JW Hats Website Update

[Charlie Thompson]

Hello everyone,

My name is Charlie and I will be taking over JWHats.com website. I made the original page about 10 years ago and my Grandpa Richard has maintained it since with minor assistance from me. He asked me if I could bring a little bit of a modern feel to the page and make it user friendly, so we can appeal to the online industry. Many of you may know its not the easiest to get a hold of JW without just calling so im going to try to help him with managing online interactions since I grew up around the shop. Please let me know what you would like to see from me on the site, I know his machinery is talked about quite a bit on here and ill have my grandpa get any requested images for the site. Also thank you all for your continued support of JW Hats, I was amazed yesterday researching places and pictures of JW and find over 150 mentions of him on this forum, no one in the shop even knew he was this famous online. Wanted to share a video from last month of JW as well for those who have never had the pleasure of meeting him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMfUVOZeIWw and if anyone has or can get a great picture of JWs logo from a hat or card that would be amazing, preferably gold on black.

 

[fedoracentric]

Thanks for the news.

Do you guys do restore work? I have a hat that I want the brim cut down and a new ribbon added.

 

[Knotten]

Charlie,

I'm local to you -- in the Salt Lake area. I'd love to do lunch and talk about your site. A clear description of hat styles, products, services and prices would be helpful. You already have a great reputation to build on, and your offer of helping people make their own hats is terrific. If you're interested, let me know and I'll give you a call.

 

[Nyah]

Charlie's location says Christiansburg Virginia. Is the shop somewhere else?

 

[Knotten]

JW is an institution in Salt Lake, dating back to the days of Brigham Young. If you watch the youtube link in Charlie's post, it tells the story.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice video.

 

[Charlie Thompson]

We do provide restorations, please call 1-801-977-0676 for a quote from JW. Im excited to see the influx he is going to gain with the modernization of the site as well, the styles, products and services will be clearly laid out, I was 15 when I made the first design and it was very basic, as is the updates my grandpa has provided just based on the little bit of time ive spent teaching him. I am very lucky to be working with him and plan on bringing the basics of the store to the site, pricing, styles, items including all the machinery. I am no longer local to Salt Lake City and will need a rain check on the lunch, actually in Virginia. I will try and get some high quality examples of several styles, JW mentioned Fedoras have become much more popular recently, can i get some examples of styles we want to see? Im also going to collect as many of his custom styles. JW prides himself in teaching others the hat making arts, he has people from all around the world come to learn and purchase equipment and im just trying to make it easier to access.

 

[T Jones]

Hello Charlie. It's nice to hear from you. I've heard a lot of good things about JW from some friends...I hear he's quite a guy and that he loves to share his knowledge and help people who are willing to learn. I'm going to call. I look forward to speaking with him.

Speaking for myself, I would like to see classic fedora styles like the Stetson Wanderer, the Stetson Stratoliner, the Stetson Playboy, and the Stetson Whippet just to name a few.

Stetson Playboy...

Stetson Stratoliner...

Stetson Wanderer...

Stetson Whippet...

 

[RBH]

Glad to have you Charlie!
I never have had the pleasure of meeting JW. But he is a friend of my good friend Mike Moore of Buckaroo Hatters.
I did have a chance to talk with JW on the phone one time, while Mike and I were on a trip to Garland Texas.

 

[Charlie Thompson]

He is a great guy and maybe the opportunity will arise. I will pass along any recommendations and get pictures of styles for the site.

 

[Charlie Thompson]

Still need a copy of the logo of anyone can get me one, actually going with a light background but the gold text. Im sure my grandpa can get one for me but if its not any trouble.

 

[bombin]

Many thanks for posting the video.

I think updating the website is a great idea. In terms of content, lots of (higher resolution) photos of JW's hat and shop (& equipment) I think would be an excellent idea. Might be worth embedding the YouTube video somewhere (prominent) on the site as well.

 

[JWW]

Still need a copy of the logo of anyone can get me one, actually going with a light background but the gold text. Im sure my grandpa can get one for me but if its not any trouble.

Hi Charlie, I just bought a great hat at JW Hats. I'd be happy to get some photos for you. I'd love an excuse to drop by the shop, look at the hats and visit with JW. I can get a picture of the logo, shop or other photos you'd like on the website. I'm also a professional software engineer. I'd be happy to help you out with putting the website together, other technical help or advice. Just let me know what you need.