Optimo workshop

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A working museum

The Optimo factory is a working museum of hat equipment dating back to the turn of the century. Collected over decades, each piece has its own history and provenance. We utilize production techniques that involve technologies invented in the late 1800’s to 1950’s as well as modern, state of the art machines. Because it is a working factory, the workshop is not open to the public.

 

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CREASING

Creasing a hat is a nearly forgotten ritual. Fine hats from the early 20th century until about the 1940s were often …

MAKING AN OPTIMO FELT

Proper hatmaking involves dozens of steps, from the felting of fine furs, through shaping, surface finishing and trimming …

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Good craft is seamless and invisible. It shows no evidence. It is refined, uniform and  balanced …

THE OPTIMO STORY

Optimo began with the dream of a “real” hat. More than two decades later, that dream is intact. Every step Optimo takes …