The concept of Montefino Hats was born in Ecuador in 2014. At the time, the co-founders – Mr. Mahigan, a Canadian man, and Ms. Hathaiporn, a Thai woman – were living in Cuenca, the capital of the Panama hat in the Andes mountains.
Along with local craftpeople, they created a line of products that are both authentic and fashionable. They visited the small villages were the hats are woven and met with the weavers and hatmakers. They discovered a community of wonderful, hard-working people gathered around the great art of toquilla hat weaving.
Their goal was to bridge the gap between this classic Ecuadorian tradition and the more contemporary taste and style of urban, fashionable customers in Asia.
In early 2015, they went back to Thailand and opened Montefino’s first Panama hat shop in Chiang Mai, in the Nimman area.
Almost five years later, Montefino is proud of having drawn a community of hat lovers who truly appreciate the quality of its products.