An Interview with Jerry Kavesh of Silver Canyon Boot and Clothing

It has been said that “the hat makes the man.” Well, Doboro the Bottlenecker certainly stands out in his. Since I am often complimented on and asked about my own, I wanted to defer such questions to Mr. Jerry Kavesh, CEO of Silver Canyon Boot and Clothing, the company who made the “best hat I ever owned” and the official hat of Doboro the Bottlenecker.

Q: Thank you so much for answering a few questions. Personally, like Doboro the Bottlenecker, I have found Silver Canyon to make the best hats I have ever owned in terms of style and comfort for the price—and I’ve owned a number of brands! Can you tell us a bit about the history of your company and, in particular, your hats?

 JK: I was literally born into the Western industry.  My family owned and operated a small traditional Western wear shop where I started “working” at the age of 5... OK, the shop also did double duty as my parent’s daycare. Fast forward through college and gaining some experience working for a major retail company, I struck out on my own, built a successful Western wear company, got married, had children and retired from the business.

Throughout those years, my wife and I never forgot our frustration of trying to find quality affordable boots for our young children. As parents, we wanted a good looking pair that were affordable, comfortable and well-made that would hold up to everyday wear. The only two options available were "cheap," poorly constructed boots made with cheap materials OR expensive boots made of the finest leather - nothing in between.

It occurred to me I could bring my decades of experience and knowledge to solving this frustrating puzzle.  Thus, the Silver Canyon Boot and Clothing Company was born.

The hat line was a result of customers asking us for hats. As we listened to customers, we kept hearing many wool felt hats were heavy, lacked style and were uncomfortable.  I knew we could solve the weight and comfort issue so we went to work designing our hat line.

Q: I don’t mind saying that I hope through Doboro, both the book and the eventual motion picture, will inspire others to purchase your hats. I’ve certainly received many compliments on mine. What sets Silver Canyon hats apart from other competitive brands?

JK: Silver Canyon uses high quality Australian wool in our wool cowboy hats. Wool varies by quality.  Generally, lower quality, less expensive wool needs to be thicker to hold its shape and have similar durability characteristics as Australian Wool. This additional thickness results in a heavier hat which may become uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time and it also may not last as long as a hat made from Australian Wool.

Obviously, we’re biased but we believe Silver Canyon wool hats made from Australian wool provides the hat owner an outstanding western hat value.

We’re proud we can price Silver Canyon wool hats similarly to many other wool hats made of lessor quality wool. The Australian wool allows Silver Canyon to make a hat that is durable, good looking and relatively light weight which makes Silver Canyon wool hats comfortable regardless if you wear the hat for only an hour or for the entire day.

Q: Doboro favors the Montana Gray Crushable Western Felt hat and a brown variation. But those are hardly the only styles Silver Canyons boasts. Can you tell us a few of the most popular styles you sell?

JK: The Montana is a crushable hat and our most popular style. Two other popular crushable hats are the Denver and Santa Fe.  Our most popular shapeable hats are the Dakota and Winslow.

Q: Do you sell hats for women as well as men?

JK: Our hats are unisex and look great on both men and women.

Q: People have referred to my hats, much to my chagrin, as “Indiana Jones” hats, “cowboy” hats, “western” hats, and “fedoras.” Are these terms interchangeable or are there distinctions between—and can you explain?

JK: Our hats are influenced by both the US West and the Australian Outback. The terms Cowboy and Western hats are often used interchangeably.  Fedora’s tend to have a smaller brim size than western or outback styled hats.  In the movie, the character Indiana Jones wears a classic, larger brim styled fedora hat. Due to the popularity of the Indiana Jones movies, this style hat is now sometimes called the Indiana Jones or Raiders styled hat. In reality, it’s a classically styled large brimmed fedora.  Silver Canyon offers two classic fedora hat styles – the York which is a small snap brim fedora and the Indiana which is the larger brim fedora previously mentioned.

Q: What should buyers consider before purchasing  Silver Canyon hat?

JK: Identify what brim size and hat shape best fits your face shape. We suggest that the crown of your hat is the same height (brim to top of crown) as your face (brim to bottom of chin) and the brim width be proportional to your face width.

Q: Do Silver Canyon hats require any special care?

JK: We recommend treating your hat with the Silver Canyon water and stain protector to help protect your hat from dirt, water, finger oils and stains. 

Q: Any new lines recently added or in-development? Perhaps a DOBORO THE BOTTLENECKER line?

 JK: Sorry no Doboro line at this time.  However, we are currently designing more hats, working to expand our children’s boot line and will be introducing men’s boots this spring.   In honor of National Hat Day, we are offering fans of Doboro a one time 15% off coupon. Use coupon code DOBORO15 at checkout.   This coupon code expires, January 17, 2020.