Raleigh Hat Co.

[ariahokas]

Hi everyone.

I'm a new(ish) hatter and thought it would be a good idea to start a thread—mainly to gather feedback, but also to introduce my work to the most critical eyes on hats—The Lounge.

I've been making hats for a few years now. I've learned what I know mostly from attrition, trial and error, and one really old book. But also from a few invaluable people here on the lounge—Art, Stephen Tempkin, AllyKat, and Esther.

I'm based in Southern Sweden now, but I am originally from the South—Raleigh, NC. My sole goal is to make past quality hats wearable in the present.

Thank you all.

/Ari

https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/RaleighHatCo
https://www.instagram.com/RaleighHatCo
https://www.raleighhatco.com

 

[RBH]

Welcome!

 

[Dm101]

Rats...was hoping you were in Raleigh.
Well, congratulations on the venture!!

 

[ariahokas]

Rats...was hoping you were in Raleigh.
Well, congratulations on the venture!!

Yeah, the name can be misleading. I may be offering the hats though in a men's shop in downtown Raleigh. I will keep you updated if that happens!

/Ari

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Welcome! We need more custom hatters.

I’ve looked at some of your hats on Etsy and they look quite nice. I also noticed that some of them have more taper than I prefer. Do you offer straight sided blocks too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ariahokas]

Welcome! We need more custom hatters.

I’ve looked at some of your hats on Etsy and they look quite nice. I also noticed that some of them have more taper than I prefer. Do you offer straight sided blocks too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hi Deadly!

Interesting! I think I may add another angle to the photos because I've noticed that depending on the angle, my #52 block sometimes looks more tapered than it is.

I use two different blocks—mostly #52 and #159. The #52's in the listings are all semi-long oval, which might seem more tapered. The #52 is, as you probably know, pretty classic and straight, but there are straighter ones out there.

Which is why I lean more into my #159's. They are about as straight as it comes without being a pillbox. They're almost entirely straight on all sides and have a flatter top. It's absolutely my favorite block around, the dents it can produce are just incredible due to the less tapered edge.

On Etsy, the Midgray, Buffalo, Borough, and Broad St. all use the less tapered 159 block.

Hope this helps—all in the name of block science!

/Ari