More Than a Hat Photos Anthony Evans
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hat’s in a hat? More than you might expect. For Milton Johnson, president of Montecristi Custom Hat Works, a fine hat goes beyond being a head covering; it’s a piece of art. And like any high level art, skill is required at every step of the process. Johnson found his way into the hat business over 40 years ago while on a business trip to South America. “I stumbled into the little village of Montecristi, Ecuador, and found these incredible Panama hats,” Johnson relates. “The weaving was unbelievable. They
didn’t weigh a lot and they didn’t break, so I bought some and brought them back to the states. But they were raw materials, not hats. So I bought some modest equipment and taught myself to make hats. That’s how it all started.” Johnson first worked only in Panama hats, but in the early 80s bought Lone Star Hatters in Austin, and from there learned to make fur felt hats as well. What makes Johnson’s Panama hats so divine? “The quality of the weave has to do with the numbers of straws per square inch, but another indicator of quality is the consistency of the weave,” Johnson
notes. “It takes three to six months for a weaver to complete an extra fino or better Panama hat. We have several families who work for us in Ecuador. I go down and visit with them several times a year, and we have many proprietary weaves.” How does a beautiful weave find itself into a wearable hat? It starts with a precise determination of size based upon the circumference and shape of a person’s head. A 100 year-old tool called a conformitor takes a pattern of each customer’s head. Johnson quips: “Head shapes are like fingerprints; I’ve never seen two exactly alike.”
Once Johnson has measured a customer’s head and taken a template of their head shape, he uses high pressure steam to stretch the hat material over a wooden block of the size, height and configuration necessary to produce the style requested by the customer. The brims are then ironed and baked on wooden flange. Then the hat proceeds to the printing and fitting of the interior leather sweat band. All hats are blocked open-crown and hand-creased. Aside from the fact Montecristi’s inventory of Panama and fur felt is better than that of any custom hatter, the decorative hat bands are unlike what are offered anywhere else. Johnson works exclusively with silver and goldsmiths, commissioning them to create unique bands of the same tier of quality as his hats. “We found the people who had the skill, gave them some direction, and lo and behold,” Johnson says. And as for wear and tear, “Of course the more you wear it, the more the hat shows signs of wear, especially in hot climates, but we also clean and restore your hat,” Johnsons reassures. He sums it up: “What you’re buying from us is a piece of material, and our expertise in fitting, styling and caring for it.” In other words, a piece of art for the head. Montecristi Custom Hat Works 322 McKenzie St. 505.983.9598 Montecristihats.com