Two Cowboys: Smithbilt Hats Stepping Forward in Time By Reaching for the Past with Paige1912 in Calgary Alberta

My Hat

There are plenty of practical reasons to cover your head, and according to Paige Callaway of Paige 1912, people are finding even more reasons to wear hats.

The most obvious reason for wearing a hat is to protect yourself from the sun. Some people stay dry in the rain because of their hats. In New Zealand, an umbrella is a worthless idea. It rains a lot and the wind howls most of the time, so umbrellas get destroyed. Hats work better. With no hair on top, I prefer wearing a hat in New Zealand for both rain and sun.

A safety hardhat is standard attire on construction and industrial sites all over the civilised world. Many countries require workers to wear them by law.

The most important reason why a person would wear a hat has little to do with practicality and everything to do with identity and association. This still seems to be the most fertile frontier for hat designers and manufacturers. For example, hats play an important role in religion. The rules around hats are endless. Must have a hat on. Must not have a hat on. Must cover your head. Must not cover your head. For example: "A shtreimel (Yiddish שטרײמל, plural שטרײמלעך shtreimlech) is a fur hat worn by many married Haredi Jewish men, particularly (although not exclusively) members of Hasidic Judaism, on Shabbat and Jewish holidays and other festive occasions." (Wikipedia) The same goes for a baseball cap, cowboy hat, and fedora. The list is endless.

There are countless written and unwritten rules about which type of hat, when, where and how to wear it. It is safe to say that a hat is a very personal item. It helps you to associate, and it helps you to differentiate. No two hat wearers wear a hat the same way. The way you wear your hat speaks volumes about your personality and outlook on life. It sends off non-verbal signals that are interpreted at a subconscious level.

Therefore, you should choose your hat carefully. You should wear it consciously. Like most clothing items it says a lot about you. (By the way, for those who don't wear hats, it says something about you too.)

Smithbilt Hat Service

We checked in with Brian at Smithbilt for our second instalment of this great business. We needed to get our hats serviced and also to learn more about caring for them.

While there, Brian demystified the bunkhouse roll for us. No, not the kind of roll you do after a hard day's work and a few bourbons. Rather, it happens when your hat's shape changes and it curls at the back or the edges. The reason? Hats have a memory. They take the shape of how they are used.

Always “rest” your hat with the crown on the bottom. The crown is stiffer than the brim and tends to hold its shape better. If you lay your hat flat on the table the edges curl. It happens more in warm, humid weather (heat is used to shape the hat). That is, if you must rest it at all. Your hat belongs on your head.

There is another reason you must store your hat with the crown at the bottom. "Otherwise, your luck runs out," according to Brian. Well, there you have it. Simple things to do to look after your hat and your future.

We've had enquiries from as far as South Africa on how to get a Smithbilt hat. Brian is old-school. He likes to have your head with him when he sells you a hat. It has to do with helping you with your personality and your sizing. However, if you cannot make the trip, you can order it online and keep your fingers crossed you've chosen the right one: Do it here: https://smithbilthats.com/home/shop/. He provides great after sales service because as you know: A hat is for life!

If you want the hat that the Two Cowboys are wearing, it is called the Bull Rider. Get it here: https://smithbilthats.com/product/bull-rider

Paige 1912

Brian introduced us to the next generation of hatters. Paige Callaway of Paige 1912 is collaborating with him to come up with a new line of more "fashionable" hats aimed at a younger, trendier generation. They appeal to us, and we are not young or trendy.

Stay tuned for more about this young designer. We like what she is doing to revive the old and refresh it with new designs in hats, shirts and other wearables.

Smithbilt Sponsoring the Two Cowboys

Smithbilt is now the official hat sponsor for the Two Cowboys & A Camera. Thank you to Brian and his team for making us look good. If you are keen on a Smithbilt Two Cowboys style hat, drop us a line. We have one to give away to a person we like. Comment on our Facebook page and let us know why you deserve to wear our hat: https://www.facebook.com/profiledproductions.

We look forward to meeting you.

Hendrik van Wyk

Cowboy Wearing a Smithbilt Hat

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o-CNN: Canada Day 2016, Eh! - Canmore, Alberta

Its Your Birthday!

Canada Day is the national day of Canada. As a federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867). Canada existed prior to 1867 within both the French and British empires.

Canada Day is frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday". This is a misnomer, as Canada Day is the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full independence, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a wider federation of four provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec). Originally called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed.

Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living abroad.

Alberta joined the Federation much later.

On May 2, 1670, King Charles II of England issued a charter granting trading rights in the Alberta region to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). The area, Rupert's Land, was named after Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the first Governor of HBC. Inn the Rupert's Land Act 1868, HBC ceded Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to the Dominion of Canada, abolishing the monopoly held by HBC. In 1872, the Dominion Lands Act passed, encouraging settlement of the Prairie Provinces by granting land rights to farmers.

In 1882, the Alberta region became the District of Alberta, established as part of the Northwest Territories. The land was named after Queen Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta. With the closing of the American frontier around 1890, and the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883, Alberta's population grew by hundreds of thousands of new settlers.

Alberta formally came into being on September 1, 1905, at the same time as Saskatchewan. The Autonomy Acts, which gave the two provinces their places in Confederation, were matters of considerable controversy in Ottawa in the months preceding their passage. Haultain, premier of the Territories, had proposed the establishment of one large province, but Ottawa rejected this plan.

The rest, as they say is history. No matter which day is really Canada's Day, we are proud to be part of this great place in the North, everyday!

Enjoy our video of this year's celebration in Canmore, Alberta.

Hendrik van Wyk
Canadian Cowboy

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