Susan Lee, VillageHatShop.com buyer and milliner (see her sur la tête line of women's hats at VillageHatshop.com) visited the Borsalino factory in Alessandria Italy. Following are some of her notes from that that visit:
"While I was in Torino, Italy, I decided to visit the Borsalino Factory in Alessandria, one hour outside of Torino. Carla drove us to the factory that was five minutes outside of the city center in the Industrial Zone, where Patrizia Sossai (Customer Service and Sales Controller) took us on a tour of the factory and introduced us to many of the employees.
Attached are images from my visit. [Note: We will add Susan's images to the MAKING HATS page of VillageHatShop.com.]
They were so nice and very hospitable; there was a really nice atmosphere in the factory. I was hoping the images could possibly be used on the Borsalino Brands page and that we could relay to customers that the hats are made with such care and attention.
Human hands in every step touch each hat, they use machines that are over 100 years old and hats are made in the age-old tradition. Quality is their top priority and seeing the factory in action was a real treat.
They will be celebrating their 150th Birthday next year and they are very excited about it. We saw the factory in two steps: from the old wood bins of rabbit fur being felted into sheets of loose felt, to the very end where one woman tapes up the boxes that arrive into our stores.
Borsalino hats may be expensive, but there is a reason behind the cost. The employees are very proud of their work and they have every right to be as each hat is made with such care and attention. It's truly amazing. They have been in business for 149 years, let me repeat 149 years! So if you have a customer interested in a Borsalino hat, make sure they know that the hat they buy is of the utmost quality."
Thanks Susan.
Fred Belinsky
www.VillageHatShop.com
