Maqsood Ahmed Topi Maker

Maqsood Ahmed Topi Maker has been operating out of number 20 on Nizam Street for a long time now. We are right on Sandhut Road, and the best way to find us is to look for the Noor Mohammadi Hotel across the way. That hotel is always packed with people eating, so there are always folks milling about outside our door. Our shop is quite small, and it's filled from floor to ceiling with different materials and finished caps. Making topis is a slow process, and we spend a lot of our time sitting and working with our hands. Nizam Street is one of those places where everyone knows everyone. You can hear the sounds of the street all day long—the honking, the people shouting, and the smells from the hotel kitchen. It’s not a modern factory; it’s just a small room where we do our work. We’ve got some old wooden shelves and a few benches that have been here forever. The lighting is just a few tubes on the walls. We don't really do any advertising or anything like that. People just know we are here because of the sign out front and the word of mouth. Sometimes it gets very crowded in the lane, especially on Fridays. We just keep our heads down and focus on the stitching. It’s a craft that takes a lot of patience. We’ve seen the street change, but the shop stays pretty much the same. It’s simple work, and we like the routine of it.