 The most iconic Cajun phrase is les élèvres en roulet. It means let the good times roll, and that really truly expresses the heart and soul of the Cajun culture. I'm Colby Abert, the Cajun Hatter. I build and design custom hats inspired by local Louisiana cultural views. Since I was very young, I've always had a great interest and pride in my culture. My grandfather would always teach me French and tell me about our ancestors' family names, where we came from. I was working in the film industry as a costumer, and that cultivated my interest in fashion. I've always been a creative and artistic person, and so I had this desire to express myself, and for me, the hats became that avenue. So in the beginning, I really focused a lot on developing and cultivating the know-how. How was I going to make a hat? And also figuring out what aspects of my own nature was going to put into this business. This is the first hat that I ever made, and working on my first hat was a truly phenomenal experience. The feeling of grabbing the felt and stretching it over that block for the very first time. For me, it really empowered the way that I felt about the future of this as a career. In this particular hat, in the beginning, I branded on the sweat pan, Le Chapeller Accadien, which means the Cajun Hatter in French. And so that's something that is only secretly sort of on the inside of my hats. When I come into my hat shop, I just feel a sense of freedom, and that really is important to me. I'll typically turn the lights on, I'll start to burn some incense, make sure the music's going, and just try to cultivate a good energy and feeling and mood that also contributes to the story that I'm trying to tell here. You know, the woodsy smell of the pine that I burn and the Cajun music that plays in the background. I'm not really so concerned about, oh, I need to be the greatest hat maker in the world, or even the greatest hat maker in New Orleans. I'm just concerned about being the best me that I can be, and being true to myself, and working hard on my craft.