As a public service to Fedora Chronicles Readers, Eric Renderking Fisk warns folks about a con-artist would-be hat vendors and asks for names and links of other vendors who deserve our attention.

Bad Hatter! Watch Out

The issue of a bad vendor has sprung up on another forum. To keep the flame war to a minimum, I will not post a link to that forum or thread. (But, if you wanted to rant about this, you’re free to do so on MY Forum…) Since this issue keeps popping up and I have to defend the honest vendors, I have to say something here...

On all the other forums I’ve visited and posted on, all the other hatters are very civil to each other. Sure, there have been a few disagreements and heated words sent back and forth on other forums, but I'm willing to wager that 99%the discourse between them is civil and respectful. Some go so far as sending potential customers to another hatter when the customer is looking for something in particular and the hatter they speak with doesn’t specialize in that style.

Here’s an example: Steve Delk has sent customers to Art Fawcett when someone is looking for a "1940’s" style fedora, Art Fawcett has sent customers to Steven when that person he encounters who are looking for a Raiders Lid or the 1930’s style. This also applies to other hatters – some other hatters will have links to other vendors, hoping that if the vendors help each other, then the craft will survive. They’re a close-nit community that looks out for each other. With the exception of one in particular.

No other vendor has done more to alienate customers and the Vintage Threads Community. This vendor is an utter joke to most hatters, a literal violent threat and a menace to others.

This vendor (Bad Hatter) is incapable of telling the truth. Since I’ve known him or known of him during the past few years he’s lied about other vendors, lied about his suppliers, threatened other customers and other webmasters over the phone and via the e-mail. When cornered Bad Hatter will campaign to get his critics banned from forums, even offering those admins free products if they do as he wishes. Bad Hatter has made outrageous lies about having contracts with film companies, but when members of my site and others call those film companies to confirm these "facts," they flatly deny having anything to do with this character.

This character even tried to con me into helping him campaign to get a contract with a film company. When I refused to help him, he threaten me. When he wanted to send me a fedora or two of his to review I refused because of his behavior on the Vintage Forums (using the "C-Word" towards a dear friend of mine after she asked him how did his rude behavior jive with "Satisfaction Guarantee" policy.) When I asked other members of The Fedora Chronicles Staff if they wanted to have a fedora sent to them in their sizes from Bad Hatter, they also refused because of his prior behavior and they didn’t want this guy to have their addresses (word gets around fast when a vendor threatens customers and other vendors if they talk ill of him.)

This character, Bad Hatter, posts that he’s not on new forums to make new customers. He made the same claim on other forums. No, he used the PM and E-mail feature to spam all the active members into buying his over-priced products. There’s a man who goes by the username "Webley" who told me he received more then five PM’s and E-Mails each (10 messages total) trying to sell him an over priced fedora from Bad Hatter.

This is the ONLY Fedora Vendor I’ve ever banned from my forum. I offered him a chance for a fresh start as long as he didn’t violate the terms of agreement or use our forum to spam. He was banned after his third post and after six members reported him for using the PM feature to spam.

As for the claim of his products being over-priced, I meet regularly with other Vintage Aficionados regularly. Some have come to my home, some I’ve seen in my travels. I’ve seen some of this vendor’s products. They aren’t worth the price he’s asking for. I’m also shocked that this guy has the audacity to call him self a "World Class Hatter." How is that possible? Apparently he spends most of his time running from forum to forum running down his competition when he’s not writing nonsensical posts on his own forum. Check out this thread and notice how much time he’s wasted. How does a "World Class Hatter" have the time to write all this nonsense?

I’ve known the people who have made it their personal mission to make other fedora buyers aware of Bad Hatters business practices. I've known these three men for years, (currently they're posting under the names "Warden" "Zoot Suiter" and " R. Fuller".) I’ve never caught neither one of them in a lie. The reason why they are so adamant about keeping hat buyers informed about this character in question is because they were once customers of this particular vendor. They’ve been burned by him before. I’ll vouch for what they say, I’ve been witness to many of the things they’ve experienced. As I said already: they’ve never lied to me, this character they write about (Bad Hatter) has never told the truth.

So, what's the solution? How can you avoid this guy? (Since I won't mention his name here on this forum, because he thinks negative press is good press... and I won't give him the publicity...) Here's what I propose. If a Vendor is unable to post on my forum, then don't buy from them. If we don't link to a hat vendor on our site, then don't buy from them either. Since we accept no advertising dollars from fedora vendors and we rely on the comments made by our forum members and site readers, you can be sure there are no "pay-offs" or "graft."

Here's the list so far...

Steve Delk of "Adventurebilt Hats" who makes the Fortune And Glory fedora. While Steve first made fedora’s to accommodate fans of the Indiana Jones movies, he also makes the best fedora that’s accurate for the 1930’s. These are excellent HAND CRAFTED fedoras made with materials he’s researched for a very long time, going back as far back as 2001 since I’ve known him. He makes a great product with a legion of fans, Indy and non-Indy Fans alike. Here’s our testimonial page. I have one, I’ve used and abused mine and it still looks fantastic, “Right Out Of The Box” new.

Second is Art Fawcett. Art started out selling and trading vintage clothes with a sideline in making fedoras. I guess that when his reputation in being one of the finest fedora craftsmen in the country grew, that became his primary occupation. His approach to fedora making is very similar to Steve Delk – spent many years researching the craft, uses only the finest materials. His fedoras are more towards the 1940’s with modern twists and variations. Check out Vintage Silhouettes.

Third is Ron at Hats Direct, makers of Akubra. Can’t say enough great things about their products, they’re very affordable and take a lot of abuse and continue to look “Out Of The Box” new for a very long time. Despite being a big company, Ron answers most of the e-mails himself.

Then there's JP Design. Jimmy Pierce honed his craft by working with another Top-Notch vendor (whom we will also endorse in the future if they permit us)

These are Four GREAT hat makers and vendors for men. For the ladies who are trying to also recapture the look of the Golden Era, I recommend Couture Creations - Hats That Are The perfect blend of Vintage "Golden Era" Style and Modern Fashion - Hand Crafted To Perfection.

I endorse these companies on my website. I take no money to advertise for them, I’m a paying customer just like everyone else and I only endorse those companies that meet my standards: They have to have great value (you get what you pay for,) great service and they have to treat the "Retro-Centric/Vintage Aficionado" community with respect. I'm also aware that there are other fedora retailers and craftsman who deserve your attention and business. It's up to you to let me know who they are and share with us your testimonials. Send me an e-mail with your words and pictures, or join our forum to do the same.