Lil Grizz the hat maker is a legend of the old west come to life. For decades he has criss-crossed the country making hats by hand just as they would have been made in the 1800′s. His hat shop consists of a small wood stove, a set of antique hat irons, and rows and rows of hat blocks. Each hat block sits in it’s labeled spot in a specially built wooden box turned shelf. Each tool hangs in it’s exact spot. Each iron rests in its own spot on the stove waiting to go to work with the master touch of Lil Grizz’s hand. As he travels the country the shop pops up at events in a well used canvas tent. When at home the shop is set up in it’s own unique spot away from the bustle of any event.
Lil Grizz turns a cone-shaped, beaver fur, felt hat blank into the hat of your dreams without any steam presses or mechanization. He douses the hat blank in the steaming pot of water on the back of his little wood stove and deftly proceeds to stretch it over a wooden hat block. After measuring, drying, stiffening, trimming, steaming, shaping and a adding a signature pencil curl to strengthen the brim, the hat is ready for the inner sweatband and liner to be hand-sewn into place. Depending on the humidity of the location the entire process may take several days. You get to walk away with the hat you wanted…”Welcome to the family!”
