Gary from Buffalo, you're on the air...

[jamespowers]

If the 7 5/8 does not fit, I might know someone who would be interested.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Butters]

I dont know where the 7 5/8 came from, i dont think it was his. It just came with the other hats of his, so it was just what i assumed. The hat is a bit tight on me, and only fits right, if my hair is combed (not much of the time). My other grandfather has a Akubra thats 63 cm circumfrence and that hat fits me slightly loosely. So i just figured i was a 62. Yes i have measured my head, but i could only find a soft cm measuring tape and it was around 61 3/4. and no you didnt offend me. LOL

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Butters
I dont know where the 7 5/8 came from, i dont think it was his. It just came with the other hats of his, so it was just what i assumed. The hat is a bit tight on me, and only fits right, if my hair is combed (not much of the time). My other grandfather has a Akubra thats 63 cm circumfrence and that hat fits me slightly loosely. So i just figured i was a 62. Yes i have measured my head, but i could only find a soft cm measuring tape and it was around 61 3/4. and no you didnt offend me. LOL

Sounds like you are a perfect 7 3/4. David's title of Biggest Melon is still safe.
Hey David, I have a marina nearby and an extra outboard motor. Can I borrow your hat? LOL

Regards to all,

J
Secretary of the Big-Headed Guys Club

 

[Panamabob]

This might get me in trouble but we sent a 63 cm ladies hat out this year.

 

[Butters]

Just for clarification robert, my main email is gulice@aol.com. I couldnt sign up with that for some reason so i had to use this. And according to you my hats not even done being woven.. so i doubt you sent me a ladies =D.

Edit: .... i was confused sorry

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by jamespowers
Regards to all,

J
Secretary of the Big-Headed Guys Club

I guess that makes me the President, right?

Originally posted by Panamabob
This might get me in trouble but we sent a 63 cm ladies hat out this year.

Wowza. I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm pretty sure I once heard Oprah say that her head is 26" (a whopping 66cm) around.

Butter - regarding that Akubra, it must be nice to have a hat that fits a bit loosely...I've never experienced that feeling. It must also be nice to have some vintage hats that have sentimental value!

David

 

[Butters]

Yeah, i never met my great grandfather, he died before i was born. But it is cool that they were passed down to me. My father wore them in the late 60s and 70s in his jazz band. So im sending the 2 smaller hats up to Art to get renovated, seeing as the block is horrible and theyre both quite dirty. (i feel like a posting, but machine when my only job is involved with computers i like to come here on my breaks which seem to be quite frequent )

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Canadave
I guess that makes me the President, right?

Yep, You are the president until further notice. I doubt there are any contenders out there so you might have the title for life. I guess that would make you the dictator then. LOL
All hail David----or he will have your head stretched until it is a size 7 7/8! LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Bogie1943]

I had a chemistry teacher who had the biggest head I have ever seen and yes we made fun of him..... A LOT. But all that aside, I used to wear my fedoras to school a lot and he was always like "I wish I could find hats in my size" he must have been a 7 7/8 something, that thing was huge. But who am I to kid, my head is the other direction, I am a 6 7/8 so I should just shut up now!

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Bogie1943
I had a chemistry teacher who had the biggest head I have ever seen and yes we made fun of him..... A LOT. But all that aside, I used to wear my fedoras to school a lot and he was always like "I wish I could find hats in my size" he must have been a 7 7/8 something, that thing was huge. But who am I to kid, my head is the other direction, I am a 6 7/8 so I should just shut up now!

That Chemistry teacher must have been experimenting with growth Hormones---on his head. LOL LOL
I have a couple 6 7/8 laying around here. They make good beanies for me. LOL Ah, eBay sellers really know their sizes.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Wild Root]

Oh man! Don't get me started on Ebay hats! I got a few that said they were my size (7 1/4) and one was too big for me. This was like in 1999 or 2000. Way before I became a Lounge member.

So, I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t' buy on Ebay any more. I'll buy other collectables that I know that would fit or that one doesn't wear.

Good luck David in all your searches!

Root.

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by Bogie1943
I had a chemistry teacher who had the biggest head I have ever seen and yes we made fun of him..... A LOT.

For some reason, it's not obvious that I have a huge heed. Must be my broad shoulders. Anyway, thankfully I was never teased...until I found this forum, of course!

David

 

[Pat in Buffalo]

Gary White is a Joy to Work With and His Hats are Great

I had been living in Buffalo for a few months when I saw an article in the local free weekly about Gary and his shhop. I obsessed about a hat for a few years until my wife finally got bored of me talking about it and told me to go get one.

The hat Gary made for me is undeniably wonderful in every way and the only thing better was meeting and talking with Gary about hats, fashion, history, etc. His shop is practically a museum. For example, when I went to pick up my hat, Gary asked what initials he should put in the inside leather band. When I told him he went over to this massive, cast iron machine which apparently had no other purpose but to stamp letters into leather hat bands. It was at least a century old. It made me think, "hmmm... at one time there were enough people wearing hats that it was economical to make 1000 pound machine to stamp initials in hat bands."

And every other piece of equipment in the place was equally antique.

I went with a charcoal gray beaver felt with a slightly darker gray band and edging. All the ribbon is vintage, while the felt was new.

Anyway, I will stop gushing about Gary, but he is fantastic. He also makes custom Panama hats which are pretty pricey but amazing.

By the way, to the poster who complained about the website, I get the feeling that if Gary could handle more work (he does everything himself), he would improve his website. As it is, he's backed up 6-10 weeks with orders.

 

[HungaryTom]

Gary White articles

http://www.buffalorising.com/story/m...ter_gary_white


http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/09/01/story5.html

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1585,00.html

http://www.subboard.com/generation/articles/120759845192732.asp

http://www.buffalospree.com/archives/2002_0506/050602coolpeople6.html

http://bingles7782.blogspot.com/2008/07/hidden-treasure-in-buffalo.html

http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-97/10-05-97/e04li188.htm

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4D8173FF934A35755C0A966958260

http://www.filmbuffaloniagara.org/s...97&PHPSESSID=e72b8ebb48d3c2db0323f21ef0f94d75

 

[Lefty]

If I remember correctly, we should have a review from Bingles at some point in October.

 

[Delthayre]

Waiting, waiting, waiting evermore

It is worth noting that Mister White has commissioned a far better website for his business since this thread was posted.

He was in fact the first custom hatter that I ever heard of, although I have yet to patronize him, although I do dream of some day, when I can afford the luxury of the whole undertaking, boarding an Empire Service train headed toward Buffalo to commission him to make a black Homburg for me.

 

[Fletch]

Craftsmen vs. the web

I find the very best often resist anything resembling advertising, a) because they often get as much business as they can handle without it, b) because they can't afford to outsource anything and PR isn't something they're good at, or c) because they don't necessarily want to grow or outpace the competition. Yes, really.

This is especially true in a niche or limited market where you probably know the competition. If you begin putting up a swell web presence, etc., that other guy you thought you could trust may start trash talking you out of pure defensiveness.

Western hatters can probably better afford to be well known, because there are more customers.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Not sure I understand what you just said Fletch about outpacing the competition, but basically many of us "one man shop" guys like Gary, Steve Delk, Marc Kidder, myself are in what I would call a "be careful what you wish for" situation. We can only produce so many hats and maintain the quality necessary so advertizing has to be done carefully. As we get busier the wait times increase. Longer wait times personally make me nervous.

 

[HungaryTom]

Not sure I understand what you just said Fletch about outpacing the competition, but basically many of us "one man shop" guys like Gary, Steve Delk, Marc Kidder, myself are in what I would call a "be careful what you wish for" situation. We can only produce so many hats and maintain the quality necessary so advertizing has to be done carefully. As we get busier the wait times increase. Longer wait times personally make me nervous.

Art,

Fine things attract attention quite quickly. This is what was written about Gary: half of his customers come from the Buffalo neighborhood the other half from all around the globe...
You are another example - even the customers appraisals at Art Fawcett Hall of Fame have more than doubled your waiting times in a single year - and you suffered from overstress problems.

But you told that you had the same problems in your previous profession - and your customers did wait for your work.
Those who really appreciate you simply accept the wait.

Who want instant things should go for website or mall shopping or resort to e-bay.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I had the pleasure of visiting Gary's shop in Buffalo last year and, let me tell you, it was a joy! Although I didn't purchase anything, he took at least an hour to chat with me, show me around, explain the tools of the trade to me and share priceless stories about his career as a hatter and before. He quite concisely explained to me the difficulties of selling hats retail, the history of the Cavanagh edge, how big the industry and used to be and imparted a new respect for the art (all puns intended Mr. Fawcett) of hat making. He had been talking about moving out, heading to Arizona. I sure hope he doesn't! I will be there, in Buffalo, late next week and if I have the time, I'd live to visit again.