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Burbank, CA..
Think of a movie star, think of
a signature role.
Focus
on the hat and that's the work
of Eddy Baron: John Wayne (pick
any western), Harrison Ford (as
Indiana Jones), Paul Hogan (as
Crocodile Dundee) Jim Carrey (as
the Mask), Kevin Costner (as
Wyatt Earp), Jeff Bridges (as
Wild Bill Hickock).
Baron California hats was founded
by Columbian native, Eddy Baron
who came to Los Angeles in 1956
to practice his trade after
working in father's hat factory.
Leaving the company in more than
capable hands, Baron has sold
the company to 33-year-old Mark
Mejia. Mark began dabbling in
hat making after a friend
introduced him to hand-woven
Montecristi Panama hats from
Ecuador. He needed blocks to
finish some hat bodies and
scoured the yellow pages for
resources. Baron's shop was one
of the precious few.
Walking in the first time, Mark
was in awe. Then to his
surprise, he learned that not
only the block were for sale,
but the whole shop as well.
Thus began a whirlwind
apprenticeship in making
restoring, reblocking and
cleaning hats.
Up front on the sales floor are
rows and rows of felt and straw
hats, from fedoras to Western
styles to porkpies, many of them
finished with stitching or trims
by Baron's daughter, Clara.
The back workshop consists of a
long wooden table equipped with
two lamp-sized forms that emit
steam with the press of a foot
pedal, on which the felt is
stretched and softened. Vintage
iron tools for shaping brims
rest on a hot plate.
Off to the side is a small room
housing felt hat bodies in wool
and beaver fur blends, domestic
and imported, in shades from
pale beige to chocolate, gray,
olive and black. Still another
room holds dozens of blocks.
These molds, some worn as smooth
as driftwood after years of use
are used to shape of the crowns
of tri-corners, stovepipes, top
hats, derbies, gamblers, Viking
helmets, grand napoleons, pointy
clown comes and Smoky bear
toppers. (Baron is the official
supplier for Smokey at several
national parks).
One shelf holds a selection of
miniature blocks, small enough
to be to be for children's hats
- but aren't.
"Believe it or not", say Mejia, we
make a lot of hats for organ
grinder's monkeys." Some
pampered dogs and cats have also
had hats commissioned by their
owners.
But men make up most of the shop's
clientele, (women usually got to
milliners). About 80% of the
business is costuming and the
rest is custom work.
Creating hats for movie and TV
begins when the costume designer
comes to the shop with sketches,
photos or a snippet of video
footage. The shop's reference
books help ensure historical
accuracy.
"It has to be right", Mejia says.
"There's a lot of tweaking here
and there."
 Costume
designer Dan Moore who worked
with Baron on films such as
"Wild Bill", "Last Man
Standing", and "Geronimo",
explains that subtle differences
can mean a lot. In "Wild Bill"
for example, the brim on the
star's western hat communicates
something about the character.
"Jeff Bridges is such a stickler
for (authenticity), it's how he
gets into the character," Moore
says. "I'm looking at a picture
of him from the movie right now,
and there's a rakish tilt to the
brim. You always want to tell a
story with the clothes and hats
are a great way of (doing that)
- It's a quick visual. Moore
says Baron needs little
direction. His sense of what a
costumer wants is innate.
"Eddy is a true artist. He's just
an incredible resource."
Men seeking custom hats, Mejia
says, usually know exactly what
they want. Once measurements are
taken, customer select the
weight and the color of the body
that will be transformed into a
homberg, derby, fedora, cowboy
style. Old favorites can be
transformed, - a crown can be
lowered, a brim trimmed.
Creating a new hat takes about a
week.
Michael Gottleib happened upon
Baron's by accident. "I love
hats more than anything", says
the writer/producer, "and when I
went in there I got lost. I
realize it was not just a hat
store, but something very
special. No one really
understands what they're selling
anymore, and to se somebody like
Mr. Baron take pride in what he
does, and really love it, is
really wonderful."
Mejia plans to change little about
the way the shop is run: the
name will stay the same. He'll
look to do more custom work and
add more imported Montecristis
to the stock - women's as well
as men's.
And the shop will continue to
funnel a percentage on the
Montecristi proceeds to math and
science education in towns where
the hats are produced.
"The most important thing for me,"
Baron says, "is that I want the
tradition carried on...And Mark
has good hands for making hats."
Coming from the meticulous and
reserved Eddy, this is the
ultimate compliment.
Copyright © 1997
Los Angeles Times
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