You won’t find a fabric store in Telluride, Colorado. Local resident Kim Lake started hand-making hats there in early 2021, right in the heart of the pandemic. She adorns each unique headpiece with something distinct, from dyed silk and grosgrain ribbon to strips of bleached bandana, all from her personally curated range of materials.

“Mostly I dye my own fabrics,” she shares. “I buy just raw silk, yardage of different kinds of silks, and I hand-dye all of it. I use tea, coffee; I use Rit dye. I bleach some ribbon and bandanas just to get different colors.”

Lake says it’s the intricate details of Camp Bird hats that make them stand out. Each one has a personal gold foil sweat band, branded with the hat owner’s name and mantra.

“I really try to make each hat different,” says Lake, “and something someone is going to wear a lot — who doesn’t wear them and is just part of their personality.”

Each hat tells its own story, adds Lake. Details on the inner band can signify something special or something silly, but something that has great meaning to the wearer.

“I’m trying to make something that someone will be happy to share with other people,” explains Lake. “It’s like a conversation piece.”

After purchasing equipment in October 2020 and launching the business in January 2021, Lake personally produces about five hats per month and has a waitlist of over 200 people. Right now, it’s all her, her hands, her hats and the inspirations that come. Fittings usually take about an hour, and once Lake has taken measurements and chatted with each client about their hat, she gets to work.

Most days, she walks into her hat-making space in Telluride, turns up some country music and starts working on hats in three different segments. She usually has about five hats in each segment — banding then blocking then finishing.

When blocking the hat, she takes the felt body to the machinery, which uses steam and pressure to form the basic, open crown hat shape. She then cuts the brim to its width before sewing in the sweat band. Lastly, she hand-shapes each hat without using any pre-made forming tools.

“I thought I wanted to do a storefront, but I’ve realized I really just want to make custom hats one at a time for people,” Lake shares. “A storefront wouldn’t work well for that because there would be a lot of interruption throughout the day with people curious, and I wouldn’t get my work done.”

Lake lives at the bottom of Imogene Pass on Tomboy Road in Telluride. Follow the road up and you’ll head toward Ouray and the Camp Bird mine, the namesake for her budding business.

Lake uses all traditional methods to make the hats, with machinery created and used in the early 1900s. In naming Camp Bird, she says she wanted to honor the impressive history of the San Juan Mountains and its early residents.

“When you read about what the miners did, it’s just so incredible how hardy everybody was and everything they figured out how to do — it’s crazy,” she remarks.

Lake has a background in art — in painting and sewing and textile work. But, she never knew she wanted to be a milliner.

“It’s just that life takes you in different directions, and I got curious about how hats were made, so I started looking into it,” she explains. “I didn’t have a mentor; I didn’t work for anyone. I just figured it out. “

Camp Bird custom hats range from $900 to $1,400 on average. Lake is currently not accepting new fittings, so she can catch up leading into the new year. To get on the waitlist, visit campbirdtelluride.com.

Originally published in the Winter 2021-22 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

Camp Bird: Custom Hats Made In Telluride