The Story Behind Scharmen Hat Company

As told by those who’ve watched it unfold.

Scharmen Hat Company began not as a business plan, but as a response to what was already taking shape inside a family.

As the Scharmen family transitioned to homeschooling, they intentionally sought ways to ground education in real-world application. Rather than separating learning from work, they allowed the two to intersect - using hands-on craft as a way to teach responsibility, problem-solving, history, and ownership in a tangible way.

What emerged was an opportunity to support their sons as they grew into makers and entrepreneurs. Ford’s natural ability to work with his hands - long evident through music, restoration, and building - began to translate into hatmaking. At the same time, Rhett’s adventurous, action-driven energy found purpose in contributing to something real, learning accountability through participation rather than abstraction.

Generational influence shaped the direction. Time spent working alongside their grandfather on the family farm reinforced lessons of stewardship and perseverance on land worked by previous generations. Skills passed down from great-grandparents - sewing, music, craftsmanship, and labor - formed an unspoken foundation that guided both process and values.

Scharmen Hat Company took form as a way to honor those influences while allowing curiosity to mature into capability. It exists to support growth through responsibility, to preserve craft through practice, and to build something meaningful together - not as nostalgia, but as living work.