In 1919, Morris Shumiatcher bought Calgary Hat Works with a $300 bank loan, and Smithbilt Hats was born. Though the company ownership has changed hands many times since the company’s inception, the focus on quality materials and fine craftsmanship has never wavered. Today, Smithbilt has an international reputation for producing premium cowboy hats made by local craftsmen.
The company’s current owners, a civic-minded group of Calgary businessmen, uphold the time-honoured values of hat making. The manufacturing shop and store in the Ramsey neighbourhood is filled with traditional hat-making machinery, with some of its hat-making machines more than a century old. The shop produces more than 25,000 hats per year.
