How A Findlay Gets Made · Portland, Oregon
Our Process.Built By Hand.
Most of what turns a blank into a Findlay happens by hand, right here in our Portland warehouse. Here is a look at every step.
Customized by hand in Portland
Done In-House
What We Do Ourselves.
We could outsource almost all of this. We do not. Here is what happens under our own roof.
- Design
- Embroidery
- Laser-Cut Leather Patches
- Hand-Dyed Leather
- Treated & Stitched Patches
- Grommeting
- Laser-Cut Wood Clips
- Cut, Tied & Styled Laces
- Screen Printing
- Sublimated Pockets
- Vinyl Cutting
- Cut, Sewn & Applied Pockets
Straight With You
Where The Hats Start.
We are based in Portland, Oregon, and do many of the steps to make our hats right here in our warehouse. It is not always the easy route, but we are proud of the hard work that goes into every hat.
Our base hats are supplied by multiple trusted manufacturers overseas, mainly China, then shipped to us to begin turning them into a Findlay Hat.
We are still a young brand, and we do not yet have the funds to efficiently build bulk hats ourselves. It is our ultimate intention, but we are not there yet. We are a team of 10 Americans working every day to build the best company we can.
Step By Step
How It Gets Made.
Step 01
Embroidery.
When we started, all of our embroidery was outsourced to a local company. It was expensive but necessary. The living room we ran the brand out of did not have the space, and we could not afford an embroidery machine.
As we grew, we slowly invested in machinery, starting with our very own single head embroidery machine. Our demand for in-house embroidery grew right along with us, and we now run 60 total embroidery heads, one of the largest embroidery operations in the Northwest.
Doing embroidery in house gives us complete control over the end product and lets us launch new styles, designs, and colors constantly. These machines are intense to run, but we love the freedom to create that they give us.
Step 02
Sewing.
One of the first things we did in house: sewing. Our first big investment back in 2014 was a $500, 80 year old treadle powered Singer machine. This thing is old enough to have helped win World War II. It is fully manual, no electronics here.
Sarah loves that machine and proudly rocks a tattoo of it on her arm, though she does not like to brag about it and probably will not be happy we mentioned it here. Sewing is hands on, tedious, and time consuming, but another piece of the puzzle we love being able to offer.
Step 03
Laser Cutting.
Have you ever watched one of these laser cutters run? They are mesmerizing. They give us the power to engrave and cut leather patches and wood clips into whatever shape and design we can dream up, and the detail they are capable of still surprises us.
Fun fact: both of the originals are pretty old, and one of them still runs on Windows 95. Dated tech aside, they are workhorses, running leather patches and clips almost all day. We recently added a new beast to the lineup, our newest machine at just two years old, and we are only starting to unlock what it can do.
Step 04
Treating & Dying The Leather.
The leather patches come out of the machine a light tan. Dying and treating the leather protects it from damage while adding color and style to each one.
This is an easy step to miss, but it is time consuming and detail oriented. Every single patch is hand treated, and possibly dyed, by our team before it is stitched onto the hat.
Step 05
Grommeting.
Every hat has two grommets, installed right here. It is not complicated, but it is important, since the grommets hold our Stampede Laces on the hat.
We started with a small handheld press from the craft store, then upgraded to a larger manual one. It worked great, but it left your wrist sore, so we moved to a pneumatic press. The first one died after a month and the company refused to honor the warranty (still a little salty about that), but it pushed us to a bigger, nicer press that has run daily ever since. We now have 5 grommet presses. Watch your fingers.
Step 06
Serge, Cut & Install Pockets.
Our hidden pockets, another important step. They are decorated two ways: screen printing and sublimation.
Once a sheet of pockets is made, we run it through the serger, which cuts and stitches the top of each pocket. From there we cut the strip into individual pockets and apply them to the hat with a fabric fusion glue. We have used thousands of different pocket styles over the years, and we love the little extra flare and identity they add to each hat.
Step 07
Sublimation & Heat Press.
Sublimation is an amazing process. We can print any graphic we want, press it onto a polyester blend fabric, and end up with vibrant, full color pockets.
We recently upgraded to one of our first brand new machines ever, and as a result we are cranking out a lot of new pocket designs and colorways.
Step 08
The Stampede Laces.
Our Stampede Laces do not come pre-tied, and there is no machine that does it for us. So every single Findlay hat has laces that are cut, tied, and styled right here, by hand.
Step 09
Shipping & Fulfillment.
We make, process, pack, and ship every single order we receive. No outside fulfillment center, no third party warehouse touching your order. Everything is handled by our team, right here.
It is extra work, but we are happy to do it in house, and it lets us provide more jobs while we are at it.
Step 10
Screen Printing.
From screen printed pockets to shirts and hoodies, all of our screen printing is done in house. It is another step we could easily outsource, but we are happy to do it ourselves.
Step 11
Photography.
Being able to create commercial and promotional images in house is a huge advantage. These tools let us capture the world the way we experience it, and our products the way we want them seen.
Plus, capturing good times is a good time by itself.
Step 12
Warranty & Returns.
Offering a warranty on a damaged hat is not the industry standard. In fact, we are not aware of many hat brands that offer any kind of warranty at all.
This is a huge piece of our brand. We want people wearing their hats through good times without worrying about damage, and that is exactly why we offer the warranty program. Receiving hundreds of hats a month to fix or adjust is no easy process, but it is something we are proud to offer the Findlay Force.
Step 13
Vinyl Cutting.
Vinyl stickers are not going to cut and weed themselves. A small step, but one we enjoy doing right here.
PS, this is a staged photo. We had already weeded all the stickers we needed for the week and just needed a shot to show roughly what the process looks like. Look at that transparency, no tricks up our sleeve.
Step 14
Graphic Design.
Our graphics are conceptualized, designed, and created by our small team of designers. We do not outsource this to random artists with clout. We work with local designers who really understand the brand and its vision.
We create new designs every week, so this is a constant part of who we are.
Step 15
3D & UV Printing.
The future is wild. Someday we may be fully 3D printing hats, but for now we use this tool to create random parts for our machines, trinkets around the warehouse, and 3D printed face shields.
Made With Pride.Right Here.
We take a lot of pride in what we do ourselves, and we will always keep that mentality as we grow. Thanks for taking the time to learn a little more about what we do here.