RIP Master Hatter, Alexander Conley

[GregNYC]

Wonderful video, I had never seen it. He seemed like a fascinating man! R.I.P., master hatter! And my thoughts and prayers for his family.


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[Tedquinton]

Excellent video. He was obviously a very intelligent fascinating man.

RIP

 

[moontheloon]

I'm sure lots of you have seen this ... and it probably has been posted here before
I'm also sure this will be moved to the appropriate place ... where that is I'm not sure at this time
... so I'll put it here

I love this video ... I hope those who have not seen it will enjoy it ... and those who have will enjoy it again

 

[EstherWeis]

Yeah, love that one.

How he gets the long hair so smooth is incredible.

And the wall with the blocks is just... Gah!

 

[Bob Roberts]

Never seen it. Just great. And yes, those blocks.

 

[RJR]

Yeah, love that one.

How he gets the long hair so smooth is incredible.

And the wall with the blocks is just... Gah!

+1

 

[bendingoak]

Yeah, love that one.

How he gets the long hair so smooth is incredible.

And the wall with the blocks is just... Gah!

talk several times with his son freddie about this same thing. I think this was what Alexander did better then anyone else. I Just finished a hat for Freddie and it was a long hair and I can now replicate this myself. Thanks to alexander and Freddie.

 

[bendingoak]

Here's Freddie wearing the long hair hat I made him.

 

[McCoy]

I worked at Eclipse Hat Shop in the Pike Place Market Seattle under the guidance of Herman Helmun. He was Conelys' competition and had been making hats since he was stricken with Polio in the 1930's. FDR offered him a choice ..... a cobbler or a hatter. He chose the latter. Herman called the hat fitment shaping tool like Conelys a "formiliam". We used it a couple of times (once for me) because absolutely no one in Seattle were wearing proper hats. He had large wooden trunks of hat bodies that were of exceptional quality from the 40's and 50's. Instead of a paycheck he would let me pick a hat from the wall that customer never returned for. Hats from the same era. I miss going into the shop and hearing all the stories of famous people coming into his shop. Conely was always talked about with respect but Herman considered him the new kid on the block. He would stop by the shop to talk and get advice from time to time. Herman was no longer able to handle "Purk" hat cleaning solvent so we would send hats to Conely to clean. I miss those days.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

I first watched that video in late December of 2014 and that sparked my interest in hats. I knew at that time I needed to have a hat made for me by Mr. Conley, so I found his website and email and sent a email to him. After a week of no response I searched more online only to find out that he passed away on October 30, 2014. I missed him by two months. I felt like I had lost something and was actually sad all without ever having met him. At that time I thought well I will just learn to make my own hats and ever since then I have been acquiring my own tools. Very interesting the way people can touch/inspire others even after they have passed. He really seemed like one of the last true gentlemen. Ever since then I have been down the rabbit hole.

 

[bridger1215]

Just saw this older thread, adding my respect to Mr. Conley.

Rest in peace Mr. Conley and my condolences to his family. I was fortunate to have spent an afternoon with Mr. Conley discussing hats some years ago, what a fine gentleman and very creative with his hat styles and colors.

McCoy, it is very nice to see a connection to Herman's Eclipse Hat Shop. My father had met Herman just prior to the shop closing and I always regret not having made more of an effort to meet him. He was one of the old time hatmakers who are so rare today. Please share more of this iconic Hat Shop if you are inclined.

I worked at Eclipse Hat Shop in the Pike Place Market Seattle under the guidance of Herman Helmun. He was Conelys' competition and had been making hats since he was stricken with Polio in the 1930's. FDR offered him a choice ..... a cobbler or a hatter. He chose the latter. Herman called the hat fitment shaping tool like Conelys a "formiliam". We used it a couple of times (once for me) because absolutely no one in Seattle were wearing proper hats. He had large wooden trunks of hat bodies that were of exceptional quality from the 40's and 50's. Instead of a paycheck he would let me pick a hat from the wall that customer never returned for. Hats from the same era. I miss going into the shop and hearing all the stories of famous people coming into his shop. Conely was always talked about with respect but Herman considered him the new kid on the block. He would stop by the shop to talk and get advice from time to time. Herman was no longer able to handle "Purk" hat cleaning solvent so we would send hats to Conely to clean. I miss those days.

 

[John Davis]

I know almost nothing about hats, but I knew Alex fairly well in the late 1990s. I lived just around the corner and two doors down from his shop in the Madrona section of Seattle. He was a wonderful guy, and I've remembered him fondly ever since I moved away from Seattle in 2001. I was thinking about him the other day, and decided to google him. I was sad to hear that he's passed away.

I used to say hello to him every time I walked by his shop. He was always warm, kindly, and interested in a conversation to pass the time. He told me about his life: growing up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, becoming an engineer hired by Boeing in the 1960s, leaving that life behind to join the sixties counterculture in Seattle, turning to hat-making later in life, and how he bought all the equipment for making hats by hand from a retiring hatmaker in Philadelphia (I think). I learned that making hats by hand was nearly a lost art, or at least a scarce one.

I will never forget the simple, matter-of-fact way he told me about violence against black people in Chattanooga when he was growing up there in the 40s and 50s, and how he and other young black men loved to play sports against white teams so they would have a chance to push back in a constructive way, and have their day.

He was a great guy.