Well, I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that, since my childhood, I have had a weakness for anything to do with the wild west. I started riding western style many years ago. I got myself a nice quarter horse and enjoyed many hours of riding through the local forests during my free time.

It wasn’t long before I purchased another horse. Since I am lucky enough to have my own pasture, I have been able to raise a small farm of healthy, beautiful horses, an activity I continue to this day.

Thanks to my riding hobby, it wasn’t hard to get involved in country and bluegrass music. For the past five years we have hosted an annual “Country Night” with live music in our old, large barn.

A few years ago, during one of my many trips to the United States, I purchased a hat from the Montana Mad Hatters. I chose that particular hat because I wanted to have something really special. The hats available off-the-rack just didn’t meet all my expectations. That was the first contact I had with the master hatters who would become my teachers, Sheila Kirkpatrick and Jann Potter. At first sight, I was immediately fascinated by the small shop and the work performed by the two hat makers. Around the end of 2000, I coincidentally stumbled across the Montana Mad Hatters’ website at http://www.montanahats.com/. I contacted them through their website and it wasn’t long before we reached an agreement for me to become an apprentice. By May in 2001 we were ready to get started. We (my wife, Susi; my one-year-old daughter, Lilly; and I) took a trip to Montana. While in the area, we stayed at John and Cynthia Osborne’s ranch, which I also located on the Internet: http://www.bigtroutranch.com/.

I worked in the hat shop for several months while my wife helped out on the ranch. Jann and Sheila were very patient teachers who taught me the proper method for executing every technique and shared with me the secrets of making a fine hat. They also put me in contact with American suppliers and helped me acquire the needed tools. This last point turned out to be very difficult because many of the things needed for fine hat-making are no longer produced and are now available only as antiques.

Back in Germany, I began building my workshop and hat shop with a small adjoining saloon. By January of 2002 the construction was finished.

Since that time I have been providing cowboy hats that would otherwise be available only in the United States.

Enjoy your visit to my website!
Klaus Inderfurth