Merged Hatter Thread

[Fedora]

I have a pm from MK asking me not to show the link to my hat site here. He has other means of doing so. I assume he wants no hatter getting freebies. I have asked to be removed from the member list. For two reasons. First, the number of hats I have sold here can be counted on 1 hand, and that is in two years of being in business. I do not canvas this forum to sell hats. I make Indy hats, and this is not an Indy forum. I refer folks to Art if they want a vintage-esque hat. Always have.

I am here only to provide inside info on the hat trade. Free. I don't charge for it, although my link was a nice exchange for the info I have given. I see no further reason to continue being member here. I can see MK's reason, and this is his sandbox and he can do as he wants. But, I don't HAVE to partiscipate. And, I won't. I am in a place to where I do not need the business, as being number one on Google(the last time I checked) brings me more new business than one man can handle. I certainly never needed this site in order to sell my hats. And I never used it to sell Indy fedoras.


In the past, I have given away hats to the QM Summit. I did not do so this year, because I was not contacted as in prior years. Plus it is no longer a primary Indy Gear summit as it was up until this year.

Having hatters on this forum is a plus, and one hand should wash the other, I would think. To me, I should be an asset, well worth the link noted on my posts. Apparently not. Carry on. Fedora

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I'd prefer that you stay, but I understand if you don't.

 

[Godfrey Park]

Sorry to see you go, Fedora, but I can understand the reasons.

 

[Simon82]

Fedora,

As one who got a rare non-Indy fedora from you (and it's by far my favorite of any hat I have), I'm especially sad to see you go. I've learned so much from your posts, and want to thank you for all the invaluable info you've shared.

Ironically, I found COW through The Lounge, not vice-versa, so your being a part of this forum was beneficial in every way.

You do spectacular work, and are a gentleman as well as a craftsman.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Commerce collided with fun,
and commerce won.

 

[SMCK]

Sorry.

Fedora , I am new to this site, but before I joined I think I have read rearly every post put up here. to my mind you are one of the great hat experts , always ready to help and advise, and I do feel that that this site woul be all the poorer without you. Someone should reconsider, although it is not my place to get involved in the politics of the thing. Best wishes to you whatever the outcome, you are still up there with the few best hatters around, and I am sure that we all appreciate that.

 

[Samsa]

I'm not sure I understand, but I don't like it. Sorry you're leaving....

 

[geo]

Shocking! So we, the members here, are just a pool of potential customers and target for advertisement. I didn't like the fact that they added ads at the top, but now this is too much.
I'm gone too.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm not sure I understand why you are leaving either.

Though I do wish you well.

 

[Feraud]

Fedora, I am a fan of you and your hat. I always found your posts to be very informative. It is a loss to us all if you do not participate on the forum and I respect your decision.

See you around at COW!

 

[shoeshineboy]

steve,

i hate to see this come to this....

does that mean the other commercial vendors will have to take thier links to thier website off of thier sig lines ?

i liked them there, i could get them quickly when someone asked me where to find hats at...i always sent them about 5 links to each inquiry over at the shaving site when they ask me about hats.

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Looks like it:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14107

A sad loss.

bk

 

[Feraud]

Isn't it possible for Fedora to post his info in the Merchant's/Vendor Forum?
It read like it is..

 

[shoeshineboy]

there are out to get you !!!!!!

 

[Feraud]

let the conspiracies begin...lol

 

[MK]

.

We are pretty open with people sharing information here....as long as it is not an advertisement. That has been pretty much the policy here since day one. We have noticed more and more hat makers and sellers becoming part of our community. Slowly but surely there has been more and more promotion. It starts with their company name, then a web site address, then a sales slogan..... There is a bit of one-up-man-ship going on too. A few hatterers sponsor this joint. Why should they if everyone can come here and promote their company for free? Why should I let companies sell their products and not contribute?

Keep in mind Classic Style has been shipped to every hat retailer in the country. If we don't enforce this, the Fedora Lounge will turn into a flea market.

If a company doesn't want to be here unless they can promote for free....I am ok with that.

 

[dzacca]

I've been here only for a few weeks but I read most of your posts. It's sad to see you go, but I can understand your reasons. I hope I can find you by google... or, better, can you send my your contact info with a PM? I've got a few friends interested in your work.

I want to wish good luck for the future!

Hope to hear from you again, bye Fedora!

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I was gonna stay out of this, BUT...

First, I'm sorry to see anyone go, especially someone who is as knowledgable as Fedora. I've learned much about hattery from his posts.

But the fact is that we are GUESTS here - non-paying guests. Unlike other forums that I have been a member of, I have never been solicited or charged or faced with 'levels' of membership. And bandwith, storage space and DSL usage IS NOT FREE and it is not cheap. It costs MK to host and run this site. Yet, not a penny has been asked for.

As well, their is a responsibility to be a GUEST. First and foremost you either respect the host's wishes and rules, or you politely leave. If MK wishes to make changes that may benefit his other interests, so be it. It's his place. I like it here and will respect the boundaries by which he runs this site. If things change in the future, then, as all of us do, we have the individual choice to stay or move on. Casting aspersions when what we are participating in comes at no cost is nothing if not ungrateful.

It would be good to remember what being a GOOD GUEST means - either stay and play by the rules or thank the host and leave politely, not stirring the waters as you do.

 

[Feraud]

$$'s aren't so bad, are they?
Of all the cool usernames here I do not see "Johnny Altruistic".
btw, I am not taking sides on this because there is no side. Fedora has chosen to leave the forum. All we should do is wish him well.

 

[Kt Templar]

Sorry to see you leave. I know you already have more work than you need so the link was not important to you, it was the principle.

I don't see why vendors can't have a link to their site in their sigs. Everyone else does it that way, it's par for the course. If the site needs advertisers all it has it do is contact the vendors and ask for some ad spend.

See you around the net and especially at www.indygear/cow and www.indylounge.com.