His Custom-Designed Hats Always Fit Perfectly
Travis Hamblen’s Mobile Hat Lounge is like a food truck. But instead of feeding the body, his services “honor the art of the hat” - specifically western hats. He hauls his 24-ft. trailer to places his customers like to gather - rodeos, breweries, fairs, horse shows and auction sales, for example.
That makes it convenient for customers to have an old hat cleaned off, refitted or “recrafted”, or buy a new Amercian Hat Company hat, and have Hamblen custom fit and trim it. It may also be the first time the hat buyer discovers the true shape of his or her head with a strange looking device.
Hamblen used a conformateur when he worked for a hat company for four years and purchased one for himself when he opened his business in January (2020).
The first conformateurs were made in the 19th Century for hat makers and are used by today’s hat makers.
“I’m not a hat maker, but I provide stock hats with a custom fit,” Hamblen says.
The conformateur comes in two parts. It has 45 fingers and a spring system that locks in place with wing nuts and plastic knobs on a person’s head to get the actual size and shape of the head. The inside part fits inside a hat to shape the hat. Some only require steaming to get the shape, and customers can get their hats back quickly. But others require wood blocks to be carved and take more time. When necessary to achieve the perfect fit, Hamblen tears the hat down and starts from scratch.
The device is helpful for fitting new and old hats.
“I’ve done hats that are 40 to 50 years old,” Hamblen says. Many of his customers are women. Often they bring in their father’s or grandfather’s old hat and want it shaped and trimmed with an updated look to make the hat their own.
Hat cleaning and hat trimming services start at about $125. New hats start at $300. While much of Hamblen’s work comes through his online business, and social media, he is looking for venues to travel to around Colorado and adjacent states with his Mobile Hat Lounge.
He wants to share his passion for agriculture and the western world with anyone who loves hats - from cowboys to hipsters to businessmen.
“Not a lot of places service hats with custom fitting. I want to be where the people need me to be,” he says. “We are a family owned business. I have 10 and 13-year-old sons and my parents are partners. Our business is based on relationships and a steamer is where they are built.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Travis Hamblen, Ft. Collins, Colo. (ph 970 324-0014; www.hamblenhats.com; trav@hamblenhats.com).
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His Custom-Designed Hats Always Fit Perfectly FARM HOME Clothes Travis Hamblen’s Mobile Hat Lounge is like a food truck But instead of feeding the body his services “honor the art of the hat” - specifically western hats He hauls his 24-ft trailer to places his customers like to gather - rodeos breweries fairs horse shows and auction sales for example That makes it convenient for customers to have an old hat cleaned off refitted or “recrafted” or buy a new Amercian Hat Company hat and have Hamblen custom fit and trim it It may also be the first time the hat buyer discovers the true shape of his or her head with a strange looking device Hamblen used a conformateur when he worked for a hat company for four years and purchased one for himself when he opened his business in January 2020 The first conformateurs were made in the 19th Century for hat makers and are used by today’s hat makers “I’m not a hat maker but I provide stock hats with a custom fit ” Hamblen says The conformateur comes in two parts It has 45 fingers and a spring system that locks in place with wing nuts and plastic knobs on a person’s head to get the actual size and shape of the head The inside part fits inside a hat to shape the hat Some only require steaming to get the shape and customers can get their hats back quickly But others require wood blocks to be carved and take more time When necessary to achieve the perfect fit Hamblen tears the hat down and starts from scratch The device is helpful for fitting new and old hats “I’ve done hats that are 40 to 50 years old ” Hamblen says Many of his customers are women Often they bring in their father’s or grandfather’s old hat and want it shaped and trimmed with an updated look to make the hat their own Hat cleaning and hat trimming services start at about $125 New hats start at $300 While much of Hamblen’s work comes through his online business and social media he is looking for venues to travel to around Colorado and adjacent states with his Mobile Hat Lounge He wants to share his passion for agriculture and the western world with anyone who loves hats - from cowboys to hipsters to businessmen “Not a lot of places service hats with custom fitting I want to be where the people need me to be ” he says “We are a family owned business I have 10 and 13-year-old sons and my parents are partners Our business is based on relationships and a steamer is where they are built ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Travis Hamblen Ft Collins Colo ph 970 324-0014; www hamblenhats com; trav@hamblenhats com
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