The Who
It all began when I was working with schools. Everyday I would be visiting schools, going in and out of up to ten schools a day, working music programs, and looking the part of a musician rocking a fedora. For anyone who went to a school during the day, you go through a process of fifty questions, showing your I.D., signing in, and in one school, I had to give them my car keys so they know I am coming back to sign out. What I found, the days I wore my hat the schools would recognize me through their cameras, acknowledging I am the music guy with the hat, and they let me right in. This of course gave me the excuse to buy more hats and enjoy having my quick access to buildings saving me loads or time, and having a secret chuckle that I am wearing a hat in school when I used to be scolded for doing that when I was in high school. Between enjoying the defiance, the time saved in checking in, and looking the part of a musician, hats became my style and my persona. As I started to really enjoy getting hats, I wanted something that was more original, so instead of paying other makers, I dove headfirst into making something I love. Bedlam Hats were born.
The Why…
As a continuation of above, I always loved making things. Another company in the Bedlam family is B.L. Cases (Bedlam Life Cases). I make custom musical instrument cases or modify current instrument cases. Born in Bethlehem, PA USA, if you heard about the word Bedlam and it’s origins, it comes from the Bethlehem Royal Hospital in London, which was locally shortened and called Bedlam. If you come from Bethlehem, PA, you will know that instead of calling it Beth-le-hem, it is colloquially known as Beth-lem, so with an English accent, becomes Bedlam. Bethlehem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital that has such a storied past, the word Bedlam now means chaos and confusion. This is fitting with the multiple arms of the octopus, an insanely smart animal that has been known to punch fish (look it up, hilarious videos) and changes colors while controlling all eight arms simultaneously. At the same time, I always love pictures of octopuses in top hats sipping on coffee, so it is the fitting for a style I like hats to be. I also loved wearing ties to work, but at the same time, these days, I am happy I don’t have to anymore. Since I have a lot of ties from my past, and have this odd habit of finding fun ties in my travels at markets and thrift stores, I think adding a tie to hats adds a fun twist and a little class.