"After nearly 50 years, the Berkeley Hat Company is closing. The business, founded in 1976 by Carol Lipnick and her late husband, Ed Dougherty, has been a fixture of Telegraph Avenue since 1980, and has supplied hats to countless residents, musicians, actors, athletes, Burners, and party-goers. The store's motto: We top em all. Dougherty passed away eight years ago, but Lipnick still works six days a week, and is now ready for a new adventure, she said."
"She was a registered nurse who had just moved to Berkeley from her hometown of New York City, and he had just returned to California after traveling through Central and Southern America, where he fell in love with Panama hats, said Lipnick. Dougherty began importing the hats into the U.S. and Lipnick helped him doll them up, adding ribbons and feathers befitting early 1970s Berkeley fashion. The couple started selling them for $8 each at street fairs and music festivals."
Berkeley Hat Company was founded in 1976 by Carol Lipnick and Ed Dougherty and operated on Telegraph Avenue since 1980. Dougherty imported Panama hats after traveling in Central and Southern America, and Lipnick embellished the hats with ribbons and feathers. The couple initially sold hats for $8 at street fairs and music festivals before opening a brick-and-mortar store in 1978 on University Avenue and relocating to Telegraph in 1980. The shop carried a wide variety of hats and wigs, from Panama hats to fedoras, bowlers, top hats, and many specialty styles. Dougherty died eight years ago; Lipnick continued working and is retiring, with a retirement sale running through Jan. 31 when the store will close.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]