{"id":5382,"date":"2015-01-30T08:03:36","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T15:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=5382"},"modified":"2015-02-01T08:55:27","modified_gmt":"2015-02-01T15:55:27","slug":"old-school-hat-maker-sticks-with-traditional-methods-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2015\/01\/old-school-hat-maker-sticks-with-traditional-methods-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Old-school hat maker stands by traditional methods, tools"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pose\"<\/a>

Virginia Cross<\/p>

Ritch Rand, right, poses with his newest employee, Robert Tovar.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIf the hat fits, wear it,\u201d goes the saying. But what if it doesn\u2019t?<\/p>\n

My partner had searched for a western hat at all the usual ranch supply and western outfit stores of Billings, but none of them had the size (\u201ch\u201d for huge) or fit he required. In desperation, he decided to let the experts at Rand\u2019s Custom Hatters help him with his mission.<\/p>\n

We pulled into the parking lot on 2205 First Ave. N., and though I hate to admit this, I nearly stayed in the truck with the dog and the radio. My partner disappeared through the entry door and I trailed behind a few minutes later.<\/p>\n

Ritch Rand originally established his custom hat store in Boise, Idaho, in the early 1970s after taking instruction from an elderly family member, a Mrs. Rowell, who had already retired from the business. Rowell reluctantly showed him her craft and he began to fill in his knowledge with millenary design classes and marketing courses.<\/p>\n

Rand took out a loan on his car to buy Rowell\u2019s equipment and eventually moved his fledgling company from Boise to Billings, in the heart of the West. Business did not fly through the door to begin with. But with diligent salesmanship and sheer dedication to his customers\u2019 needs, things slowly turned around. Those lean years with a young family to feed were formative and unforgettable.<\/p>\n

\"Richard\"<\/a>

Virginia Cross<\/p>

Customer Richard Cross is fitted for a new hat using a conformateur, an intricate contraption made in France in 1810.<\/p><\/div>\n

In its current location since 1984, Rand\u2019s has supplied custom-fitted hats for all sorts of people\u2014working cowboys, movie actors and their doubles, local lawyers and outfitters on the range. They have return customers who would not dream of going anywhere else for a hat.<\/p>\n

In Rand\u2019s opinion, some of the old ways are still the best. A new customer\u2019s head is expertly measured using an antique wooden \u201cconformateur\u201d or head-sizing tool that was made in France in 1810. The jointed contraption encircles the head, and a transposed shape is imprinted on a piece of paper on the crown.<\/p>\n

Luke Harnish, a fitter, jokes that the conformateur only hurts for about 15 minutes. This resulting template of one\u2019s head shape is filed at the store in perpetuity. Another relic of millenary history still in everyday use at Rand\u2019s is the \u201cformillion,\u201d which shapes the crown of the hat until a perfect fit is achieved. The skilled craftsmen at Rand\u2019s work using antique copper steamers and American poplar sizing blocks that separate their hats from all others.<\/p>\n

It felt as if I had traveled back through time as I stepped into the store and looked about the well-lit showroom, whose walls are covered with over 800 display hats. Behind customer service counters are work spaces where busy employees sit with their heads bowed over their work.<\/p>\n

From start to finish there are 13 steps to making a new custom hat. Rand\u2019s is so busy that the wait for a hat is up to three months. They also restore used, abused and much-loved hats.<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>The hat fitting for my partner was well underway and I began to watch a young man at his job behind one of the counters. He was working the crown of a taupe-colored, beaver fur hat with a hissing steam machine. As he plied the material, he moved the hat around on a form and the clouds of hot vapor billowed up around his head. He looked up as I watched and gave me a friendly smile so, we struck up a conversation.<\/p>\n

His name was Robert Tovar and he came to Billings from Austin, Texas, looking for a better life. Eight months earlier, he was walking by the parking lot of Rand\u2019s and saw two people struggling to lift winter debris into a dumpster. He ran over and volunteered to help them with the job. His broad smile and willing attitude impressed Rand, who encouraged Tovar to come in to the store part time and see if the work might suit him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day, my life changed, man,\u201d Tovar said. \u201cI had been moving furniture for some guys, but here I\u2019m learning from the best hatters in the business. I am the luckiest guy in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Harnish\"<\/a>

Virginia Cross<\/p>

Luke Harnish uses a wooden formillion or hat shaper inside a custom hat to fine-tune a perfect fit for a customer.<\/p><\/div>\n

Tovar is now a full-time apprentice hat maker and part of Rand\u2019s legacy. He walks to work from a loft apartment Rand helped him find and he clearly feels he is where he was meant to be.<\/p>\n

Rand employs eight to 10 people in the store and he proudly states they have zero turnover.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople stay here until they retire, they are paid well and treated well and they stay,\u201d he said.
\nRand looks for good hand-eye coordination, a creative spark and a willingness to learn and take direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also ask them, can you show up, really, can you show up?\u201d he explained. He also has eight or nine part-time employees who are on the road attending conventions and shows all over the country. That team trains at the store but then works in the field, promoting Rand\u2019s hats and taking orders from customers.<\/p>\n

From simple beginnings, life as president of his company has become much more complex. Rand\u2019s Facebook page gets 8,000 visits a day and his assistants answer 100-plus emails a day.<\/p>\n

\"Poplar\"<\/a>

Virginia Cross<\/p>

Rand’s hat forms are made of American poplar, a wood with no grain or streaks. That makes for a smooth finish on the hat felt.<\/p><\/div>\n

Rand\u2019s policy of \u201cNo grief, no hassle, no drama and no-problem customer service\u201d is company lore. He is either working hands-on in the store or he is promoting his custom house on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people get their hats,\u201d he said with a smile, \u201ctheir reaction is frequently a big hug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rand could create a museum with his cultural memorabilia and historic photographs and letters. If you care to listen, stories abound. There is the one about the 100-year-old hat whose owner wore out the front of the brim. Rand\u2019s simply turned the whole hat around, so he could use it another 100 years.<\/p>\n

He also tells of a hat that was trampled by a team of mules and arrived in an envelope, but was restored by a willing apprentice under careful direction. And then there is \u201cThe Last Best Crease,\u201d a hat made by Harnish specifically to display a Native American customer\u2019s veteran\u2019s pin. Harnish swears the idea for the signature \u201ccrease\u201d or fold at the crown of the hat had been bouncing around his head for years. Now he hopes the idea is not quite \u201cthe last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each hat is made start to finish by one person at Rand\u2019s and each has a unique personality that comes straight from the hands of its craftsman. If the customer is in any way dissatisfied with the fit, the hat goes back to the craftsman who made it until satisfaction is reached.<\/p>\n

We go back to get our hats in a few weeks. Yes, that is a \u201cwe.\u201d The magic wove its spell on me as I waited and watched. I too discovered a hat I could not live without, and so might you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf the hat fits, wear it,\u201d goes the saying. But what if it doesn\u2019t? My partner had searched for a western hat at all the usual ranch supply and western outfit stores of Billings, but none of them had the size (\u201ch\u201d for huge) or fit he required. In desperation, he decided to let the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":5383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17],"tags":[2026,2024,2025,2027],"class_list":["post-5382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billings","category-culture","tag-luke-harnish","tag-rands-custom-hatters","tag-ritch-rand","tag-robert-tovar","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}