Behind The Scenes : Master Milliner Knows the Nooks and Crannies of the Cranium

With a cranium shaped like a light bulb, Kevin O’Farrell says he always had a tough time finding a hat that fit properly. And doing without was not an option; he’s always loved covering his head with a sharp-looking brim.

The search turned into an obsession, he says, that took him to Dallas and New Orleans, where he apprenticed with five senior hat-makers over a six-year period. He set out on his own in 1972 and settled in Durango, Colo. He has since crafted a reputation as a master milliner.

Among the more famous heads covered with an O’Farrell of Durango custom original: Robin Williams, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. But you wouldn’t know this unless those around O’Farrell brought it up. This unassuming man is most impressed that “honest cowboys purchase the hats, not for status but for their quality.”

That distinction is partly attributed to a 150-year-old device he found among the junk at a hat factory he acquired early on. The conformer, as it’s called, is a mechanical hat form with 48 slats that consider every bump and crevice of a skull (most hatters measure only the circumference).

The device stamps out the shape--however odd--with Braille-like pin marks on an index card. A companion piece to the conformer then translates that information into a custom-fitted pattern.

The antique wooden conformer sized more than 1,000 heads over more than 15 years but was recently retired for exhibit purposes; apparently, fewer than a dozen exist. After much trial and error, it has been copied and replaced with an aluminum version.

A handful of the aluminum models have been made and are available at four outlets nationwide. Among them is Out of Santa Fe in Fashion Island Newport Beach, where O’Farrell was on hand last weekend to personally fit some clients and complete training the staff on using the conformer.

“Apart from serving as a crowning glory,,” he says, “hats are always a functional piece that protects. It’s something that should last longer than you and I.”

A snug fit is not all that attracts die-hards, who shell out from $375 to $1,500 for an O’Farrell hat. Craftsmanship also distinguishes his hat from others: The felt is made of beaver fur (pure or a premium blend) that is hand-finished to an extraordinary fine surface.

His bands are almost as well-known as his hats. The bands, created by a network of artisans he’s met over the years, include ones made of sterling silver and 14-karat gold and others that are exquisitely beaded.

As for the number of hats he and his staff of 12 craftsmen have made in the past two decades, O’Farrell quips: “It’s more than three.” Last year the small company took on partners, Art and Letitia Glenn, and has expanded operations--but not beyond a manageable level. Among other projects, they are developing a clothing line under the O’Farrell of Durango name.