Keeping secrets while a craft dies out

[billyspew]

Nothing against those larger custom hat shops. I tip my hat to a person who can turn a custom hattery into a million-dollar business. But that ain't me.

And I applaud you (and the others like you) for that mindset!!

 

[Fletch]

Perception becomes reality when you have to deal with bankers and loan people. It starts out exciting and upbeat. Then they do a little homework and decide they're hat experts.

First thing they'll want you to stick rabbit or rat or alpaca or reclaimed wool in the felt - save x% per hat body. Oh, yeah, and taper down the crowns - save x+1%, and besides, that's how it's done today. Then go leatherette for the sweats - save y% per batch. Then limit your color offerings to good old medium grey, dark brown, and black - save z% per dye lot.

By the time they're happy, your product line is just like everybody else's. Not that nobody ever hit it big filling a hole in the market - but hey bud, not with our money.

 

[tonyb]

Perception becomes reality when you have to deal with bankers and loan people. It starts out exciting and upbeat. Then the first thing they'll want is for you to taper down the crowns. Then go leatherette for the sweats. Then limit your color offerings to good old medium grey, dark brown, and black. They won't sit easy until your product line is just like everybody else's. Not that nobody ever hit it big filling a hole in the market - but hey bud, not with our money.

I suppose I'm fortunate not to be dealing with any of that.

I've considered a marketing plan that I'm all but convinced would make me a whole lot busier than I'm prepared to be. So I haven't implemented it. One of these days, maybe.

But I wouldn't be making the one-offs that I'm making now, because filling such a demand just wouldn't allow for that. And the blowhard at the party I alluded to earlier would turn out to be at least partially right -- I'd have to forget about that vintage ribbon jazz. But it appears there is a mass market (or sorts) for all-beaver dress hats. Witness the current offerings from Stetson and Borsalino and Beaver Brand.

By the way, Fletch, my brother, who died suddenly and unexpectedly a few years ago, was a musical instrument repairman. He fixed brass and woodwind instruments, and had been a professional trumpet player himself for much of his adult life. He was a certificated school teacher with a degree in bilingual education, but he went into instrument repair because he was looking for something he could do, and would enjoy doing, well into his old age, which, alas, he never saw. It turns out that among the few formal training programs for that occupation is one at Renton Vocational-Technical College, a state-owned school in Renton, Wash., a suburb immediately south of Seattle. The program is intensive (it lasts one full academic year, with all-day classes five days a week), and the guy who runs it is quite the taskmaster. But the graduates come out of it knowing how to fix a horn. It's been said by many who knew my brother that he'd think the hatmaking thing is a way cool way to turn a buck. "Bone would really dig this," friends have said on entering my shop.

 

[tonyb]

Hi

I realize that this is a VERY basic question, but how many size hats can one teardrop crease hat block crease? Do you need one for 6 7/8, 7, 7 1/8, 7 1/4, 7 3/8 and so on? Shopping at custom hat shops on the internet, and close to home...

Thanks

It occurred to me that no one answered your question, so ...

Those "shaped" blocks, the kind in the form of the finished hat crown, are generally used for making straw hats. Fur felts can be shaped by hand, and are blocked on open-crown blocks. Straws have the finished shape "stamped" into them, on a shaped block. This also involves another piece of equipment, called a 'tipper," which is in the shape of the top of the crown, but inverted, so that the shape can be pressed into the straw.

Keep in mind that I'm talking about how it's typically done in a hatter's shop. Most modern production felt hats have the final crown shape pressed into them at the factory, on "shaped" blocks.

Equipping a shop to finish and refurbish straw hats can be challenging and costly, as the crown shapes and sizes allow for very little wiggle room. You could make a size 7 1/4 hat on a a 7 3/8 block by doing what's called "drumming" the sweatband, but pushing it much more than that would probably be asking too much.

A friend is positioning himself to be a go-to guy for straw hat refurbishing. A big part of doing that, besides acquiring the skills, is amassing the equipment. A particularly desirable block style in a common size (7 1/4, say, or 7 3/8), can fetch some serious scratch. But if you want a straw hat in that style, you have to have that block.

 

[fmw]

I agree with you. No matter how hard people try to keep me down and lie about me. I am doing just fine. I have nearly a 6 month wait time for my handmade/custom hats and I work nearly seven days a week.

If I were your business consultant, I would tell you to raise your prices. Having a 6 month waiting list is probably more negative than positive. Remember what I said earlier about customer service. I've seen custom knife makers fold because of waiting lists that went out 2 years. A lot of things can happen in two years. Raising your prices will reduce the waiting time, improve your ability to provide good service and improve your income. Managing supply and demand is a balancing act of sorts but those who balance it best make more money.

 

[navarre_au]

navarre, when you say someone has to "love the trade for what it is," what does that mean? Do you distinguish the trade from the craft - ie, just building/styling/finishing?

Wow this one made me think - in a good way - as what was easily typed now on reflection opened a view into my own thinking.
I would say I do distinguish the trade from the craft - in so much as the trade can be and is for many "A job" - the "craft" is when someone takes the "job" to a different level in the way they approach things.

, Is this why you wouldn't teach anyone who was starting from zero? Someone with your level of curiosity and enthusiasm is not enough for you - he's got to have gone thru what you've gone thru, or be willing to give you that personal assurance?

Actually I would and have trained people from scratch - when you find the right apprentice (not an easy task in these days of "instant gratification") its a very rewarding experience - and there is then a different relationship - your apprentice is "one of the family" to all intents and purposes. Its a completely different dynamic - you have both made a commitment to the other as Master and apprentice - and as the "Master" there is nothing more satisfying then to take the raw beginner as far as you can - and if your lucky have them stretch you along the way - and even overtake you. Job done wheres the beer

, Seems to me that one of the requirements for a craftsman - an imposed requirement more than an inevitable one - is that he be willing to reinvent the wheel. Maybe lots of wheels. I don't see eye to eye with that if it's just for ritual, or tradition, or payback.

Payback - 100% not
Tradition - Its probably an influence - but isnt a full explanation
Ritual - Also doesnt quite fit

I think a lot of factors probably shape\perpetuate the pattern - I dont know if I can explain it - to be honest its not something I have really thought on too much. I think its one of those things like recognising Art (not the Hatter the painting\sculpture\and yes it could be a hat) - as a Craftsperson you recognise it when you see it - but defining it in words is complex.

 

[Mario]

[...] He then proceeded to tell me how I ought to be doing things, that I ought to forget about all that vintage ribbon jazz and all-beaver stuff and get into mass production and figure out how to cut my production costs and increase my volume. I doubt he even heard me say that the types of hats I make, and wish to continue making, can't be produced that way.

Uh oh...I know this type...just by reading those lines I can feel my fists clenching...

 

[hatophile]

Uh oh...I know this type...just by reading those lines I can feel my fists clenching...

When those "types" get involved in any business that is customer service and quality driven (as opposed to purely money-making) those features go down the tubes.

 

[bendingoak]

fmv,

Thank you sir for the advise. I have just raised them as of feb 1st. I will not let the lead times go beyond 6 months.

 

[Viper Man]

When those "types" get involved in any business that is customer service and quality driven (as opposed to purely money-making) those features go down the tubes.

Welcome to America.

 

[hatophile]

Welcome to America.

Indeed.

 

[fmw]

When those "types" get involved in any business that is customer service and quality driven (as opposed to purely money-making) those features go down the tubes.

i guess I disagree. I view every business as customer oriented and quality driven and every business sinks or swims because of it, regardless of what the age or education level is of the decision makers. One of the prime examples for me recently has been Starbucks coffee. I remember seeing the CEO on TV wondering why their revenues were down and why they had to close some stores. The reason is that they stopped selling superior coffee and started selling ordinary coffee. People were paying more but not getting any more. Even I could tell him that. We have a Starbucks counter at the local supermarket. The supermarket itself has a coffee counter right next to it. The coffee is better and cheaper at the supermarket's own coffee counter. It isn't rocket science.

 

[1961MJS]

It occurred to me that no one answered your question, so ...

Thanks Tony

 

[JimWagner]

Imagine that. Investors want to put their money where they can get it all back and with a profit in the shortest possible time. They aren't particularly interested in supporting a glorified hobbyist or someone whose primary motive isn't making money and then losing their investment.

I've watched a number of small businesses fold over the years where the owners were more enthusiasts than businessmen. The manner in which they ran their businesses were simply not profitable and they refused to take the steps necessary to become profitable. An investor would have only delayed the inevitable and lost his money to boot.

So, the fact that an investor demands some control (maybe a lot) and a say in how their money is going to be used and expects a return on that investment shouldn't be such a shock. If you don't want to give up that autonomy and a major share in your business then you better figure out a way to be profitable without an investor.

 

[Fletch]

Not everybody with dough wants a cookie cutter (pardon the metapun).
And not everybody with a fresh product or idea is a glorified hobbyist.

There's more than one kind of business, and there's more than one way to make ROI, so there's more than one kind of investor. Sometimes you're wasting your time at a bank. So you start beating the bushes for a backer who shares your vision enough to think long-term. It might take awhile, but that's the price you pay for not being just like everybody else.

Just for fun, Jim, if you were pitching a hat business, where would you innovate? What would you like to see as a customer (which you evidently are) that might appeal to other customers?

 

[hatophile]

I don't want to get too off topic, since we are talking about hats. Any business exists to make money, for the owners, investors or both. Most businesses want to, or should want to provide quality products and quality service. As our hat-maker friends have pointed out, there is a reluctance to go into a mass manufacturing situation, because the profit motive could potentially outweigh the desire for quality. The "types" that I refer to (and that TonyB mentioned) are simply those who do not understand the balancing of the profit/quality equation.

 

[danofarlington]

Hopefully TFL can somehow help grow the cottage hatmaking industry so as to allow not only more hatmakers into the field, but greater sales for everyone. Two of the biggest challenges to overcome that I see are a) just a growing awareness and demand for hats in 2011; and b) those who want hats, or could have their appetites stimulated by seeing websites and photos of good hats, probably don't have an easy way of locating them. Instead, they would have to spend hours on the Internet, without being confident that they have seen the best yet, and may be reluctant to buy. Challenge (a) is a large scale problem, but TFL is doing its darndest to rectify. Challenge (b) is something TFL could help out with more directly than it now does, by having a better clearinghouse feature that potential buyers could find on Google.

 

[Pompidou]

I'm going through these hoops for a cafe startup. Seems to me, there are two approaches to making money. Artisan quality or mass produced quantity. There are markets for both. In my situation, I'm going for the former. I think the smaller your startup, the more viable the artisan boutique plan becomes, and the less viable trying to compete against the big dogs becomes. Compare Hatco to Art Fawcett for example. One man can't produce enough shabby hats to price them like Hatco can. On the other hand, Hatco can't hold a candle to Art's quality. When you put together your business plan, you've got to determine whether there are enough people willing to go through the extra hurdles that top quality requires to make your bottom line. I had little choice but to put my focus on quality and let prices fall where they may. I don't think it's a good strategy to found a new company that takes on the established powers where they have the most strength. They've got name. They've got resources. You've got to show a bank or an investor that you can beat the powers where they're weak, and that's often customer service and attention to quality and detail.

 

[tonyb]

The fellow my wife and I chose to install our oak floors is a one-man operator who has been in the business for more than 30 years. He told us he once had a few employees and was generating considerably more income, but the quality suffered, not to the point that the typical homeowner would know the difference, but he knew the difference and he couldn't live with that.

This fellow didn't submit the lowest bid, and we had to wait for time in his schedule to get our floors installed, and then the job itself took longer than it might have taken with another contractor, seeing how our guy left the flooring down but unfinished for several days so that it could acclimate -- do whatever expanding and contracting it was likely to do -- before taking the sanders to it. And then there's the nasty fumes the Swedish finish puts out, so we (and the livestock) couldn't be in the house at all for a few days. We planned our vacation around it.

We could have gotten a nice enough floor for considerably less money and inconvenience, especially if we had gone with pre-finished oak, but even that would have cost quite a bit. And a new Stetson or Akubra or whatever might be a nice enough hat. Nothing against them at all, and those businesses presumably make money for their owners and investors. A customer can buy one for considerably less than a custom hat, and he can wear it home right now.

My floor guy (I'll probably hire him again, and I'd recommend him without reservation) isn't rich by any means. He can work only so fast without sacrificing quality, and he can charge only so much. But he makes a decent living and he's in a remarkably fit physical condition for a man his age (early 60s, I'd guess). And he gives every indication that he's happy with who he is and what he does. To my way of seeing things, he's successful in ways many far wealthier people (and poorer ones, for that matter) never will be.

 

[fmw]

It isn't necessary to sacrifice either quality or service because one chooses to have a small scale business. In fact, it is the small scale businesses that normally have the highest quality and level of service. My only point is that those two elements are important for any business, regardless of size, investment, profitability or industry. You have to have something good to sell and you need to take care of the customers. You have to operate profitably otherwise the business fails. As I said, it isn't rocket science. Business is mostly a matter of common sense.