Ana Cajhen

Milliner | Dol pri Ljubljani, Slovenia

The history behind straw hats

Ana is a historian who fell in love with straw hat making
It took her over two years to master the technique
She learned her craft from an old master

Ana Cajhen is a historian by education, but today she makes custom straw hats. Her story began back in 2015, when she gave guided tours of a local museum in Domžale, a town known in the past as the capital of straw hat making in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She decided to learn more about the rich local tradition of straw hat making and attended a course. Ana instantly loved this craft. She spent every free moment improving her technique in sewing and shaping straw plaits. It took her more than two years to master straw hat making fully. Today, her straw hats are an indispensable fashion accessory, often worn by models on the catwalk.

Interview

©Andraž Gregorič

Did you learn from a master?: Yes, Joži Košak, an older lady who worked at a local straw making manufacturer for 38 years, taught me. The Univerzale company was world-renowned for their straw hats. It took me 20 hours to make my very first straw hat. Today, I make the same one in 15 minutes.
What attracted you to this craft?: I started because I wanted to show the visitors of the museum how a straw hat is made. It was very difficult at the beginning, but I was stubborn enough and, once I mastered the technique, journalists came and more and more people wanted to buy my products.
What do people not normally know about your craft?: I import wheat straw plaits from the Chinese province of Henan, which is the only producer of appropriate wheat plaits. In Slovenia, you can't find it anymore due to changed weather conditions. I have my own field of spelt as well, but it takes an hour to weave up to three metres of plaits.
Could your craft be considered in danger?: Yes, definitely, mostly because we lack patience, it takes a long time to learn. And secondly, I make straw hats on an old sewing machine, produced in Europe only by two companies between 1880 and 1910.

Ana Cajhen is a master artisan: she began her career in 2012 and she started teaching in 2017