Carinthia’s last hatmaker works to preserve a fading craft

Josef Kollmann, Carinthia’s last hatmaker still working in the traditional way, is struggling to find people to continue the craft, ORF reports. A hatmaking business in Grades in the Metnitztal valley has operated since 1868.

Kollmann has carried on the tradition for 40 years. There is no longer any mass production in his workshop; instead, he makes specialised hats for clubs and associations, which are still in demand. He says hatmaking has always been done by hand, and that a machine cannot provide the same feel.

At its peak, the workshop employed five people. Today, Kollmann and his wife, Petra, keep production going together. The work involves many precise steps, he said, and depends on decades of experience.

Kollmann is discussing a possible future for the business with his son, who would like to continue it. But they do not know whether they can find someone to sew or someone to work in the workshop. “That is becoming more and more difficult,” he said.

Kollmann believes traditional crafts still have a place in modern life. He is featured in this year’s Carinthian edition of Heimat großer Töchter und Söhne, an ORF series about notable women and men.