Our hats are worn by all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons. Missy Winters of Arvada, Colorado always wears her custom beaver fur hat while pursuing her passion on the rivers of the American West. Her hat is the Lizard Head style in a sahara color.
Missy fly fishing on the Frying Pan river near Basalt, CO.
Hatter Nate Funmaker is strictly traditional.
Nate Funmaker has always been an artist at heart–but hats?
“I just stumbled into it,” says the full-blooded Winnebago.
As a young man, he painted signs, worked as a scrimshaw etcher with his father, and picked up work as an assistant to an established hatter called “The Bounty Hunter” in Mancos, Colo. After a seven-year apprenticeship, he branched out in 2001 to make custom hats.
Nathaniel’s of Colorado in Mancos, Colo., uses antique equipment, such as a Crown Iron (which cures the crown of the hat and gives it a better shape) and a Conformator (which maps the unique shape of a customer’s head). “The equipment from 100 years ago was built really well, and it can always be fixed,” Funmaker explains.
Along with his two assistant hatters, Funmaker works slowly on each order, producing three hats total per day. He says he often has between 70 and 100 orders waiting to be filled, so customers have to trust the process.
“Every customer is different,” says Funmaker. “So I tell them, ‘Let’s really make it your hat.’” Ideally, the customer is present in his shop so Funmaker can offer an expert custom fitting, otherwise they send photos and measurements.
Nathaniel’s of Colorado offers hats in three different levels of quality and material: rabbit fur, a 50-50 blend of rabbit and beaver fur, and 100-percent beaver fur at the top of the line.
Have you heard about The Next US? If not, join us on their ‘journey into the heart of America to find those who are thriving while supporting high standards of community, sustainability, ecology, and cultural evolution’. Through a great stroke of luck, and perhaps divine guidance, they stopped at the hat shop on their way through Colorado and found their next great story in Nate and his business. Check out the video episode featuring Nate and his apprentice David Franks as they share the philosophy, integrity and passion that is Nathaniel’s of Colorado.
Indian Hat Company is my new signature line of hats. These hats are manufactured in America. I then hand shape each one and finish with a custom band.
Over the years, I have had a lot of people who have wanted one of my hats; but because they are handmade one by one, from the highest quality of beaver and rabbit fur, a Nathaniel’s hat ranges in price from $450 to $850, and do not fit every budget. The price of an “Indian Hat Company “hat will be around $300. I will put many of the same hat creases in these hats that I use in my “Nathaniel’s” hats. The hats will be made in standard sizes, and I will have a size chart to help you determine your size. Don’t hesitate to e-mail me to ask which style would look best on you.
Indian Hat Company came to being from my proud Native American heritage. I belong to the Ho-Chunk Tribe from the state of Wisconsin. My father Adam (Winnebago) and my mother Doris (Ho-Chunk), both great artist and above that great parents, instilled great values in me that have been the foundation for my business. Both are gone now, but I value their teachings very highly in both my day to day operations in my business and in my family life.
Thank you for your interest in my hats, and thank you for supporting an American small business. It gives me great hope for the future to see that there are still people out there who appreciate and support American small business.
