A 24-year-old hatter is turning heads with his high-end, hand-crafted designs manufactured in his single-car garage in Christchurch.
Kaleb Wiki told Seven Sharp that from a young age, he'd chosen to wear head coverings of some description.
"Something on my head and sneakers on my feet, everything between, I didn't care about," said Wiki. And now, alongside his other profession — barbering — he's turned his hankering for hats into a business.
Wiki said he is "95% self-taught" in the hat-making craft and knows of only two other hatters in New Zealand who work with imported fur felt as he does. The trio of hatters keep in regular contact, sharing the knowledge they've gained.
Initially, Wiki sought advice from fur-felt hatters abroad, but most were reluctant to share "trade secrets".
The felt — mostly rabbit and beaver fur — arrives from Portugal in the form of capelines, rudimentary hat shapes that need to be processed and shaped into whatever design Wiki's customers request. The current trending style is western, and Wiki said he was inspired to make his first cowboy hat while watching the Yellowstone series on Netflix.
His hats are pricey — ranging from $800 to $2500 — but so is the raw product. Each imported capeline can cost several hundred dollars, with top-of-the-range beaver felt fetching four figures.
Wiki first softens the felt and places it over a head-shaped wooden block to set for 24 hours. The hat is then 'pounced' (lightly sanded) to smooth and remove excess felt. Once the brim is trimmed, Wiki then hand-presses the hat to the desired shape.
A spectacular part of the process is when the hats are ignited — sprayed with alcohol and set alight. A video of a burning hat garnered much interest on social media. Wiki said the burning removes excess fluff and helps condition the felt.
The final touch is the addition of lining and a label, Doff & Don.
Wiki said he initially named his business The Hat Tip. "Then a client of mine was like, 'Oh, it's like you're doffing and donning'."
He liked the sound of the old-fashioned phrase, and today, both his hat-making and hair-cutting businesses operate under the same name.
Wiki has been a barber since he was 17 and has worked at various barbershops in Christchurch, including the well-known My Father's Barber. He admitted that he enjoys not so much the cutting but the conversations.
"I lost a few friends to suicide. My whole goal was to work in men's mental health," he said. "Then I ended up being a barber. My clients then, who are now friends, started opening up. This is literally what I asked for."
When Seven Sharp visited his Woolston base, Wiki had a customer in his barber chair, his close friend Dylan, AKA Rokko Island, a reggae artist. Both young men are visiting Los Angeles in September to pursue business opportunities.
New Zealand musicians Tikki Taane and Stan Walker own Doff & Don hats, and Wiki's goal is to see American artist John Mayer wearing one of his designs, given he was a catalyst for Wiki's venture.
"I saw his hats, liked them, found the guy who made them, couldn't afford them, so I made my own."
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