Heads up
Carol and Ed Dougherty have been in the hat business for over 30 years, 28 at their current spot on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Pop into the Berkeley Hat Company and you will be bowled over by the incredible inventory that lines the walls from floor to ceiling with every style of headgear conceivable, including porkpie, panama and pillbox hats and pith helmets. Caps of leather or Irish tweed, stingy brim fedoras, berets, collapsible top hats, knit hats for dreads and stylish cotton hats for those undergoing chemotherapy are all available in what Carol describes as “the largest complete hat store in California.”
The Doughertys’ crowning glory is a stunning selection of “church hats” also suitable for weddings, balls and the Kentucky Derby. These fancy fabrications in shades of sherbet are swathed in satin, festooned with feathers and sprinkled with sparkles.
Children will flip over animal hats that double as puppets. And even Fido won’t feel left out with doggie versions of jester, Santa, graduation and top hats. Says Carol, “We are able to fill every niche imaginable with hats for all occasions.”
Berkeley Hat Company, 2510 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 549-2955; www.berkeleyhat.com.
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Water wisely
In these days of drought, every drop of water counts. One place to save big is as close as our backyards. “Many gardens are overwatered,” says Kim Titus, manager of The Urban Farmer Store in Richmond, a store that specializes in irrigation and drip design. Trained staff can help you convert your existing sprinklers that may use up to two gallons a minute, most of which is wasted in run-off and watering weeds. A drip system, which delivers a precise amount of water to each plant, can be paired with a self-adjusting smart-controller that reads and adapts to weather conditions.
A certified green business that uses recycled plastic, Urban Farmer also offers low-voltage lighting systems, pond supplies and classes in drip design and installation. It caters to jobs of all sizes from a three-tiered, cascading koi pond holding 45,000 gallons to a drip delivery system for a couple of flower pots on the patio. “The keys to thoughtful landscaping are design and installation,” says Titus, who began her career in landscaping while still a student at Oakland’s Skyline High School by assisting her professional designer stepmother. “We can educate you to irrigate efficiently.”
The Urban Farmer Store, 2121 San Joaquin Street, Richmond, (510) 524-1604; www.urbanfarmerstore.com.
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Material world
Do you love to get your hands on silk, chiffon and taffeta, but hate to pay an arm and a leg for it? Discount Fabrics, a cavernous corner shop on Ashby and San Pablo in Berkeley, offers fabrics such as shimmering Chinese satin brocades in fuchsia and persimmon, embroidered in golden dragonflies; “cuddle-dimple fur” embossed with tiny stars and moons that could keep any baby cozy; and even retro “sparkling vinyl” in kiwi or copper.
Store manager Sonny Sundiam says customers range from children to professional designers. “We also get a lot of people who are going to Burning Man,” he says.
The striking wall of faux fur could inflame the heart of any “burner,” whose palms may itch to fashion leg warmers or vests out of playful “bubble fur” in Day-Glo puffs of pink and purple.
After Sundiam left his native Philippines, he spent 14 years in Saudi Arabia as an interior designer for the royal family, helping change the decor of the palace yearly. Even though he says he misses “doing palaces,” he enjoys helping regular people do up their own homes and wardrobes with just about any fabric imaginable.
Discount Fabrics, 3006 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, (510) 548-2981; www.discountfabrics-sf.com.
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Line on wine
It may resemble an airplane hangar on the outside, but what’s inside provides a different sort of flight. Wine.com, a well-known online retailer, opened its Berkeley warehouse to the public last November. You can browse among 300 of their most popular vintages and take home any of the 3,000 wines in the roped-off warehouse without a shipping charge. One popular feature is the “90+ Under $20” rack, which boasts bottles with price tags under $20 and high scores of more than 90 points by leading wine publications like Wine Spectator.
Each bottle comes with an information card, plus knowledgeable staff are happy to assist both aficionados and novices with suggestions, advice and pairings. An array of creative gift baskets, glassware and decanters is also available.
Store manager Gwendolyn Wilson says the store’s wines range “from a well known collectible like a Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon to a local red from Edmund St. John, to an off-the-beaten-track, staff favorite like Bodegas Godeval Blanco.”
Wilson, who previously worked for Wine Spectator, can personally attest to the power of wine. She met her future husband, Michael Osborn (who had founded Wine.com), while pouring an Eroica Riesling at a New York tasting. Naturally, they poured the same wine at their wedding.
Wine.com, 2220 Fourth Street, Berkeley, (510) 704-8007; www.wine.com.
