After spending years traveling internationally and living in South America, Charlie and April Selman moved to Paonia, Colorado to raise a family and start their new business, True West Hats.

“The inspiration for our business came from almost ten years of living internationally in Chile, Argentina and Mexico,” shares April. “Most of that time was spent in a small wine-producing area of Argentina. We were very far from any big city or major shopping area, and the people tended to make what they needed instead of purchasing mass-produced products. There were shoe makers, furniture makers, even ceramicists who made your plates. We became accustomed to the quality and time and art that it took to make beautiful, functional items.”

They returned to the U.S. at the start of the “makers” movement and serendipitously fell into hat making, a trade that April says matched their desire for quality, functionality and artistic expression.

“We can custom design a hat with our clients in our shop, just the way they want,” she adds. “We now offer full-service custom hat making, repairs and restorations, as well as make private label hats for retailers around Colorado, and we sell online.”

Hats can have a timeless style, April explains, and that’s what she and Charlie love most about their business.

“We’ve been involved in other retail businesses where the styles change every year and you literally throw away items that didn’t sell the year before,” shares April. “Even though the styles don’t change significantly, hats as a function and fashion item are definitely coming back in style.”

The Selmans are constantly trying to improve the process of hat making.

“We source all our palm leaf hats — what most people would think of as straw — from Ecuador where they are woven by hand,” April says. “We then use botanical and earth element dyes and shape them by hand to create one-of-a-kind hats.”

The True West Hats retail and production facility is located at 210 Grand Avenue on Paonia’s main commercial street. They use a hat steamer and materials to custom fit and design each hat to a head.

“We love to see people find that perfect hat,” says April. “Hearing someone say ‘I don’t look good in hats’ is our favorite challenge, because we know they just haven’t found the right hat yet, and we can make it happen.”

True West Hats also sells online. Visit them in Paonia or at truewesthats.com.

Originally published in the Summer 2020 issue of SPOKE+BLOSSOM

True West Hats: Functional Summer Style