Wilhelma Hat Company - Burned in Altadena

"This was never a business. This was our home.

It’s impossible to place words for this loss. My heart has never been so heavy. This space was a literal extension of myself, my home & my family.
I started in hats when I was 20 years old. I was laying down the wood floor with my best bud in my second shop here, on my 24th birthday.

For over a decade I’ve researched, sourced & collected tools and equipment, most 100 years old, to make the best hat I could with two hands.
I never made much money doing this, but we sure did have a rich life. I supported 6 people solely on what came out of this shop. I will always be proud of that. Having my kids grow up in a store with our name on it will forever be my definition of success.

Never a business, never a store. Simply a space that’s walls & hats reflected my families travels, music we listened to, art we consumed & people we met along the road. A dedication to a craft, a trade that has been dying in America.

Thank you to everyone who reach out to us today - please understand our lack of response. If I’m honest, I truly do not know what comes next.

Altadena, we love you. Our little mountain family, big hugs."

$44,407 raised $75K goal· 321 donations
Details how to help this family are on the GoFundMe page which was created by Shelby's godsister, Jessica on behalf of the Wellema family and their Altadena business as they grieve and try to figure out what comes next. An option to "support them outside of GoFundMe (to reduce a % of $ being taken)" is detailed in the GoFundMe story - GoFundMe qualifies that only donations made thru their platform are guaranteed.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-wellema-hat-co-family-after-la-fires

Jessica Di Bella is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Cody & Shelby Wellema.

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