Tatton Baird Hatters

[belfastboy]

I don't want to dampen anybody's entrepreneurial spirit, but the explosion of custom hatters over the past decade has been quite the show.

For a while there, we were getting folks every other week asking where to find beaver felt bodies.

I have no idea if the market is underserved or overserved but I do know some of the established custom houses have huge wait lists...a year or more. So more than a few folks are buying custom hats. I know of two Western hat makers that as of this summer stopped taking orders as their book was over a year long and the owners were not comfortable in letting get any longer. Most of the hatters I deal with are not taking repairs or refurbs at this time unless it is favour to a good client. I suspect the hat making field is like any other small business....some will thrive, some will struggle and some will fall by the wayside.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have no idea if the market is underserved or overserved but I do know some of the established custom houses have huge wait lists...a year or more. So more than a few folks are buying custom hats. I know of two Western hat makers that as of this summer stopped taking orders as their book was over a year long and the owners were not comfortable in letting get any longer. Most of the hatters I deal with are not taking repairs or refurbs at this time unless it is favour to a good client. I suspect the hat making field is like any other small business....some will thrive, some will struggle and some will fall by the wayside.

Nicely said. I suppose it’s like most fields where there is always room at the top. Given time, the cream does rise.

However, the new hatter who opened shop near me has 3-4 blocks, no specialized tools, doesn’t know what petersham is, has never heard of Tonak or FEPSA, thought a modern Resistol 3X Beaver was a 100% beaver hat, and still wants $700 for her creations.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Just to bring this back around, Tatton Baird knows how to make a great hat and he has all the equipment to do it. I’m hoping to stop by his shop in Springfield later this year.

 

[belfastboy]

Nicely said. I suppose it’s like most fields where there is always room at the top. Given time, the cream does rise.

However, the new hatter who opened shop near me has 3-4 blocks, no specialized tools, doesn’t know what petersham is, has never heard of Tonak or FEPSA, thought a modern Resistol 3X Beaver was a 100% beaver hat, and still wants $700 for her creations.

Did you advise her to stick a match in the ribbon and up her pricing to $1000?

My wife came across a female hatter at an art fair offering fur felt hats. My wife loved one of her 'creations' It was a Tonak hare felt, not well constructed, no liner, no sweat, cheap ribboning. Kind of like a (Hats by Grizz!)

She was asking $400 Canadian. My wife loved it and wanted to buy it. I HAD to pull her away and insist I could not in good conscience allow her to waste her money. I snapped a pic of it on her head and PROMISED her a better hat, a real hat, identical in style, for less money. She trusted me enough to agree and voila 6 weeks later she had a brilliant creation from Rick at Phoenix for much less money. So yes, it is a buyer beware market, but then I guess everything is to a degree. Hopefully with the help of the brilliance of the knowledge here in the Lounge we can steer folks in a good direction.

I have enrolled in the 5 day fedora hat making workshop and it will be interesting to see if the woman lives up to her billing as a "Master Hatter". I have the wonderful video of Art Fawcett at work as my guide....we shall see!!!

 

[South9407]

I don't want to dampen anybody's entrepreneurial spirit, but the explosion of custom hatters over the past decade has been quite the show.

For a while there, we were getting folks every other week asking where to find beaver felt bodies.

No dampening here. I will find out soon enough how I take to it. Right now it will be for selfish, personal gain as I try to make a few for myself. When I started digging for suppliers of hat making tools I was overwhelmed. Many out there and the prices were lower than I expected.

 

[South9407]

There are hundreds of custom hat makers in the US alone. Most are small local/regional shops that you’d never know were there without some leg work. The four custom hatters within 80 miles of me aren’t on this list, but this will give you an idea:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...elt-fedora-hatmakers-and-hatters.77957/page-7

Thanks for the info. I'm a greenhorn so it will be more of a hobby for me at this point. At 52 I'd also like to do something that could benefit others and hopefully give me a skill that I can work into.

 

[South9407]

There are a great many more hatters than 6 in the US. I have custom hats from 10 different craftsmen and that just scratches the surface. There are a great many more when you add up both Western and Fedora custom hat makers. Having said that there is always room for more. Many of the hatters that are established have wait lists of up to one year. Ijust placed an order and I with luck will receive it about this time next year. Some Western hatters have stopped taking orders as their back log is so long.

The good news is that as the popularity of on line shopping has grown exponentially the world can now be your market. My custom hatters are spread throughout North America and Canada and a bit of northern Europe.

You have come to the right place as this forum is deep in Hat knowledge and there are a many hat makers here, both professional and rank amateur. We all share a deep abiding love of all things hat related.

Thank you very much for your reply. That is a definite spirit lifter. They didn't name it the Fedora Lounge for nothin' huh? Much thanks!

 

[belfastboy]

No dampening here. I will find out soon enough how I take to it. Right now it will be for selfish, personal gain as I try to make a few for myself. When I started digging for suppliers of hat making tools I was overwhelmed. Many out there and the prices were lower than I expected.

I think the biggest impediment to starting as a hat maker is the large capital outlay required. Most of the custom hatters that I have done business with have started out modestly. They have become masters of making do, becoming hat making McGivers by cobbling together low cost solutions to expensive problems. Slowly they have learned their craft and added the expensive equipment as they progressed. Hat making is a "hand made" process but you can't beat having the proper tools to compensate for the limitations of the human hand.

Check out on YouTube there is a great condensed video of the hat making process. It follows the Master Hatter, Art Fawcett @ VSHats as he works through the steps of making a fedora.

 

[J Williams]

Did you advise her to stick a match in the ribbon and up her pricing to $1000?

My wife came across a female hatter at an art fair offering fur felt hats. My wife loved one of her 'creations' It was a Tonak hare felt, not well constructed, no liner, no sweat, cheap ribboning. Kind of like a (Hats by Grizz!)

She was asking $400 Canadian. My wife loved it and wanted to buy it. I HAD to pull her away and insist I could not in good conscience allow her to waste her money. I snapped a pic of it on her head and PROMISED her a better hat, a real hat, identical in style, for less money. She trusted me enough to agree and voila 6 weeks later she had a brilliant creation from Rick at Phoenix for much less money. So yes, it is a buyer beware market, but then I guess everything is to a degree. Hopefully with the help of the brilliance of the knowledge here in the Lounge we can steer folks in a good direction.

I have enrolled in the 5 day fedora hat making workshop and it will be interesting to see if the woman lives up to her billing as a "Master Hatter". I have the wonderful video of Art Fawcett at work as my guide....we shall see!!!

Bob, I looked into that class a bit more. Man I really want to take the one coming up here in February but there is no way I can swing it with work and the new child.

The 3 day class in the summer from what I can tell is essentially reproducing a fedora so you are beholden to the design. The class you are taking allows you to design your own custom hat choose your own block etc.

I'm going to call see if I can glean a bit more information. It looks like there was a full 5 day class done last November so maybe the full class will be repeated at the end of the year. I'm also going to try and find out how strict one has to stay to the fedora reproduction, maybe I will have carte blanche to make the crown and brim a little bigger. If there is some wiggle room in the design I may take the 3 day class as the price is about what a custom hat would cost.

That being said I suppose you will be my test case. I hope it's as good as it sounds!

 

[Wyldkarma]

Pecan Tatton Baird for todays errands. Plus some photos of the other Tattons.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

So many custom hatters are backlogged six months to two or more years! I’m again looking at Tatton Baird and hope to visit his shop this Christmas when I’ll be passing through. He offers so many styles and options with a strong emphasis on westerns. Decisions (all from his Instagram):

 

[deadlyhandsome]

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[deadlyhandsome]

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[deadlyhandsome]

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[AbbaDatDeHat]

So many custom hatters are backlogged six months to two or more years! I’m again looking at Tatton Baird and hope to visit his shop this Christmas when I’ll be passing through. He offers so many styles and options with a strong emphasis on westerns. Decisions (all from his Instagram):

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#6 & 7

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

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#7

 

[deadlyhandsome]

#7

There’s not a lot of wrong choices in the bunch.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

There’s not a lot of wrong choices in the bunch.

Very true.
Those grabbed my attention right off as in...that!!
B

 

[BobHufford]

I was drawn to #7 in the first group. Lots of great looking hats there!

 

[belfastboy]

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I drove past Springfield last spring....thought of dropping in just to check it out as he never responded to my email inquiry. I decided not to as I did not want to be tempted to order another hat. I do regret it as it looks like an awesome legit hat shop/maker.