The Montecristi Diaries, November 2004 20 Nov - Twenty minutes of terror. That would be the taxi trip from Manta to Montecristi. I‘ve made this trip a couple of hundred times over the years. And still, every trip, I nearly punch a hole in the floor of the taxi, trying to stomp the brake pedal...
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Thinking of giving a Brent Black Montecristi Fino as a gift this holiday season? Good choice. Read on for details about one of my most popular gift packages: Includes: Your choice of hand-blocked Montecristi Classic Fedora, Gatsby Fedora, Havana Fedora, Montego Bay Fedora, Optimo, The Lover, Breton, or Marcie Polo. Gift package materials include...
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Authentic, classic Panama hats are not made in Panama. They are, and always have been, made in Ecuador. So why are they called Panama hats if they really come from Ecuador? Good question. The way-too-short answer is that the hats were purchased in Panama and the buyers didn’t know where they were made. (Hey,...
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As we approach the holidays, we’ll be featuring some of BBB’s gift packages: The men’s Roll-Up Optimo Gift Package includes a hand-blocked, custom-sized Montecristi Roll-up Optimo ($500 value). Gift package materials include special custom gift card, tape measure and instructions, 14-page color booklet, easy directions for receiving the perfect hat, and hand-woven gift box....
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(They’re too good for just ten reasons!) 11. I’m a Montecristi hat specialist. Actually, I’m not just a Montecristi hat specialist, I’m the Montecristi hat specialist. This is the only business outside Montecristi that is all about Montecristi hats. 10. Trying to save the art itself. The reason there is a business in the...
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The following piece was written by author and world-traveler Roff Smith. You might remember Roff’s recent adventures with curious cheetah cubs. In the continuing quest to discover just how a hat from Ecuador came to be called a “Panama hat,” Roff has turned up a clue that hints the misnomer appeared much earlier than...
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How’s Simón doing? Better. Both artistically and financially. No, I don’t have any photos of Simón with his new SUV in front of his new McMansion. But he is most definitely a success story. Before we began to work together, he could not earn enough from weaving to support his family. He worked on...
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Simón Espinal is the best weaver in the world. I have been buying his entire production for years, paying him double what he used to earn, plus an artist’s commission on sold hats. But he had heard rumors of easy work and high pay in Venezuela. Yikes. Not true, but he doesn’t know that....
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A photo of customer Lando’s (aka “earthburner”) BBB hat, found on Flickr and shared with permission. See the rest of Lando’s impressive hat collection here. Have a photo of your BBB hat to share? Link to it in the comments or send us an email.
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