Not every business is struggling. In fact, some are indeed flourishing during these trying times. True, Optimo Hats may not be a household name, but you've definitely seen their products: The Beverly ...

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! The best of Chicago for free. Sign up for our email to enjoy Chicago without spending a thing (as well as some options ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Dave Hoekstra talks with Graham Thompson, ...

For Graham Thompson, who has always been drawn to “old-world, well-made things,” watching classic film noir with his dad sparked a fascination with hats. At 16, the Chicago native was introduced to ...

We revisit Jay Shefsky's story about Optimo Hats. Once, there were dozens of men's hatmakers in Chicago. Today, there is only one. We revisit Jay Shefsky's story about Optimo Hats.

The hats worn by the stars in the new film, "Public Enemies" are the definition of 1930s style. One Chicago man made sure of it. Thompson owns Optimo Hats where he sells hand-made men's hats in ...

If we’re living in an age of hats—and a glance around New York’s bars and clubs suggests that, yeah, we are—seems now’s a pretty good time to get one that actually fits. To the rescue comes Optimo ...

The hats worn by the stars in the new film, "Public Enemies" are the definition of 1930s style. One Chicago man made sure of it. Thompson owns Optimo Hats where he sells hand-made men's hats in ...

People dream of writing the Great American Novel or winning an Olympic gold medal, but the dream Graham Thompson nurtured for years was a little more offbeat. He wanted to make a hat for blues legend ...