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

Photos

New Style

Hatter

The Original

Christmas Box

Service

Two Cowboys on a Journey: Smithbilt Hats, Calgary - Alberta

The White Hatters of Calgary

(Learn: **** Inspire: ** Amaze: **** Live: ****)
(The Two Cowboys Subjective Rate-o-Meter. )

Smithbilt Hats Inc. has been crafting hats since 1919. After researching what kind of business to open, a young, entrepreneurial Morris Shumiatcher borrowed $300 from his local bank to buy Calgary Hat Works, and Smithbilt Hats was born. So the company is actually older than its ninety-seven-year-old name.

In 1946, they made the first white cowboy hat. The White Hat would become the internationally recognized symbol of the Calgary Stampede and the City of Calgary. In 1949, Mayor Don Mackay donned a White Smithbilt on a mission to promote Calgary and began handing out the White Hat to visiting dignitaries. The City of Calgary continues this tradition today.

Most Calgarians know this story already, but do we still remember what it is all about?

Today, not many people wear hats and even fewer wear cowboy hats. That changes in this part of the world during Stampede, in the first weeks of July every year. For this event, everyone in the region dusts off their cowboy hats and for one amazing week they are all Cowboys and Cowgirls again.

Every year, as we put away our hats after the festivities of the Stampede, I cannot help but wonder if there is still a place for a Cowboy in today's world? Is there still significance to the symbol of a Cowboy hat in today's Calgary and western society in general?

Some may argue the city has lost its heritage in favour of becoming a typical North American metropolis, that it is indistinguishable from places such as Denver or Houston. Just a smaller version. Have we become what many feared may come from the multicultural melting pot, where everyone is somebody and nobody is actually anybody? What happened to the real Cowboys among us?

If you ask the older folk, they tell you quickly about the value system of the typical Cowboy. There are many versions, but it usually goes something like this:

• Honour: No one carries honour like a cowboy. To him, it's like breathing. It is who he is.
• Loyalty: He rides for the brand, for his family and for his people.
• Independence: The west and what it stands for is inbred in a cowboy. Some may call him a rebel. The pioneering spirit is what sets him apart.
• Bravery: A cowboy, whether working or rodeo, faces elements and dangerous animals without fear. He perseveres with his conviction and is ready to face the consequences, whether they are good or bad.
• A sense of Self: A cowboy has a unique ability to be himself. As Paul Brandt put it in his song for Alberta: "Independence in their veins." A person who identifies as a cowboy knows who he is, and who he can be.

I reason that these are values that still prevail in today's world. In our travels, we've found them often, and in particular, prevailing amongst the people that make things: The Producers. The people responsible for the foundation of our economy and our society:

• Honour: Producers realize that you don't take something that doesn't belong to you. You earn what you have through honourable hard work, by building something that provides value to the people around you.
• Loyalty: They are loyal to their identity, family, workers and communities. They are particularly loyal to the people who value who they are and appreciate them for what they do.
• Independence: The Producers are the people that ask: "Why not?". Their independence moves creative innovation and drives us forward to find better ways to live, care and look after ourselves and our world we live in.
• Bravery: Ask anyone that dares to establish a producing and manufacturing business just how hard it is to be successful. While you fight for a place in the market you are confronted with heavy taxes, levies, licenses, legislation and regulations. Every non-producer and service provider out there is determined to milk you as Producer, in every way possible for the very last drop of benefit they can extract from your efforts. Producers are the bravest among us.
• A sense of Self: Every producer and maker knows the satisfaction and value they derive from what they make. Many will tell you, they would be doing it, even if they cannot make a living from it. They have a rare gift of self-worth. Their skills and values cannot easily be taken from them.

Because a cowboy and a producer share these values, I wear my Cowboy hat proudly - now a Smithbilt hat. I subscribe to the values of a Cowboy, and I salute the Producers amongst us, who dare to make something and make a difference.

Impressions

We thought we had the wrong building when looking for the Smithbilt shop and factory. We drove by a number of times before we realized that this is in fact where we should be. The Smithbilt branded truck outside confirmed our suspicions. The five-decade-old sign outside the building finally gave up the ghost this winter, which didn't make it any easier to know if we've arrived. You really must know the folks at Smithbilt, or be very, very committed, to find the home of Calgary's white hat.

Brian Hanson, today's proprietor, greeted us at the door in typical Cowboy fashion with a strong straight handshake and a firm look in the eye. We commented about the sign, and he assured us that Smithbilt is finally heading to a new building later this year. They are still debating if the sign should come along.

When you see the photographs against the wall of this iconic company you realize just how profound a place this is. Even the Dalai Lama has one of Smithbilt's hats, and he wore it (for the photo opportunity at least), which goes against his faith.

As Brian took us through their manufacturing processes we saw equipment and processes that are decades old. All are still doing the job for which they were originally invented, designed and built.

I will let the video tell the rest of the story.

The most pivotal observation of the day is the recognition that Smithbilt Hats is a piece of Calgary and a piece of what remains of the Cowboy values and heritage. Brian and his team of investors are only caretakers of this iconic brand, which will hopefully survive another one hundred years.

One proud part of me wants Smithbilt to be the biggest hat business in the world, and for everyone to know about this amazing business, its heritage and its people. The other part wants to keep it a secret and preserve what it is. It is our brand, my Smithbilt. A happy place for a weary Cowboy in need of a new hat, and an opportunity to reminisce over the good times.

Hendrik van Wyk

Smithbilt Cowboy Hat-Wearing Producer

Photos

Quality Control

It Fits Now

The Original

Hatters

For Hats

White Hatters