Optimo south side mobsters

[mayserwegener]

O.F. Hess "Praga", new ribbon / bow by Optimo Chicago

Original scratched ribbon / bow

 

[g.durand]

Nice one, Steve, and very nicely done by Optimo.

 

[mayserwegener]

Thanks! I think they did a nice job of matching the original bow.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I got off the phone with Tiffany earlier today & she told me that they are no longer cleaning & blocking non Optimo Hats as they might not have the right blocks as well as other parts.

 

[RJR]

That info re Optimo is disappointing,there aren't that many artisans left.

 

[gtdean48]

I got off the phone with Tiffany earlier today & she told me that they are no longer cleaning & blocking non Optimo Hats as they might not have the right blocks as well as other parts.

That just assures I'll never buy an Optimo since I have had numerous refinished by them which is not going to happen again either.

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[jlee562]

...confounding news considering that there's a video of Graham on the site boasting about how many blocks they have (used to be anyway).

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, the website still has the hat service page, along with this statement:

"Today, Optimo offers this very same service. Our extensive collection of blocks and molds from the US and Europe allows us to work on nearly all brands of mens’ hats made over the past 100 years."

 

[mayserwegener]

I wonder if they will still preform restores or replace parts? She was resistant to changing just the ribbon on the hat (O.F. Hess) I posted above. She said they had to perform a total restore. I hadn't run into such issues prior.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I wonder if they will still preform restores or replace parts? She was resistant to changing just the ribbon on the hat (O.F. Hess) I posted above. She said they had to perform a total restore. I hadn't run into such issues prior.

Yes. Replacing parts requires a clean & block.

 

[mayserwegener]

Yes that is what she said. Also wanted to replace the sweatband which was not in the best condition because it wouldn't survive a clean and block (this is an old / new stock hat so not necessary). I told her that in the past they had replaced parts without block and clean so she agreed to replace the ribbon this one last time.

 

[RJR]

From what has been related it seems they'll do a complete refurb but not try to do odds and ends.

 

[g.durand]

I had them do some work on several hats and was always steered toward a complete refurb even though the hat may not have needed it. When I did commit to the refurb, though, the work was superb. It's too bad if this is true.


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[daizawaguy]

Thats very sad for the future of hats. Optimo played a role, as many other hatters, in keeping that bit of history going, and collectors are dealt a horrible blow.

 

[Latoso]

I got off the phone with Tiffany earlier today & she told me that they are no longer cleaning & blocking non Optimo Hats as they might not have the right blocks as well as other parts.

I'm going to double check with Tiffany today since I'm picking up my new Shark Trilby anyway. But from speaking to her last month I don't think this is a permanent situation. I asked her if I should do a Trilby or a Rush Street (teardrop fedora), and she told me they weren't doing the Rush Street for a while because the blocks were in storage awaiting the move to the new firehouse location. So it may just be that they currently are operating with a limited block set until the production move is completed. Either way, I'll know more later this afternoon.

 

[daizawaguy]

Do let us know....great update thanks!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I'm going to double check with Tiffany today since I'm picking up my new Shark Trilby anyway. But from speaking to her last month I don't think this is a permanent situation. I asked her if I should do a Trilby or a Rush Street (teardrop fedora), and she told me they weren't doing the Rush Street for a while because the blocks were in storage awaiting the move to the new firehouse location. So it may just be that they currently are operating with a limited block set until the production move is completed. Either way, I'll know more later this afternoon.

It's permanent. I spoke with someone this past week.

 

[Delthayre]

It's a little distressing to read of Optimo paring back its services, especially in variety of styles.

I have been intending upon, and budgeted for, inquiring to Optimo about a featherweight fedora a little later this year as I'd like another warmer weather hat and have long been curious about owning one of theirs. The pictures in this thread do a good job of stimulating that curiosity; better even than the company's website. I really like the Brick felt that they recently added, but I prefer a wider brim than is there habit. The style that I had best liked was The Mitchum, which might be the same as the 52 block referred to here, but it no longer appears in their collection. (Pages for a Mint Mitchum and a Sterling one that is almost exactly the style that I'd like can still be found via search, but there's no link to it from Optimo's webpage) It seems that I might need to reconsider and find an alternative, either in their collection or elsewhere. (The latter, though a disappointment, would at least spare me from making a telephone call; I find doing that an anxious, unpleasant experience that I hope rapid text communication will as much as possible supersede)

 

[RJR]

It's a little distressing to read of Optimo paring back its services, especially in variety of styles.

I have been intending upon, and budgeted for, inquiring to Optimo about a featherweight fedora a little later this year as I'd like another warmer weather hat and have long been curious about owning one of theirs. The pictures in this thread do a good job of stimulating that curiosity; better even than the company's website. I really like the Brick felt that they recently added, but I prefer a wider brim than is there habit. The style that I had best liked was The Mitchum, which might be the same as the 52 block referred to here, but it no longer appears in their collection. (Pages for a Mint Mitchum and a Sterling one that is almost exactly the style that I'd like can still be found via search, but there's no link to it from Optimo's webpage) It seems that I might need to reconsider and find an alternative, either in their collection or elsewhere. (The latter, though a disappointment, would at least spare me from making a telephone call; I find doing that an anxious, unpleasant experience that I hope rapid text communication will as much as possible supersede)

Any number of the hatters here on the Lounge could accommodate you.

 

[Delthayre]

My anxieties seem to have been needless. (Pffft, how typical) I spoke with Tiffani Bell last Saturday via telephone and today via Skype. An order for a 'Dearborn' in brick with a nicotine ribbon has been placed and should be fulfilled by the end of April, which is pretty good timing. I quite look forward to it.

It was a quite different experience from dealing with custom hatters. I got the distinct sense that Optimo's sales are geared toward a different sort of customer than Vintage Silhouettes or Leon Drexler, which I've dealt with before. At first she warned me away from the relatively wide-brimmed, high-crowned style that I had inquired about, telling me that a lot of customers come asking for that, but shy away once they see what she described as a, "period look." I think she grasped in good time that I knew what I was asking for and was a pleasure to deal with. I will probably fret for a while that she was right in suggesting that I consider the more modest, brown saddle felt over the striking brick that I chose, but I figure that so long as I didn't choose something in pink with a rainbow ribbon or some other clown-suit accessory, I'll be fine. (I try to be a little more outré with my lightweight felts; as Art Facwett will attest, my instincts about color for dress-weight hats has been rather conservative) Even if I'm a little uneasy, I expect that she as right in suggesting that the nicotine ribbon will reign it in some.

It's probably the costliest hat that I'll ever own, unless I give into my childhood fantasies some day and break the bank on an antique silk plush top hat, but it's an expenditure that I was deliberately well-prepared for, it's something I'll likely do only once (unless I happen to have occasion to visit in person) and even if the price is somewhat extravagant, I doubt that I'm anywhere near getting 'ripped off' on the quality of workmanship and materials. Besides, although Art Fawcett has done excellent work for me, I think that it's a little more interesting to add other hatters to my little collection.