Local man makes hats for those in need
By CARISSA MIKKELSEN
DCN Reporter
Being a dreary afternoon outside in Duluth, Ben Levine’s home studio is filled with color. Color stemming from tables filled with yards of multicolored fleece, art supplies, various artisan sculptures from past adventures and the artist’s own watercolor paintings adorning the walls.
Sitting at one of his three drafting tables, a sewing machine placed in front of him, his “best girl�, Lucy; a black Lhasa Apso-Poodle mix lying at his feet, is just another day passing in the artist’s studio.
Ben, a former high school art teacher of 27 years, is now devoting his artistic abilities toward the commonwealth of his community. What started five years ago as a project to make booties for Lucy, then a vest for himself and on to a few blankets, has now turned into a fall to spring venture making hats for the needy.
Today, Ben prepares to make one of hundreds of fleece hats that he will donate to local charities; including Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), the Damiano Center, and the walk-in shelter downtown.
Ben sifts through dozens of visibly worn patterns looking for just the right combination.
“I get bored easily, so I like to mix it up,� says Ben, as he fits the top of one pattern with the bottom of another.
Grabbing a section of orange-colored fleece, he begins to cut out a pattern, a pattern which is then pinned together, ready to pass through the presser foot of the Pfaff sewing machine he sits in front of.
With the hum of the sewing machine buzzing, his hands move at a rhythmic pace.
“After you do this for a while, it just becomes automatic, almost second nature,� says Ben.
Reaching for a piece of embroidery, which will encompass the nearly finished orange hat as a decorative border; Ben smiles fondly at a framed photo of him and his late wife.
“I started because of her, you know, she was a social worker,� he says. “There are just so many people who have absolutely nothing, the least I can do is to put a hat on their heads.�
Aware of the need in his community, Ben feels many are not.
“I don’t think people realize just how many poor people there are in this town,� says Ben. “I can never make enough hats; they have to place names in a hat and draw, because so many people want them.�
Giving the final look over the now completed hat, Ben places it into a large plastic bag sitting by the old wooden door, containing dozens of other finished hats.