Hats off to Michael “Micha” Dannenberg

For nearly 30 years, Michael “Micha” Dannenberg has brought an unconventional activity to local festivals, farmers markets and schools: hatmaking.

The former social worker and self-described “crafter of incredible creativity” is also the owner of Tattered Hatters, an arts and crafts business and common staple at festivals like the Sowebo Arts & Music Festival and places like the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The business was born out of a desire to improve the neighborhood and provide a fun and engaging activity for children, adults and seniors alike.

Most notably in the Jewish community, Dannenberg has brought Tattered Hatters to the Beth Tfiloh campus as part of the BT Plus after-school program and this summer’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Camp at BT Camps.

Dannenberg, 73, lives in the Lauraville neighborhood of Baltimore with his wife, Jes Porro — referred to on the Tattered Hatters website as “his Jester” — and their pets, a dog and a cat. His dedication to crafting is evident immediately upon crossing the threshold of his house: a giant loom sits beside the front window, and a small shed in the backyard serves as his studio and features a number of handcrafted hats on display.

Having grown up in Glen Burnie, Dannenberg later moved to Baltimore with his wife. He helped establish a children’s festival at a local elementary school, which ran annually for seven years. In the planning phase, he was tasked with finding an arts and crafts activity for festival attendees.

“We collected cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, construction paper and all kinds of things and decided to make hats,” Dannenberg recalled. “We had someone read ‘The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins’ [by Dr. Seuss] onstage, and it was not only the kids making hats, but their parents, too. I saw how much fun people were having and wanted to keep that tradition going.”

While the festival where Tattered Hatters was born is long gone, Dannenberg’s business has been a staple of the Sowebo Arts & Music Festival since 2006. He has also tabled at several other popular festivals, including the Abel Street Fair, Baltimore County African American Cultural Festival and the Downrigging Weekend Tall Ship and Wooden Boat Festival — with the latter featuring a station where people could make their own pirate hats.

The complexity of Tattered Hatters’ hatmaking activities depends on their audience: For children and seniors, Dannenberg often buys premade hats for participants to decorate with fabric and accessories. For more adult-focused sessions, he guides prospective hatmakers through the garment construction process.

“Some people spend over an hour making their hat, and we don’t rush them,” Dannenberg said. “We provide all the materials, tools and accessories to make some really fabulous hats.”

Though he manages Tattered Hatters full time now, Dannenberg used to work for the state of Maryland as a recruiter for foster families and parents looking to adopt children. Originally, he first appeared at Artscape to promote the department’s work, which he described as being a “wonderful, meaningful job.”

Dannenberg got involved in Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and BT Camps through the STEAM Camp’s director, Lindsay Gaister Montague. He said he thought it was a great opportunity to encourage children’s creativity through an arts and crafts project they might not have the chance to do at home.

But it’s not only kids who take part in Tattered Hatters’ offerings, and Dannenberg noted that seeing the diversity of people who participate always gives him joy.

“At Sowebo Festival, a woman came up to me wearing the hat she made, and she told me that it was the most fun she’d had since she was diagnosed with fatal cancer,” he recalled. “That put a really powerful spin on what we do.”

While he does not belong to a congregation, he believes that his Jewish identity is a key part of who he is.

“When ‘Saturday Night Live’ needed a Jewish surname for a sketch, what name did they choose? ‘Dannenberg,’” he quipped. “I put myself out there as a representative of the Jewish faith, and to put, I think, a really good face on what it means to be a Jew.”

Dannenberg plans to continue hosting hatmaking stations at festivals and schools for the foreseeable future, adding that he hopes to one day host a Guinness World Record-breaking “world’s largest hat making activity.”