gladhatter
Guest
Adam, you are most welcome. I fear your faulty impression is more as a result of the way forum members have reacted to me in past.
But past is past and so it goes.
As far as hat bodies are concerned I have seen them in past and currently as well available from 6 dollars up to 1200.00 each.
Steve Delk is a fine and upstanding man and I wish him only the very best in his new found hobby or business.
I hope every one that desires an IJ hat of the kind Steve can provide will certainly give him a try .
Hat making is not rocket science is what i tell every one and encourage all to try a reblock or to try making a hat.
I have sold raw materils to some and given it to oters for this very reason. The result is we now have another hatter that may well please all.
Its a good thing.
While I encourage folks to try to make hat or do a reblock or more I also encourage them to not get in over thier heads.
Unfortunatly most hear th first part and assume they know all then and forge out on a wild new adventure of headache and heart ache. To make a hat is a very simple thing . To make a lasting hat business that is anoter story. It seems as simple as constructing the most basic hat. You hen mutiply that time 100 and then compound that with 100 people screaming they want the hat yesterday and Ups lost it and you did not do this right and Imeant to say I wanted it this way and oh its ina card board box and the hat is perfect and just like I wanted and then a week later the brim is too stiff too soft or too wide or too narrow.
Well being in business is not an easy affair . Then you tell folks on a hat forum that you never knew existed before the bottom of you heart truth from 30 years ex-perience and they all attack you as they had heard a different story from an up and comming hatter that has a new and novel way to make hats or some Jhonny come lately ideas and it gets to be a real burden. Then there are good intentioned and goo meaning folks that are simply unlearned but want to sound learned and there are some that want to be in power and act learned and bury thier heads to truth.
It can all be one big pain.
Heck the IJ hats, that have historically suited so many fans here from a dozen companies are hats that old time hatters would have never allowed the body of to enter thier shop.
Its a commercial world and I am proud of men like Steve Delk that have choosen to balk against the established commerialism and try to provide quality afforadable head wear. We tried it 2 years ago when we first re opened and could not sell a hat . We then looked at current market offereings and pricing nad choose to get the ultimate materials and to raise our prices to reflect 80% of the price of our competitors and we then started getting more orders than we can keep up with.
Business is a tricky thing and with computers internet and such it can be a balancing act . I choose to not comform to every whim from every nay sayer and to just provide the best hats I could to any one that bought one and then many may hate you but it will always only be the ones that never own your hat. I donot have customer that would not buy from me again or if I do I do not know of them. I have 2 ex customers that I would not sell to again how ever. Most are good people with good thoughts and some are just bad peolple that no amount of goodness will convert.
Now back to hats and forums . I really sish I had some one with the will to set up a forum where bashing and all forms of talk and argumentative conversation is acceptable. I really do. not this forum or any oter but one that is bare knuckles that will allow folks to get on and speak the truth and not be ashamed to do so.
I have the server space with all the goodies if anyone is interested in setting it up let me know. I personally do not have time nor inclination to do it but I have wasted space and free will and would love too see it. Then I could come here and relaxknowing no one would want to beat up on me here)
But past is past and so it goes.
As far as hat bodies are concerned I have seen them in past and currently as well available from 6 dollars up to 1200.00 each.
Steve Delk is a fine and upstanding man and I wish him only the very best in his new found hobby or business.
I hope every one that desires an IJ hat of the kind Steve can provide will certainly give him a try .
Hat making is not rocket science is what i tell every one and encourage all to try a reblock or to try making a hat.
I have sold raw materils to some and given it to oters for this very reason. The result is we now have another hatter that may well please all.
Its a good thing.
While I encourage folks to try to make hat or do a reblock or more I also encourage them to not get in over thier heads.
Unfortunatly most hear th first part and assume they know all then and forge out on a wild new adventure of headache and heart ache. To make a hat is a very simple thing . To make a lasting hat business that is anoter story. It seems as simple as constructing the most basic hat. You hen mutiply that time 100 and then compound that with 100 people screaming they want the hat yesterday and Ups lost it and you did not do this right and Imeant to say I wanted it this way and oh its ina card board box and the hat is perfect and just like I wanted and then a week later the brim is too stiff too soft or too wide or too narrow.
Well being in business is not an easy affair . Then you tell folks on a hat forum that you never knew existed before the bottom of you heart truth from 30 years ex-perience and they all attack you as they had heard a different story from an up and comming hatter that has a new and novel way to make hats or some Jhonny come lately ideas and it gets to be a real burden. Then there are good intentioned and goo meaning folks that are simply unlearned but want to sound learned and there are some that want to be in power and act learned and bury thier heads to truth.
It can all be one big pain.
Heck the IJ hats, that have historically suited so many fans here from a dozen companies are hats that old time hatters would have never allowed the body of to enter thier shop.
Its a commercial world and I am proud of men like Steve Delk that have choosen to balk against the established commerialism and try to provide quality afforadable head wear. We tried it 2 years ago when we first re opened and could not sell a hat . We then looked at current market offereings and pricing nad choose to get the ultimate materials and to raise our prices to reflect 80% of the price of our competitors and we then started getting more orders than we can keep up with.
Business is a tricky thing and with computers internet and such it can be a balancing act . I choose to not comform to every whim from every nay sayer and to just provide the best hats I could to any one that bought one and then many may hate you but it will always only be the ones that never own your hat. I donot have customer that would not buy from me again or if I do I do not know of them. I have 2 ex customers that I would not sell to again how ever. Most are good people with good thoughts and some are just bad peolple that no amount of goodness will convert.
Now back to hats and forums . I really sish I had some one with the will to set up a forum where bashing and all forms of talk and argumentative conversation is acceptable. I really do. not this forum or any oter but one that is bare knuckles that will allow folks to get on and speak the truth and not be ashamed to do so.
I have the server space with all the goodies if anyone is interested in setting it up let me know. I personally do not have time nor inclination to do it but I have wasted space and free will and would love too see it. Then I could come here and relaxknowing no one would want to beat up on me here)