hats off...

...to the Bitterroot Valley town of Darby.
Home to not only about 800 people it is also home of 'The Biggest Little Bull Riding in the Northwest' and  'Darby Logger Days' and home to Big Bear Tannery and Taxidermy and the Double HH Custom Hat Co.

This is Jimmy Harrison 'the hatman' and he makes THE most beautiful hats in a variety of shapes, sizes, crown and brim styles to suit an individual's facial features and yes shoulder widths. Made from felted fur the hats are either 100% beaver fur or a 50/50 mix of rabbit and beaver fur.
Beaver fur is very fine and felts much tighter and holds stronger than any other type of fleece and is water repellent.

Many of the hats have inlay work using silver and antler inlay and hat  bands of leather, bone, silver and beads and very intricate woven horse hair bands, the latter made by prisoners at Montana's Deer Lodge State Prison....this the art of horsehair hitching.
Enterprising and stunning.

Apologies for the lack of comments but I am sneaking peaks at blips between adventuring and sleeping!!