Kala Hats

Wear Your Own Story

In my search for something genuinely artisanal in Bali — an object made here, with character, craft and enough individuality to become more than a souvenir — I stumbled almost by accident upon the Instagram account of Kala Hats. That was enough to make me curious. Then I met Sastra.

Artist, storyteller and hatmaker, Sastrajiwa is the man behind Kala Hats, a Bali-born workshop devoted to creating one-of-a-kind hats by hand. His work sits somewhere between traditional millinery, western mythology and wearable art. These are not discreet little accessories designed merely to keep the sun away. They have presence. Sometimes quite a lot of it. And that is precisely the point. Walking into the atelier is where things become dangerous.

The number of possibilities is almost overwhelming: shapes, proportions, colours, bands, feathers, stitching, distressing, burned finishes, illustrations and laser engraving. Merino wool felt becomes the starting canvas for an object that can be shaped around its future owner rather than selected anonymously from a shelf. Kala describes the process as a collaboration, beginning with your ideas, colours and story before Sastra and his team translate them into a unique piece.

And here, the term headwear suddenly feels inadequate. A proper hat changes a silhouette. It changes posture. It can make an ordinary shirt suddenly look intentional or give a character to someone before they have said a word. Kala understands that instinctively. The hats can be western, romantic, eccentric, weathered, theatrical or almost talismanic. Engraving allows imagery and personal symbols to become part of the felt itself, while burns, feathers, ribbons and found-looking details give some pieces the feeling that they already travelled somewhere before meeting you.

Sastra founded Kala around this idea of making pieces with a soul rather than reproducing identical objects. His work combines traditional handcraft with contemporary techniques, and the workshop has since attracted customers from around the world looking for something made specifically for them rather than another recognisable luxury logo. Kala itself calls the result wearable art, and for once the marketing expression feels justified.

I went there because I was looking for a very particular hat of my own. Not quite a cowboy hat, not quite something formal either, but an adventurer’s hat — something that could belong to a traveller, a slightly improbable orchestra conductor or perhaps someone who simply refuses to wear the same thing as everybody else.

I haven’t ordered it yet. But I know where it will be made. Because the best thing you can bring home from Bali is sometimes not something that reminds everyone else where you have been. It is something that could only have been made for you.

The Address

 

Kala Hats Studio

Gg. Asri I No.45
Tibubeneng, North Kuta
Badung, Bali 80361
Indonesia
kalahats.com

Price

$$$ — Bespoke artisanal piece
Custom hats are currently listed from around IDR 6.5 million, depending on design and finishing.

Go for

A genuinely individual handcrafted hat, made in Bali rather than simply branded in Bali.

Look for

Merino felt, hand-shaped silhouettes, burned finishes, personal detailing and laser engraving.

Also Nearby

Warung Bikini Bottom

On Nunggalan Beach itself.
Cold drinks, simple food, hammocks, reggae and Ismed — quite possibly everything a beach bar actually needs. (Instagram)

Recommendation

Go to the atelier rather than choosing only from photographs online. The pleasure is precisely in seeing the materials, trying different shapes and allowing the final idea to develop with Sastra. Come with a direction, not a finished design — part of the value is letting the maker bring something of himself to the piece.