If you happen to walk by Laurie Berliner’s handmade hat shop on any given day, chances are you’ll see the Fairfax resident working away on her latest creation on her 1914 Bulasky straw braid machine.

Click to open image viewer. A braided straw hat with a blocked flat crown and short stiff brim. The crown and the brim are made of two separate pieces of braided straw that are stitched together. The ...