The Optimo factory is a working museum of hat equipment dating back to the turn of the century. Collected over decades, each piece of equipment has its own history and provenance. We search the world for the finest machinery ever made and refurbish, update and maintaine ebery piece as good as the day it stepped off the assembly line.
Our intention is to create an exceptional factory to produce a truly exceptional product.
Designed to support an efficient and collaborative workflow, the new Optimo headquarters more than doubled our production capacity and will accommodate seemless expansion for future production.
The workshop on the first floor uses a palette of refined and understated materials, including blackened steel, walnut and cork, expressing a contemporary industrial aesthetic. Elegant steel casings frame task and ambient lighting above a variety of workstations; custom floor-to-ceiling shelving houses unique hat forms and molds.
We scoured the globe to find the greatest equipment ever used in the history of hatmaking. Our fully refurbished machines in exquisite working condition are seemlessly combined with brand new machinery and modern technique.
Custom rolling racks allow hats to be organized and mobilized for seamless movement between stations on the factory floor. Walls of restored glazed brick wrap the daylight-filled, double-height space allowing perfect lighting to ensure the finest finishes.
On the second floor, an expansive studio space serves as a design atelier for hosting clients and guests. An immense walnut table recalls the design of the Optimo factory workbenches on the first floor. Above, a handcrafted circular light fixture measuring 10 feet in diameter further anchors the room. Full-height steel shelves frame the east wall, where objects collected houses unique hat forms and molds; rolling racks allow hats to be from decades of hatmaking are on display. Traces of historic details throughout evoke the building's original purpose. Where fire poles once emerged from the floor, for example, porthole windows are now placed, offering views of the workshop below.
This is the smallest factory ever designed by SOM.
It has received significant recognition including winning several awards:
2018 Recognizing Exemplary Design (RED) Award
International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Decade of Design
2018 Design Excellence Award, 1st Place in Retail
American Society of Interior Designers - Illinois Chapter
2018 Interior Architecture Award: Citation of Honor
AIA – Chicago Chapter
The Optimo Factory is closed to the public.