New York City’s Hat Maker : Bunn, a Harlem fixture, on hats and why he’ll never leave NYC by Gwen McClure
Bunn started making hats for New Yorkers 30 years, and he hasn’t looked back. Now he has a shop in Harlem, where he’s become a neighborhood fixture. He takes us behind his shop, to his hat factory, to show us how he does it.
Transcript: You know I see a good looking woman in a nice outfit and I say ahhh. I could make a wicked hat to go with that. I see a brother with a nice suit or a bomber jacket or something, I could make a nice cap for that.
My name is Bunn, and I’m a hat maker slash milliner
Some people come in and they say, ‘man, I saw this brother, or I saw this woman last Saturday night at this jazz club or a function at the Shamburg or at The ¬¬-Apollo, wherever it is, and they had that hat, right
Well I’ve made hats for a lot of people, cats like Aaron Neville, I’ve done some work for Alicia Keys, you know, I’ve done work for celebrities but my dream people is the every day man and woman that works hard for their money and come in and say ‘hey Bunn I got some place to go Sunday I need me a nice looking hat
You know, they wear my work with such pride.
The physical part of it is easy for me, because again after all these years, the actual making of it isn’t as difficult, as what I’m gonna make the creative part of it takes more time than making the hat itself.
A friend of mine wanted me to move to FL, west Palm, Port St Lucie, , I say what do I do here man, after the third fourth day I’m ready to run, you know nobody’s dressed there, everyone’s in cutoffs and flip flops, there’s no inspiration,
I stay right here in New York, this is the concrete jungle. New York is a fashion show. For a boy like me in in heaven, I create things, you take the train and you know it’s a fashion show on the train you walk down the street it’s a fashion show, everywhere you go.
I love NY.
Bunn started making hats 30 years ago, after brief stints making shoes and jewelry.
“I literally worked my way up from shoes to hats,” he said.
Inspired by the musical and creative scene of the time, he started at Atlantic Avenue, and found success right away.
“ I hit the ground running,” he said. “They were waiting for a boy like me.”
He eventually moved his shop to Harlem at 135th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, where business is still going strong. Now, he spends his days listening to reggae, sewing and chatting to customers and neighborhood kids as they come through the shop.
Bunn doesn’t have a heavy season or a slow season, even around Easter, when women traditionally wear fancy hats to church.
“I don’t do the decorative Christmas tree looking things,” he said. “I do more of the fashion creative work. Because my philosophy is the same hat you wear on a Sunday you can wear on a Wednesday”
While he’s made hats for people like Alicia Keyes, he really loves making hats for ‘everyday’ people—New Yorkers and tourists alike. He doesn’t advertise, but these ‘everyday’ people keep coming back, and sending their friends and family, and business is going well. Prices depend on the type of hat, materials, and whether it’s custom made, but prices range between $75 and $200.
In his spare time, Bunn likes to spend time with his three children and loves his wife’s cooking. And he’s usually wearing a hat.
