Grand opening celebration is set for May 22 in Teaneck.
Just over 15 years ago a customer came in to Judaica House, the original home of CoolKippahs, and asked if they offered a more customized or unique option for their son’s bar mitzvah besides the routine suede kippah with a stamped imprint. Edan Nayowitz did some research and discovered some manufacturers overseas who offered different fabrics and options for making kippahs. Based on discussions with various suppliers, they selected one and decided to place a trial custom order for the event. The order processed smoothly and the kippahs arrived in a timely fashion. The family was happy, and that set the stage to launch a new product brand. The store proceeded to order additional fabric samples and colors, and compiled an initial catalog of products.
The only thing missing was a name! After considering a few options, and discovering that “KoolKippahs” (with a K) was already claimed, they settled on CoolKippahs. It had a nice sound and, abbreviated, was “CK,” an already familiar branding in the fashion industry—which they assumed couldn’t hurt!
Thus, CoolKippahs was born.
Said Nayowitz, “Our mission was and always will be making custom kippahs for smachot as an affordable option. We want every child to feel like they can create something unique and special for their simcha, without cost as an obstacle. When it comes to a bar mitzvah, the customized kippah brings unity to the celebration that family and guests will enjoy for a long time afterwards. The custom kippah conjures up memories from the event, and serves not only as a memento for those who attended, but can be shared as a memento with those who were unable to attend in person.
“Designing a custom kippah in colors and fabrics of their choice, bearing the logo that represents their life-cycle event is a thrill that we also feel so fortunate to share. We witness week after week how happy it makes the families, and especially for bar and bat mitzvah celebrants and weddings.”
Nayowitz explained what he loves about the business of CoolKippahs, what motivated him to expand the business and how he migrated to a free-standing location exclusively for CoolKippahs. “Judaism has numerous repeating themes: the holidays, dates to commemorate, events or people in our history and of course family smachot. Being part of Judaica House gave us the opportunity to be a vital part of the community’s observance of these special times that are close to our hearts. We offered basic and regular kippahs and benchers, of course, but worked over the years to develop greater options that enhance a simcha or a family Yom Tov gathering even more. Being able to customize kippahs, benchers and other items with the participation, for example, of a 12-year-old daughter or son making decisions on the design, color and style injects a lot of excitement and connection to their simcha. Beyond bat and bar mitzvahs, like weddings and other life-cycle events, we can match a color scheme or add a couple’s monogram to kippahs and other items that add an additional personal touch to the event. The excitement of our customers in making the event that much more special and memorable is what fuels our efforts every day, and inspires us to offer even bigger and better options.”
In the new location on West Englewood in Teaneck with so much more space, the options for this type of customization have expanded exponentially to include more items and more services. For example, the CoolKippahs store will now be offering expanded embroidery options in addition to fabric printing and kippah art, and adding other swag to enhance a simcha, bolster a business or corporation, add to a team uniform for the sports leagues or identify members of an organization, and so on. Once a kippah is ordered, CoolKippahs now has the unique ability to offer other matching fun giveaways to coordinate with the kippah fabrics, colors and style. Working directly with manufacturers overseas provided the opportunity to make very specific and custom items like sweatshirts, Dri Fit shirts, snow hats and custom sling and tote bags. The options are endless, so they can keep the products fresh and add new items every day.
Nayowitz said, “We are always looking for new and innovative ideas to make the kippah industry more exciting. We now carry the heavy acrylic Kippah Keeper box. The Kippah Keeper is a thick Lucite kippah box with a bowl-shaped form at the base to keep kippot from getting crushed or misshapen when you pile up all your amazing CoolKippahs!” These boxes will also be available with customization like names, sports themes, animal themes or any theme you or your child love. It’s a great gift idea also.
Another great addition is the CoolKippahs kippah clip selection. There are eight different kippah-clip colors, plus DIY packages of their “Kippah-It On!” wig-style clips. Nayowitz is excited to announce the newest and most exciting item to their inventory: “Pin-It Pins.” “A trendy accessory in the baseball cap industry is a pin that you place into your hat, with different words or characters. Our new Pin-It Pins have different styles of letters and sports themes so you can customize and change the style of your kippah whenever you want! Our pins have a strong magnetic backing so they are safe even for younger children, and every pin comes with an extra magnet backing in case one gets lost. The pins are a fun addition or alternative to the usual embroidered letter or name on a kippah. These are already flying off the shelf and are going to be an amazing new trend in the kippah industry!”
Moving into their own retail showroom has created the opportunity for CoolKippahs to showcase their new offerings, as well as the time-honored products and legendary services for which they are renowned. The retail side of the store provides space to increase the styles, colors and fabrics offered, to display their CoolFringes tzitzit line and the new accessories. “As for the customizing side of the business,” underscored Nayowitz, “the new location allows us to fully display all the amazing custom work we do. Many customers have already seen our display of the new shirts, pants and accessories that we create in a fun and stylish way. Their challenge will be deciding which item and how many to order!”
CoolKippahs is already open, located at 205 West Englewood Avenue in Teaneck. CoolKippahs invites everyone to join in the Grand Opening Celebration on Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free limited-edition CoolKippah to the first 100 customers! There will be a live DJ, refreshments and a raffle! To contact CoolKippahs, call 201-569-9050, email
[email protected] or visit their website: https://www.coolkippahs.com/.
By Ellie Wolf
