You’ve heard stories of a one man shop in the garage to fortune 500 companies…..Well we are not a fortune 500 company, but we did start out in our garage! Capital Hatters was founded in the summer of 2004 by James Andrae. Prior to founding Capital Hatters, James worked at two other custom hat shops and acquired a great interest in the art of hat making and customer relations. It’s a tough business to get started in, mostly finding the equipment, but also having the knowledge to build hats from the start. James was fortunate to find a small amount of equipment, and having the knowledge from his previous work, he was able eliminate the trial and error time, allowing him to hit ground running crafting his own great hats from day one. “I attribute that and good customer relations to the success of Capital Hatters,” states James.
Since 2004, James and wife, Kim, have added to the original set of a few machines by buying out two other custom hat shops. Now the shop has grown to 5 full time employees and few part time seasonal helpers. In addition to custom felt hats, renovations and the largest straw hat selection in the area, a full service boot and shoe repair shop has been added, along with a full saddle and leather repair service. All of this taking place in our 5000 square foot shop in Stephenville, Tx. Our business provides a unique service to our customers, from ordering a custom hat, to simply cleaning up and re-creasing your old favorite, and getting your boots shined while your wait.
James and Kim hope to one day pass these unique trade skills down to their two sons, Slade and Sloan. There are not many custom hat shops left, and we cherish that and the work we do, not to mention we have an amazing team with lots of talent. We love what we do, and that’s what makes it work.