COLORADO NEWS

Greeley Hat Works Makes Your Hat Fit Perfectly Thanks to an Antique Tool Called the Conformateur

Aug 24, 2023, 5:00 PM

Greeley Hat Works has forged a rich history, not just in Colorado, but around the world, thanks to their fine hat-making and commitment to customers, from ranchers and rodeo queens to presidents, rockers, and movie stars. Like any great product or business, to last over 100 years like Greeley Hat Work has, it also takes some of the best tools of the trade to keep what you produce top-notch. 

However, not every tool in every industry has to evolve with time and technology… Enter one of the key tools to making the hats at Greeley Hat Works great, the antique Conformateur.

I am not hear to teach you how to pronounce things, so don’t worry about that part. Let’s talk about magic that this tool does. Simply put, the Conformateur, is a French tool used to measure the head size and shape of a person’s head, so that a custom-made hat can be built to fit the head by a hat-maker. In other words, when you put on this thing that looks like a prop from a Frankenstein movie, it lines up a series of pins that create a punched card with a top-down outline of your head. The crew at Greeley Hat Works then uses the info created from the tool invented in the 1840’s to make your hat fit perfectly to your heads specific size and shape. 

Keep in mind most other hat shops are made elsewhere so they are stock sizes and shapes that will never fit YOUR head right. If you’re serious about hats and want the perfect fit, you have to go see Trent Johnson and his entire team at Greeley Hat Works! 

Colorado News

Photo by Carol Guzy/The Washington Post via Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Don’t toss that jack-o’-lantern: Colorado pigs are waiting for your leftover pumpkins

Halloween is over, and your porch pumpkin is starting to look a little rough. Before you throw it in the trash, there’s a better option: let a pig eat it. […]

5 hours ago

Auntie Jo's Donuts...

Shawn Patrick

The sourdough craze has reached donuts, and Northern Colorado has a truck for that

First it was sourdough bread during Covid. Then everyone you know was naming their starter and posting crusty loaves on Instagram. Now sourdough has made its way into breakfast. Sourdough […]

6 hours ago

(Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)...

Shawn Patrick

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Farmer’s Almanac says Colorado will get one

Bing Crosby, start warming up. The Old Farmer’s Almanac released its 2026 White Christmas forecast this week, and Colorado is on it. The almanac puts parts of the state in […]

6 hours ago

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

The National Western Stock Show is adding skijoring in 2027, and it’s free with admission

Picture a horse at full gallop, a cowboy in the saddle, and a skier hanging on to a rope behind them, flying over jumps and grabbing rings at top speed. […]

7 hours ago

(Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)...

Shawn Patrick

Colorado restaurant appears on ‘Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives’ same day state shut it down

Getting on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” once is a big deal. Getting invited back years later is a full-circle moment. Colorado Springs’ Piglatin Cocina got that second invite this fall, […]

1 day ago

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Colorado marmot hitchhikes down from mountains and shows up in Longmont school parking lot

Some kids beg to go to the mountains. One marmot apparently wanted to see what school was all about. Staff and neighbors spotted a yellow-bellied marmot wandering the grounds of […]

1 day ago

Greeley Hat Works Makes Your Hat Fit Perfectly Thanks to an Antique Tool Called the Conformateur