My Hat Collection Display

[Lights]

The Command hooks is a great idea. (job) and the handmade hat holder is very nice. (Raider)
Sadly, mine are in my closet.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I have mine on various surfaces around my apartment, all with the front brim hanging off the edge. Four are on shelves in my front room bookcases, one sits atop the backrest of an armchair, one -- usually whatever hat I plan to wear that day -- rests atop a stack of library books. Then there's one atop the spare TV in the bedroom, and one atop the small bookcase in there.

Several others, the Temples and the black Manhattan, are in boxes in the big closet, and the green Crofut & Knapp resides atop a shelf in the coat closet. So they're not on display.

Raider, I like your vertical hat stand/rack. But if I installed something like that, my cats would suddenly take an interest in climbing -- up across my hats.

 

[Raider]

Raider, that's a nice design. I like how the platforms also serve to keep the hats in form, shrink-free. Are they accurate enough to preserve the hats' size? I see they are bevelled . . .

Yes, I used a "Hat Jack" that had been extended to the right size as a pattern.

 

[randooch]

Great idea! Did you get it hung up yet?

 

[Justin B]

Added some more racks. I bought 18, but only hung enough to get all my current hats somewhere to sleep. Will add more on an as needed basis.

 

[Raider]

Great idea! Did you get it hung up yet?

Yep.

 

[JAVIER]

Added some more racks. I bought 18, but only hung enough to get all my current hats somewhere to sleep. Will add more on an as needed basis.

Just super fantastic! Is that your wall of fame?

 

[randooch]

Added some more racks. I bought 18, but only hung enough to get all my current hats somewhere to sleep. Will add more on an as needed basis.

Very nice, Justin. Hmmm. I count 18 hats. Full up!

Raider, that's an elegant foursome.

 

[kimhellen88]

oh,my god.

 

[Justin B]

Heh. I had a dozen up already. I only added six out of the newest batch of 18.

 

[pgoat]

these are so cool. I haven't had my hats on wall hooks for many years. I'm down to about 5 fedoras and a beater straw cowboy hat for the beach, so they just live in their boxes in the closet. I also worry about moths and dust, not to mention fluctuations in humidity, which our place does have.

I still have about 20 baseball caps and 20 ski caps/beanies; I usually leave one of those groupings out or in a drawer depending on the season. Right now the baseball caps are in a trunk with other summer clothes. My main winter hats are two 'mad bomber' type fur lined trapper hats with ear flaps, and they stay on the coat rack where I can grab them easily.

 

[barrowjh]

Hat Hook & Hat Rack Projects

I completed some hat rack projects in my 'office' room today, so I thought it appropriate to share pictures. The hats on display are my thin-ribbons, in rotation for the spring. Here is a really neat 'Zeus'-face hat rack my wife found in Clinton, TN for $95. Only has 3 hat hooks, but each hat hook has two supplemental hooks that I hung my brushes from. Like most hat racks the hooks were set too close, so I really cannot use the middle hook. These hooks were pre-mounted so I hung it on the wall without alteration.

This next project began as an antique mirror set in an oak panel, possibly originally from a sideboard or some furniture piece of that nature, but it was hanging upside down in a local 'Heart of Blount Antiques & Collectibles' for $65. A nice way to re-purpose this piece, turning it up so the little trim pieces at each end flare up instead of flaring out at the base to fit a slightly larger furniture base. To it we added 4 vintage hooks won on the bay for $66.

There is a small coffee table in the room also, with a hat block & flange in the middle and two glass heads at either end.

I should probably find some other place for those pictures along the top of the roll-top desk, as they really clutter up the 'look' and hide the hats, maybe think about that next.

 

[DavidJ]

How often do those of you who hang up your hats brush them? And Barrow, I really like the mirror in the oak panel, looks great.

 

[barrowjh]

DavidJ - thanks. I have my wife to thank for the idea of acquiring some vintage hat hooks from Ebay and adding them to that piece. I gave up on the idea of brushing my hats just to be brushing them regularly. Sometimes I might brush several of them, but really it is more of a 'brush it before you put it on' type routine. I look the hat over for dust - If I see something that demands a brushing, I brush it. Otherwise, some hats are taken out of the box for their 'season', worn, and returned to the box at the next season - I'm not sure whether I ever brushed it this season or not. If there were no conspicuous reasons to brush, does it need to be brushed? I doubt that a hat goes without brushing during a season, it just helps get the nap consistent and improves the look of the hat. I just don't obsess over it, not keeping a checklist.

 

[barrowjh]

That pic of the desk with the hat rack above it - after rearranging a bit:

arguably still too much clutter, but better than before.

 

[randooch]

Very nice, John!

Finally, I spy some of those miniature salesman samples in a lounger picture! They're so bloody cute.

Someday I'll attempt one of those double creases.

 

[barrowjh]

Thnx. The borso box is empty; I have no roll-up borso, saw the box in a local store for a fair price and snatched it up. The miniatures - gift avatars - a couple is cute, but more would be wierd. The only things not on display are my stretchers, keep them in the seat-box of a hall tree.

 

[TipTop]

I don't display mine but recalling this thread, I ran across a couple of antique auction items that I thought may give some people ideas. The first is a plant stand, the second a pie rack...your mileage may vary. I'm going to the auction and may take a shot at the plant stand if it doesn't get too high (they tend to be popular items among all kinds of homeowners, as opposed to the pie rack).

 

[St. Valentine]

I wonder what you Gentlemen think of those trapezoid western hat boxes? I believe they are made from plastic, have a hat spanner inside and can be used for traveling too.
They seem to have the same price here that you would have to pay for a cardboard box so I wonder if they could be an alternative for storage as well.

Frank

 

[gtdean48]

I wonder what you Gentlemen think of those trapezoid western hat boxes? I believe they are made from plastic, have a hat spanner inside and can be used for traveling too.
They seem to have the same price here that you would have to pay for a cardboard box so I wonder if they could be an alternative for storage as well.

Frank

Frank - I have a hat "can" as you describe from years of showing Quarter Horses is western events that required a western hat. They work well as carry on for air travel.
The cans are nice & can stack on each other. Problem is, they don't get along well with regular hat boxes, basically, they have to be on top!
I also have a 2 hat case that looks like a suitcase & has a ring to separate the 2 hats inserted. It stacks okay with my Stetson 100 cases & other hat boxes.