The Rural We: Karema Deodato
There' a milliner in our midst. Hats off to Karema Deodato, who makes high-end headwear by hand.
How does a hat maker get her start? Karema Deodato made her first hats when she was a teenager, then kept at it, teaching herself how to create different patterns. She studied fashion design at FIT and worked at The Metropolitan Opera House as assistant milliner. Deodato branched out into apparel, and worked as a designer for many years, selling her clothing and hats at Barney’s and Takashimaya, but eventually limited her work as a hat maker. Now living in Sandisfield, her company, Karema Deodato Millinery, offers seasonal lines of headwear made using old-world millinery techniques.
I grew up in New York City and lived in Harlem for 22 years. My family was looking for a place to escape to, and seven years ago found our home in Sandisdfield. We moved here full time two-and-a-half years ago.
Ten years ago, after my daughter was born, I dropped my apparel line and began concentrating on hats. The scale is smaller. Clothing is more involved, costs a lot more to produce; you need a bigger collection and a model. Hats are more manageable — I can make a hat myself, and as a result, it’s more satisfying.
I own a collection of antique hat blocks, which are just beautiful objects on their own. They’re solid wood, hand carved, each a different shape that I use as a mold for a felt or straw hat. I mold the fabric over this wooden block. The blocking of hats is a special process — it’s kind of sculptural. I do a lot of work with my hands, including hand finishing and some embroidery work, and I cut and sew all the fabric. I have a small team of local sewers who stitch some of the wax cotton rainhats for me.
I was asked by The Pass Dispensary to create a limited-edition collection of my rainproof bucket hat for their customers. The style is is practical and has been a bestseller, a staple hat. The hat for the dispensary has a Pass logo patch on the front.
My hats are sold on my website and Etsy, at the Great Barrington farmers market, and at the Railroad Street Collective, an artist cooperative in Great Barrington. I’m one of the 10 designers there.
The Berkshires have been great for me and my family. The community in general is very supportive of local makers. I feel really lucky that I came here and found a creative community to be a part of.
