An Inside Look at Camptown Hat Company LTD.

From Out of the Past: A Visit to W. Alboum Hat Co.

To look ahead and cover Camptown Hat Co., we need to step back (about 87 years) and spend a little time at W. Alboum Hat Co. Alboum’s is where the life of a Camptown hat begins. This family run business was started in 1921 by William Alboum, grandfather of the current owner Stuart Alboum. It all began in a garage on Howard St. in Newark, NJ. From there it moved to Academy St. then to Grove St. and now it’s in a semi-secret location in Irvington, NJ. Stuart himself has been working for the company since its days on Academy St., which was about 33 years ago.

Just because Alboum’s is a business that makes hats using machines does not mean people are missing from the process. Stuart says “most people think you buy a roll of material and you stamp them (hats) out…not even close”. At Alboum’s, the hands of modern craftspeople are attending to the hats every step of the way. From arriving at the factory to customer delivery, these hats are cared for and worked on by professionals, skilled artisans who ensure the hats are perfect and exact to the customer’s order. Stuart added that in making a hat “there’s 154 operations from the first step until it’s finished…and at every step, something can go wrong”. That is why when he says “there’s no short cut to this” he means it. They take their time with each hat, making sure it meets their standards and the customer’s order all through the process. When they call a hat finished, you can be sure it is the best they can produce. Even after Alboum’s job is done, Ken takes his Camptown hat bodies and adds an additional set of steps to ensure his fedoras meet the expectations of his customers. From trimming the brim to shaping the crown (and everything in-between), Ken takes an already exceptional fedora and makes it even better.

Besides, the same machines making all of Alboum’s hats, including the Camptown line, are the same machines that made hats 80-100 years ago…it doesn’t get more retro than that. If one of these machines needs repair (or general maintenance) Stuart and his crew do it themselves. If they need a part, it is custom made to their exact specifications as there is no one left who maintains a stock to supply these increasingly rare machines. As you can see, their level of care and detail goes into every aspect of the company.

Stuart, along with his partner in Chicago, make and ship about 360,000 hats a year to law enforcement agencies around the country. The hat of a state trooper or that of a local sheriff needs to stand up to the rigors of demanding police work. Driving rains, brutal winters, and even fair summer days, these hats need to look their best as they not only stand as a symbol of authority but they also need to protect the officer from the elements. Camptown hats are no exception as Stuart ensures this level of dependability goes into each every fedora. Ken adds that all hats from Alboum “get the same level of attention, same level of care, and the same level of quality finishing…you can’t top that”

The raw materials that go into making a Camptown fedora are sourced from top suppliers all over the world. “It’s a culmination of international products to make a hat” says Stuart. He adds that most of the rabbit pelts that go into his hats come from Europe and his beaver is supplied from Canada. The dye to make the color comes from Germany (regarded as some of the best in the world) and the natural shellac comes from India. If only the best materials go into the hats, logically, only the best hats will be produced.

Alboum’s is strictly a wholesale company and they ask you not to contact them directly. If you do wind up being the proud owner of a Camptown hat, contact Ken for any servicing your hat may require.