Adi Dharam Bertacchi is the head milliner and owner of Cappelleria Bertacchi, a four-generation Italian millinery atelier now rooted in the heart of Vancouver’s Gastown. Guided by the family motto “Opportuna coero” — Seeker of Opportunity — Adi grew up surrounded by the sights, sounds, and rhythms of hatmaking, and what began as a childhood backdrop became a lifelong calling. Today, Cappelleria Bertacchi designs and crafts handmade hats ranging from everyday wear to bespoke bridal commissions, while also offering hands-on hat-making workshops for those who want to experience the craft themselves.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Cappelleria Bertacchi is an Italian millinery atelier, now rooted in Vancouver. We design, craft, and sell handmade hats — from everyday wear to bespoke commissions and bridal pieces. We also run hat-making workshops, giving people the rare chance to learn the craft hands-on and leave with something they made themselves. Everything we do carries a thread of Italian tradition: patience, quality, and the belief that what you put on your head should mean something.
What made you want to do this work?
Millinery chose me as much as I chose it — I was born into it, literally. Cappelleria Bertacchi is a four-generation family business, and hats were the backdrop of my entire childhood: the smell of felt, the rhythm of the blocking iron, the quiet concentration of craft. There is something almost alchemical about taking a flat piece of felt or straw and coaxing it into a shape that frames a person’s face and shifts how they carry themselves. I grew up watching that transformation happen, and eventually I stopped watching and started doing. When the time came to bring the atelier to Vancouver, it felt less like a career choice and more like a homecoming — for a city I think is ready to fall back in love with the hat.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
The hat disappeared from everyday life somewhere in the latter half of the twentieth century, and with it went a whole language of personal expression. Fast fashion gave us quantity without intention. I wanted to offer the opposite — objects that are considered, made by hand, and built to last a lifetime. The problem, put simply, is that people have forgotten how good a well-made hat feels. My job is to remind them.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Our clients are wonderfully varied — brides looking for something beyond the veil, professionals who want to dress with personality, collectors of beautiful things, and curious souls who have never worn a hat but suspect they should. What unites them is an appetite for craftsmanship and individuality. We see a lot of people who come in saying, “I’m not a hat person” and leave as converts.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
We operate across a few streams: ready-to-wear and bespoke hat sales from the atelier, private commissions for weddings and special occasions, and our hat-making workshops — group experiences where guests learn a specific style and take home the hat they made. Each stream feeds the others; a workshop guest often becomes a long-term client, and a bespoke client often sends us their friends for workshops.
We also work with the film and television industry. Over the last eleven years, we have gradually become part of that extraordinary community of creators — taking a director’s or costume designer’s vision and making it real, stitch by block by stitch. Today, more than a few of our pieces have quietly appeared on screen in TV shows and films without anyone knowing quite where they came from. We like it that way.
Where in the city can we find you?
You can find us at 151 Cambie Street in Vancouver — in the heart of Gastown, right beside the famous Steam Clock. It is a fitting neighbourhood for a craft atelier: historic, a little theatrical, and full of people who appreciate things made with intention. Come by in person; hats are best tried on.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
“How long will this hat last?”
It is the question that separates craft milliners from fast fashion. A well-made hat — properly blocked, finished, and cared for — should last decades. At Cappelleria Bertacchi, we work with quality materials and traditional techniques precisely because we are making something you will still be wearing in twenty years. If a milliner hesitates at that question, keep walking.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is the moment a client puts on a finished hat for the first time. Something shifts — posture, expression, confidence. It is instantaneous, and it never gets old.
The worst part is the timeline mismatch between craft and consumer culture. A handmade hat takes time — real time — and we live in an age of next-day delivery. Teaching people to wait for something worth waiting for is perhaps the quieter half of my job.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
People ask me why I became a milliner. I tell them I had no choice — our family motto is “Opportuna coero,” Seeker of Opportunity, and frankly, a hat is the only thing you can put on someone’s head that makes them both more attractive and easier to spot in a crowd. It was either this or traffic cones.
The real punchline is that after four generations, we still haven’t found a hat that fits every ego in the room. Though we keep trying.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD — What is another local business that you love?
Nika Design — a local cobbler whose work is, quite simply, extraordinary. If you believe that what you put on your feet matters as much as what you put on your head, Nika Design is your person. Incredible craft, incredible heart.
