V
ery few people these days set out to be milliners, and, although she owns a
store where she makes and sells hats, Susan Abelson is no exception. As a
young woman in the 1970s, she was a merely a connoisseur and collector. She
preferred 1940s styles, with veils. “I was young,” she says. “I could pull
it off.” But then her entire collection was stolen from the storage space
of the Minneapolis loft where she was living at the time. All that
remained was a book filled with illustrations of hats throughout history.
When Abelson moved to Rogers Park two years ago—she wanted to live near the
lake—she noticed a small storefront on the ground floor of an apartment
building on Sheridan Road, right next to Leone Beach Park. At the time, it
was occupied by the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, but Abelson decided
that if it ever became vacant, it would be the perfect spot to open a hat
store. One day this past fall, she saw that it was empty and decided it was
meant to be. She spent the winter refinishing the floors, and opened for
business in March. She set up her sewing machine in the front showroom so
customers could see her at work. “I want to be visible to the
neighborhood,” she says. She has a few regular visitors, including a
retired couple who check up on her and a burly guy who tells her she’s
bringing class to the neighborhood.
7231 N. Sheridansusanhat.indiemade.com Wed-Thu noon-7 PM, Fri-Sat 10-5 PM
