HUFVUD HATMAKER | Lund, Sweden

[steur]

My Hufvud inspired a recently completed handmade sweater, lovingly created from scratch by my wife.

The photos don't do it justice, though. The color(s) are more vivid in person.

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Both hat and sweater look great, Scott. Mikael did a great job and so did your wife!

 

[1967Cougar390]

I will watch with peaked interest as your felt and ribbon choices I have considered. Of late he has been sharing pics of some darn fine hats. Steven, your choices bode well for an outstanding outcome.

Eric -

Thank you Eric, that means a lot coming from you. Your hats are stellar.

Merry Christmas and be safe.
Steven

 

[scottyrocks]

Scotty, your wife is very talented. That sweater looks like it came straight from Ireland!

Steven

Thank you. She even modified the design to add an extra twisted cable on each side. I'm thrilled with the whole thing.

 

[scottyrocks]

Both hat and sweater look great, Scott. Mikael did a great job and so did your wife!

Thank you, steur. I'm gonna wear it tonight for our very small gathering.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

100X pure beaver emerald gray. Six inch open crown and 3 1/4 inch brim. When you request a straight-sided crown with minimal taper from Hufvud you might get more than you bargained for. Vertical sides with a 1/16 inch transition to horizontal at the top. The felt is not a disappointment: thin, dense, and very malleable. The color was a surprise, so much so that I was at first I thought I was sent the wrong felt. In direct sunlight I thought it was moss green. Later in the day with the sun below the horizon the felt looked much more gray and like Hufvud’s photos. The felt is a real chameleon. A bit of steam helped with the crease, but it dry creases pretty easily. The brim is going to take some work to get right: the felt is so soft that when I put the hat on the tension changes and the brim distorts a bit. The embroidered liner is a nice touch and the sweatband is very soft and comfortable. Great build quality and the felt is great. Not sure about the blocking...too much of a good thing I think. I suspect that the extreme vertical sides are part of Hufvud’s ability to get the reverse taper look.

If I had it to do over I would have picked a binding color that didn’t contrast with the felt. I might still have it replaced at some point.

 

[hatsRme]

My Hufvud inspired a recently completed handmade sweater, lovingly created from scratch by my wife.

The photos don't do it justice, though. The color(s) are more vivid in person.

View attachment 294021 View attachment 294022

You are a lucky man, Scott.
Rock-solid look going on there!

 

[PanosChris]

100X pure beaver emerald gray. Six inch open crown and 3 1/4 inch brim. When you request a straight-sided crown with minimal taper from Hufvud you might get more than you bargained for. Vertical sides with a 1/16 inch transition to horizontal at the top. The felt is not a disappointment: thin, dense, and very malleable. The color was a surprise, so much so that I was at first I thought I was sent the wrong felt. In direct sunlight I thought it was moss green. Later in the day with the sun below the horizon the felt looked much more gray and like Hufvud’s photos. The felt is a real chameleon. A bit of steam helped with the crease, but it dry creases pretty easily. The brim is going to take some work to get right: the felt is so soft that when I put the hat on the tension changes and the brim distorts a bit. The embroidered liner is a nice touch and the sweatband is very soft and comfortable. Great build quality and the felt is great. Not sure about the blocking...too much of a good thing I think. I suspect that the extreme vertical sides are part of Hufvud’s ability to get the reverse taper look.

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If I had it to do over I would have picked a binding color that didn’t contrast with the felt. I might still have it replaced at some point.

It could easily pass for moss or sage green. I agree about the blocking but you pull it off very well my friend. Glad you like the felt too.

O, and the cat seems to approve as well

 

[1967Cougar390]

100X pure beaver emerald gray. Six inch open crown and 3 1/4 inch brim. When you request a straight-sided crown with minimal taper from Hufvud you might get more than you bargained for. Vertical sides with a 1/16 inch transition to horizontal at the top. The felt is not a disappointment: thin, dense, and very malleable. The color was a surprise, so much so that I was at first I thought I was sent the wrong felt. In direct sunlight I thought it was moss green. Later in the day with the sun below the horizon the felt looked much more gray and like Hufvud’s photos. The felt is a real chameleon. A bit of steam helped with the crease, but it dry creases pretty easily. The brim is going to take some work to get right: the felt is so soft that when I put the hat on the tension changes and the brim distorts a bit. The embroidered liner is a nice touch and the sweatband is very soft and comfortable. Great build quality and the felt is great. Not sure about the blocking...too much of a good thing I think. I suspect that the extreme vertical sides are part of Hufvud’s ability to get the reverse taper look.

View attachment 296245 View attachment 296246 View attachment 296247 View attachment 296248 View attachment 296249 View attachment 296250 View attachment 296251 View attachment 296252 View attachment 296253 View attachment 296254

If I had it to do over I would have picked a binding color that didn’t contrast with the felt. I might still have it replaced at some point.

Looking good as usual Brent. The emerald gray sounds like a great color from your explanation. The photos look wonderful. I’m glad I chose emerald gray for my commission. I was originally thinking rust brown, but I changed my mind and went with emerald gray. The crown and brim dimensions I chose are much smaller than yours. I’m excited to see how my hat turns out.

Steven

 

[scottyrocks]

You are a lucky man, Scott.
Rock-solid look going on there!

Thank you. I'm loving it.

 

[1967Cougar390]

I saw this blog on the Hufvud website. Mikael is making changes to his hat company. I’m happy that I’m currently in line for my custom fedora. His off the shelf line sounds interesting.


It feels great to be making hats again! This week just flew by and I managed to complete a lovely Joker Fedora with a brim bound edge as well as a very interesting blend for the Floki Fedora. Have a look at the images below. I do have some business updates for you that I need to explain and please do let me know your thoughts on this.

I have built HUFVUD over the years, not knowing what the focus or what the final destination would be like. A final destination will never be reached because a business should always be in development and strive for a better operation. I have come to terms with my current situation and the state of HUFVUD as a small studio Hatmaker, and change is needed in order to grow and to survive. I am grateful for all the support and for the opportunity to bring back a unique craftsmanship that has not seen the light for several decades. Effective March 1st 2021 I am hereby suspending any new Custom Order until June/ July 2021.

Now, what is all this about? Why am I doing this and what does it mean for you as the client? First of all, this is very scary. I am going out of my comfort zone, in a time where comfort zones are being taken away for so many. Allow me to explain and see if you are able to understand the importance of a Hufvud Transformation in 2021.

First of all, the waiting period for your custom hat is too long and is only getting longer. I am grateful to have the amount of orders coming in every month. A few years ago I couldn’t have imagined the success from going into business by myself. I will suspend new orders until I have completed every order on the book, to date. For you who have an order with HUFVUD, there is no further delay but still the expected 4 - 5 month wait for you hat. Once I have completed the orders on hand, I will open up again to accept new custom orders. The only difference with the new Custom Order is that it will be limited to only 50 orders per year. From June/ July there might only be 25 tickets available. With only a few tickets open per month for you to claim your request I will be able to deliver a custom fedora within, or under, 3 months from the date of order.

Secondly. During this period, leading up to mid summer, I will be able to create Ready Made Fedoras that I will release on the site in batches. It will allow me to be more creative but at the same time there will be hats that you don’t need to wait for. Order a ready made hat on Monday, have it 3 - 5 working days later at your door with included standard UPS Shipping. At the moment, I have not fully planned out the style of hats that will be available, but expect Leifur and Bogart to be part of the selection. It will be a range of sizes for you to chose from. The first batch should come out in March, so keep an eye out in the Marketplace. I will also post in the Hufvud Facebook Group once they are available.

This transformation will be very rocky. There are many things I need to handle in order for this to work out smoothly. I hope by the end of the year, leading up to 2022, the new system will be in place to make operation seamless. This will have a major impact on the financial aspect of the business and it might even lead to the end. At the same time, I am making these changes in order to avoid that.

What about price? Are you increasing prices too? Price will stay more or less the same. The most cryptic answer I could come up with. I will add value to the Custom Order process which will increase order options. Some felt colors limited to custom orders only. Just because a fedora is Ready Made does not mean the quality is less than of a Custom Order. Ready Made might even have options that will reduce the price. But at the moment I can’t confirm these details.

I hope this does not come out as a total doom and gloom feeling. This is mere a way to fix things with operation in order to do better in the future. Will see how things turn out in the next couple of months leading up to Summer.

Feel free to ask me more questions in the comments or send me an email. I am grateful to hear your thoughts and I am happy to discuss custom builds with you even though I can’t accept further orders just yet.

As always, I appreciate your support and for following the blog! Enjoy the rest of the Sunday!



Regards,

Mikael Einarsson | HUFVUD HATMAKER | Lund, Sweden

 

[belfastboy]

I saw this blog on the Hufvud website. Mikael is making changes to his hat company. I’m happy that I’m currently in line for my custom fedora. His off the shelf line sounds interesting.


It feels great to be making hats again! This week just flew by and I managed to complete a lovely Joker Fedora with a brim bound edge as well as a very interesting blend for the Floki Fedora. Have a look at the images below. I do have some business updates for you that I need to explain and please do let me know your thoughts on this.

I have built HUFVUD over the years, not knowing what the focus or what the final destination would be like. A final destination will never be reached because a business should always be in development and strive for a better operation. I have come to terms with my current situation and the state of HUFVUD as a small studio Hatmaker, and change is needed in order to grow and to survive. I am grateful for all the support and for the opportunity to bring back a unique craftsmanship that has not seen the light for several decades. Effective March 1st 2021 I am hereby suspending any new Custom Order until June/ July 2021.

Now, what is all this about? Why am I doing this and what does it mean for you as the client? First of all, this is very scary. I am going out of my comfort zone, in a time where comfort zones are being taken away for so many. Allow me to explain and see if you are able to understand the importance of a Hufvud Transformation in 2021.

First of all, the waiting period for your custom hat is too long and is only getting longer. I am grateful to have the amount of orders coming in every month. A few years ago I couldn’t have imagined the success from going into business by myself. I will suspend new orders until I have completed every order on the book, to date. For you who have an order with HUFVUD, there is no further delay but still the expected 4 - 5 month wait for you hat. Once I have completed the orders on hand, I will open up again to accept new custom orders. The only difference with the new Custom Order is that it will be limited to only 50 orders per year. From June/ July there might only be 25 tickets available. With only a few tickets open per month for you to claim your request I will be able to deliver a custom fedora within, or under, 3 months from the date of order.

Secondly. During this period, leading up to mid summer, I will be able to create Ready Made Fedoras that I will release on the site in batches. It will allow me to be more creative but at the same time there will be hats that you don’t need to wait for. Order a ready made hat on Monday, have it 3 - 5 working days later at your door with included standard UPS Shipping. At the moment, I have not fully planned out the style of hats that will be available, but expect Leifur and Bogart to be part of the selection. It will be a range of sizes for you to chose from. The first batch should come out in March, so keep an eye out in the Marketplace. I will also post in the Hufvud Facebook Group once they are available.

This transformation will be very rocky. There are many things I need to handle in order for this to work out smoothly. I hope by the end of the year, leading up to 2022, the new system will be in place to make operation seamless. This will have a major impact on the financial aspect of the business and it might even lead to the end. At the same time, I am making these changes in order to avoid that.

What about price? Are you increasing prices too? Price will stay more or less the same. The most cryptic answer I could come up with. I will add value to the Custom Order process which will increase order options. Some felt colors limited to custom orders only. Just because a fedora is Ready Made does not mean the quality is less than of a Custom Order. Ready Made might even have options that will reduce the price. But at the moment I can’t confirm these details.

I hope this does not come out as a total doom and gloom feeling. This is mere a way to fix things with operation in order to do better in the future. Will see how things turn out in the next couple of months leading up to Summer.

Feel free to ask me more questions in the comments or send me an email. I am grateful to hear your thoughts and I am happy to discuss custom builds with you even though I can’t accept further orders just yet.

As always, I appreciate your support and for following the blog! Enjoy the rest of the Sunday!



Regards,

Mikael Einarsson | HUFVUD HATMAKER | Lund, Sweden

As a relatively new hatter still learning the 'business' end of things I have oft wondered at how full time hatters earn a living at it. Firstly the making of a hat is so time intensive and then you add in the extra time dealing with clients in the customizing process plus all the other attendant tasks of owning a biz. ...it all eats up precious time during productive hours. Offering an off the shelf line that can be made using more of a production line process makes a ton of sense to boost revenue and profit whilst still putting out a top quality product.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

His custom prices probably average...in the $400 range as he has pushed his beaver and beaver blend hats. For 50 hats that’s $20,000 in gross sales, not profit. Even if he ends up selling twice that number of ready made hats that’s still only $60,000 is gross sales. After materials, shipping, and other costs, you’re not going to get rich as a custom hatter. That also gives him about 1.5 days (5-day work week, with minimal vacation time) to complete each hat if he’s making a hypothetical 150 hats a year. I’m sure the efficiency and increased speed of making multiples of the same hat is great for getting the time per unit down, but at some point you become just another hat company rather than a custom hatter no matter your intention to keep the quality the same. The pursuit of efficiency of scale has been part of the cause of the downfall in hat quality in the 20th century. And of course hats aren’t the only things this has impacted.

I wish Mikael well, and I support his entrepreneurial and capitalist spirit. It’s not easy starting your own business and succeeding.

 

[belfastboy]

His custom prices probably average...in the $400 range as he has pushed his beaver and beaver blend hats. For 50 hats that’s $20,000 in gross sales, not profit. Even if he ends up selling twice that number of ready made hats that’s still only $60,000 is gross sales. After materials, shipping, and other costs, you’re not going to get rich as a custom hatter. That also gives him about 1.5 days (5-day work week, with minimal vacation time) to complete each hat if he’s making a hypothetical 150 hats a year. I’m sure the efficiency and increased speed of making multiples of the same hat is great for getting to time per unit down, but at some point you become just another hat company rather than a custom hatter no matter your intention to keep the quality the same. The pursuit of efficiency of scale has been part of the cause of the downfall in hat quality in the 20th century. And of course hats aren’t the only things this has impacted.

I wish Mikael well, and I support his entrepreneurial and capitalist spirit. It’s not easy starting your own business and succeeding.

Plus you have the capital intensive start up costs. I wonder if having a bricks & mortar shop helps boost sales/profits like NW Hats & VS but then that aspect takes you away from hat making time.

 

[Rmccamey]

Your statement certainly goes to the age old question about why people do what they do. I know of very few individuals who have become financially independent by making and selling custom, one of a kind, hand-made [fill in the blank]. Business is tough and small business is even tougher. You either find efficiencies that minimize the impact on the quality or standard that has been set and/or you hire like-minded individuals (apprentices and/or employees) to build more product. Either way, it is difficult to balance costs, quality, and sales (profit).

Best of luck on the new strategy.

His custom prices probably average...in the $400 range as he has pushed his beaver and beaver blend hats. For 50 hats that’s $20,000 in gross sales, not profit. Even if he ends up selling twice that number of ready made hats that’s still only $60,000 is gross sales. After materials, shipping, and other costs, you’re not going to get rich as a custom hatter. That also gives him about 1.5 days (5-day work week, with minimal vacation time) to complete each hat if he’s making a hypothetical 150 hats a year. I’m sure the efficiency and increased speed of making multiples of the same hat is great for getting the time per unit down, but at some point you become just another hat company rather than a custom hatter no matter your intention to keep the quality the same. The pursuit of efficiency of scale has been part of the cause of the downfall in hat quality in the 20th century. And of course hats aren’t the only things this has impacted.

I wish Mikael well, and I support his entrepreneurial and capitalist spirit. It’s not easy starting your own business and succeeding.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Just saw a couple of 7 5/8 fedoras for sale, no waiting....

https://www.hufvud.com/marketplace

 

[suitedcboy]

The emerald gray bound edge is WOW!

 

[1967Cougar390]

I received photos of my custom Bogart fedora from Mikael at Hufvud today. I am pleased with the way my hat has turned out. It should ship Tuesday. I will posted an update once it arrives.

Have a blessed and safe evening.

Steven

 

[1967Cougar390]

I received notification that my custom Bogart is out for delivery today. I’m excited that today is “New Hat Day”.

Steven

 

[belfastboy]

I received notification that my custom Bogart is out for delivery today. I’m excited that today is “New Hat Day”.

Steven

New Hat Days are always the best!

 

[Big Steve]

New Hat Days are indeed a great day and fun one to have !!