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 All our workers walk past this sign to enter the factory every morning. It says in Spanish "Responsibility begins with producing quality".
 This is raw material as it is received at the factory. The palm leaf has been harvested and hand plated in the mountain villages in the state of Guerro. The ribbons are about 3/16 of an inch wide and 20 feet long. This worker is separating the palm leaf according to quality.
 Next, the ribbons are moistened and passed through a wringer to prepare them to be sewn.
This worker is called a copero (crown maker), a person who makes crowns only. He has begun to sew the flat ribbons one on top of the other, like shingles on a roof, in circles in the center of the top of the crown.
 Here the crown continues to be sewn. When it is finished, it will look much like a bowl.
This man is called a faldero (brim maker). He sews only the brims and is trained to take a crown and continue sewing it so that it flares out to become a brim.
 This is a stack of hats that have been sewn and are ready to be pressed.  Dick Atwood inspecting a hat that has just been pressed.
 The last man to sew the hat puts on the bound edge, either the palm leaf or cloth. Unlike with straw hats, this is a separate piece. Hats go from here back to the press.
 This young lady is putting on hat bands -- the last procedure -- and preparing the hats to be boxed and shipped. |
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