Business & Tech

Westwood Small Business Q&A: M.A.D. Hatter

A weekly inside look at a local business in Westwood.

Westwood is home to a number of small businesses, and as such we thought we'd begin checking in with store and restaurant owners on a weekly basis for some thoughts about what they do, what makes them unique and how they are faring in the economic climate. 

This week we talk with  owner , who provides some insight on what's how business has been since the shop opened in October 2011.  

Be sure to check back each week for a Question and Answer session with a new local business owner. 

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Westwood Patch: What is one thing people might not know about M.A.D. Hatter?

Charles Orcutt: That it's there. I haven't been able to get a sign up. Poeple don't realize the history. There is stuff here people can't get anywhere, even on the internet, and not just your main four sports. There's a lot of stuff, because of my history, stuff that I have that very few people have. Do the people that go to Xaverian know? Do people at the Downey section [of town] or in Islington know?

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

WP: Has the economy affected you since you opened?

CO: Very much so. Except for the holiays, Christmas season I had some action and some good stuff. I sold a [New England] Patriots helmet and [Boston] Red Sox hats, Fenway chairs and stuff like that. Kids just come in and look. Maybe if I stayed open until 8 p.m. at night. But people aren't spending what they used to.

WP: What is your busiest time of day and day of the week?

CO: Ideally, Saturday and Sunday because nobody's working, per se. Wednesdays, sometimes the kids get out on Wednesday. It's mostly kids. 

WP: What has been your most popular item in the store? 

CO: People still like the snap back hats. But what's happened is that my hats go back to before hats really started. You rarely find that before 1990, people were wearing hats consistently. They were pretty flimsy and they didn't have a long shelf life like now. With the craze of the snap back hats, companies like Michelin, NECN have just made hats to sell them to the people. Mine are different because they're the original hats, and you can't find that anywhere.

I've been selling more Red Sox stuff. I'm going to be changing the theme for the next two months, beacuse it's the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. I'm going to be selling some vintage items. There's a lot of stuff I have that go back over 60 or 70 years from programs to tickets to pins to posters.

WP: What do you feel is a benefit about being a small business in Westwood? 

CO: It's a very family-oriented community. And the schools, the students pass by here. Kids that don't take the bus go by the store on High Street. It's just getting it out that the parents can buy stuff for their kids, a hat at a reasonable price. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here