabulary and knowledge to ask intelligent questions. He later told me that he uses his own formula for his stiffener and can achieve any level of stiffness desired. Mr. P also said he had a wide selection of blocks including the 52 and 51 in most all sizes. I know that a few months back he also acquired even more vintage hat tools from an European source.

Mr. P wanted to know what the difference was between his hats and the much more expensive custom hats. We had a good talk and I came away knowing that I’d be ordering more hats from him in the future. I can also unequivocally state that my later hats are better than my first hats. I do think that if you place an order from him you should specify the pouncing level you desire and be specific on any details which are important to you.

USPS also let me know that my navy velour has been delivered to my office and I can’t wait to pick it up Monday.




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[Musher]

On their etsy webpage, how do you let them know what colo you want?