Wolfbrae Custom Hatters

[belfastboy]

That is really great repair work, I have seen felts in the same condition after removing the sweatband and I never thought about sewing the felt back together, I just wrote it off as a loss. If I run into a problem like this I will have to try my hand at repairing the felt. I have a old brown felt that I use to try different sewing methods on, including using a sewing machine, the felt lacks any shellac and, no I still can't sew a straight line, which is a good thing. Sewing with a machine is one thing, proper thread tension is another, using the proper thread and spacing the stitches properly is another issue. I think that I will stitch with hand sewing.

There is too much of the repair ribbon showing outboard the sweat. I wanted to block a higher crown but ran out of block. Decided to live with it as the hat was for me as a 'shop hat'.

Next time I won't be so lazy and I will put an extension on the block to put the repair further into the crown and out of sight entirely.

 

[Darrell2688]

I spent two years learning hat craft by working on beater westerns....low cost, low risk. If I have enough brim width to steal taking a hat up 3 sizes is doable but I will often do it in stages to avoid trying to stretch it all at one time. It works well.
I get great satisfaction in repairing old hats and restoring them to wearable condition. Moth nibble repair is not hard but it is painstakingly slow work. I do it while watching baseball on TV.

What glue would you use for repairing moth holes or would shellac work better? Blocking an old hat inside out would help a little, plus the pouncing would provide some felt fibers for moth holes.

 

[belfastboy]

What glue would you use for repairing moth holes or would shellac work better? Blocking an old hat inside out would help a little, plus the pouncing would provide some felt fibers for moth holes.

I use a thin crafting spray glue bought at Michaels sprayed on a piece of cardboard first. The most important thing is to use as little as possible applied with the pointy end of a toothpick. Use too much and it produces a hard dark spot on the felt. Shellac would be about the worse thing you could use as it is designed to harden. Jump in and start doing it....the only way to learn is to experiment, fail, try again and again til you get it right.

 

[belfastboy]

I have been called to make a number of Trilby style or at least narrower brimmed fedoras of late. Shipped this out yesterday. FEPSA 95gr/100% beaver in Brown Sugar. Liner is a mud dyed Tsumogi Japanese silk

 

[belfastboy]

Here is a fun one. This started out as a commission for a ZZ

Top style hat. Tall, open crown, shorty brim. But on completion the client decided he wanted to add a 'Gus' bash. Winchester beaver in Natural, braided horsehair band, brained leather and a narrow leather strip just because. Topped off with a feather of unknown provenance. I touched up the little nick in the leather strap before shipping!!!

 

[belfastboy]

I have been fortunate to receive some interesting commissions lately. Here is one shipped out yesterday. Client wanted a Festival hat to wear to a summer Blues Festival in his town. He gave me a picture of a Nic Fouqet hat (surprisingly not distressed) as a model. Here is my version.
Winchester beaver in a light brown/caramel colour. Lower crown at 4", 3 1/4" brim. Black vintage grosgrain ribbon on crown (4 gill sharks gill bow) and brim binding. Liner is a vintage Japanese black silk material with coloured flowers.

. Topped with a rare wild turkey feather.

 

[Lew Decker]

Thanks for posting these examples of your hats.

 

[Gregory Wilde]

I have been fortunate to receive some interesting commissions lately. Here is one shipped out yesterday. Client wanted a Festival hat to wear to a summer Blues Festival in his town. He gave me a picture of a Nic Fouqet hat (surprisingly not distressed) as a model. Here is my version.
Winchester beaver in a light brown/caramel colour. Lower crown at 4", 3 1/4" brim. Black vintage grosgrain ribbon on crown (4 gill sharks gill bow) and brim binding. Liner is a vintage Japanese black silk material with coloured flowers. View attachment 613196 View attachment 613197 View attachment 613198 . Topped with a rare wild turkey feather.

Hello All You Wolfbrae Hat Lovers...I am one lucky guy...I have just received the festival hat you see above from our Robert. It is one beautiful hat and I will be proud to wear it at the 20th Anniversary of our Blues and Jazz Festival here in Ontario where classic cars..and motorcycles will be featured with lots of "live" music on the street and on main sponsored stages. It's gonna be blast the weekend of May 31st and I know thanks to Robert collaborating with me on my design ideas just like this festival hat.. .. I will fit right in with my new Wolfbrae.

As most of you know I first entered the world of bespoke as a customer of Robert a year or so ago. I had run across quite randomly an article in Tri City News (BC publication) ...about Robert making bespoke hats in Port Coquitlam BC..I was fascinated and got in touch with the reporter since I did not see any contact information for Robert in the article. itself. The next thing I know Robert contacted me. The rest is history. If you google Wolfbrae on YouTube..several videos will come up..I find more and more that I didn't realize were out there..His sterling reputation is growing all the time.

Long story short I got my first custom dream hat..a authentic 1930's tall boy...(go back and you can see the thread and others) and was surprised and very happy with it.. Really I didn''t know what to expect..only that Robert had me take measurements of my head..and of the shape of my head and on and on..I understand why you have to be so precise in order to get a hat that is customized to your head. I was so impressed with that tall boy beaver hat from Robert.. I was able to get the hat exactly as I had envisioned... It materialized under his amazing skills. Of course the fit was amazing.. ... ..Tt has the two inch grosgrain ribbon band...(I am not a fan of smaller sized ribbons at least for my head..not saying anyone else has to follow my taste..to each their own) the super tall crown..same hat as Indiana Jones style really however without the floppiness of the sides of the Indy hat.,,as I like a hat that holds its shape . Don't get me wrong Indiana Jones adventures were great PR for the fedora hat industry...hats surged in popularity once again thanks to Indy.

Due to the fact that I was so pleased with my thirties hat I went ahead and had Robert do me pretty much an exact replica of the Humphrey Bogart hat from Casablanca and other films..the one with that straight crease in the front going right down to meet the two inch vintage grosgrain ribbon. We didn't do the diamond crown shape....just an very nice C crown..which I prefer as well.

One of the great things about dealing with Robert is that he listens and you have a real easy back and forth dialogue about your hat while its in progress He makes sure you both are on the same page..He has great patience with his customers but will steer you right should you veer off course at times...It is very helpful if you too listen to him because he knows his craft...you will realize that when you get your first Wolfbrae.

So I now have three of Roberts fine gentlemen hats....and I'm hooked like many others on this thread and elsewhere are now ..I actually have the early seed of another hat in mind. Robert as you all know does amazing restoration work of old vintage hats as well or can recondition your Wolfbrae from years past....I may look for an old Borsalino one day in my size if I see one that I fancy..as it's pretty much common knowledge that their new ones aren't quite as well made as the old ones made a decade or so ago.

Here is a quick snap shot of me wearing the new festival hat that I happily received from BC today..its just a snapshot but will give you the idea..It's a bit darker than what it appears in this shot

Cheers..Have a great and safe summer gents...treat yourself to a new Wolfbrae hat this season...I can't help my genuine enthusiasm for Robert's great hats..All three of mine hit the bullseye right out of the gate.

 

[belfastboy]

I am a bit behind here in my posting. I like this hat. Winchester beaver in Steel. 3 1/4" flat brim, soft teardrop crown, bridle leather band with a nickel and turquoise concho. Off to the UK

 

[belfastboy]

Here is a picture of 3 hats in progress. Blocked, pounced and ready to sew. The paper is the stack of build sheets, one for each hat plus the tracing of the head shape from the conformateur.

 

[ILB Frank]

So I have a rabbit (left), and two beaver. I even have two straw hats. (The gray one on the right is my daughter's and doesn't count.) The one thing missing is a nutria. Since I have a spare hook just begging to be put to use, I jumped in the queue for Robert to handle the job. Should be ready just in time for felt season. More details to come.

 

[Steve1857]

View attachment 621083

So I have a rabbit (left), and two beaver. I even have two straw hats. (The gray one on the right is my daughter's and doesn't count.) The one thing missing is a nutria. Since I have a spare hook just begging to be put to use, I jumped in the queue for Robert to handle the job. Should be ready just in time for felt season. More details to come.

Looking forward to seeing the final result, Frank.

Robert is one of the best.

 

[belfastboy]

Here are some pictures of my modest shop. It seems I am continually tweaking it to make it as efficient as possible. I think this might just be the final(ish) iteration. I might have room for one more set of flanges and one more set of blocks

 

[belfastboy]

Here are 3 hats almost ready to be picked up. Client will come by on Wednesday so I have one more day to finish them up. The caramel coloured hat in the foreground is my first go at a Bowler. There is still some work to be done on the brim curl and of course the bow work. Funny thing is, after all these hats, finally getting to make a bowler....I start on my second one next week. This next

one in black

 

[belfastboy]

Today was customer pick up day. First hat is a Usst rabbit felt in Pecan, tone on tone vintage grosgrain on brim and crown. A great story attached to this hat. The owner came in with an Akubra that has been his daily wearer for 50 years. He reckoned it was time for a new one.

 

[belfastboy]

Second pickup. Two hats for a repeat customer. Both hats are Tonak rabbit, Marine blue and a Caramel. He wanted a fun vibe on the blue hat, sort of a pork pie but without the telescope. Brown one is my very first Derby.

 

[belfastboy]

Here are close-up pics of the derby. Liner is vintage Japanese silk in an orange sunburst. Matching ribbon colour on both brim and crown

 

[belfastboy]

Here is a hat I made many years ago in a millinery workshop I enrolled in (by mistake). But it turned out OK. I made this hat, did not finish it and put it away. Cleaning up yesterday I discovered it. Now I plan to finish it for my wife. 4 1/2" brim with the millinery wire around the brim covered with grosgrain binding. Elaine chose a vintage piece of sari silk I import from India for the crown treatment. It is going to be good looking hat.

 

[belfastboy]

Here are 3 Panamas for 3 lovely ladies. Straws are ready for trimming. Trimmings are Sari silk I import from Delhi.

 

[belfastboy]

I am in the middle of making a funky modern Bowler for a lady in a dark purple felt. I don't have the right colour ribbon for the trim.......so I dyed some ivory ribbon to get the right colour and the match.