Murray Odessky

Murray Odessky's (1931-2015)  journey making hats began serendipitously on a New Year's Eve in 1979 when he brought some things to a party in a paper bag.  When he went home, he emptied a size 12 bag and turned it over his head.  It was a good fit, and he formed it into a hat. Thank you

 Having moved to Hawaii and changed his name to Moses he revisited his love of hat making as a way to  protect himself from the strong Hawaiian sun. His designs kept coming, each hat inspired by a person, thing or idea, so that over roughly a decade Moses created over 250 hats 

His background as a a package and graphic designer for Mattel and other firms informed his work. Up until the last weeks of his life he could still be found at the Starbucks in Kamuela wearing one of his paper bag hats. He donated all his hats to the Mingei Museum in San Diego.