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Lyndsay Borschke’s vintage-inspired hats are made in Canada, but now she is exporting to the U.S., too

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Lyndsay Borschke’s city-inspired tuques have been turning heads since their debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013, where celebrities including model Cara Delevingne and Clifford Smith, a.k.a. Method Man, wore them on the red carpet. Here is Ms. Borschke in her Yonge Street store in Toronto.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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The following year, when actress Lena Dunham appeared on CTV’s eTalk wearing a tuque with the word Toronto in bold letters, the $38 hats really took off. “I went from being a one-woman e-commerce show to an incorporated business with three full-time employees, two part timers, a growing wholesale business and a small brick-and-mortar flagship in Toronto, and all before my two-year anniversary,” says the 35-year-old designer who helms the clothing business Tuck Shop Trading Co.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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Ms. Borschke’s company designs and sells vintage-inspired outerwear and accessories.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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Ms. Borschke started with 14 styles of tuques commemorating Toronto neighbourhoods. She then expanded to include Montreal, Hamilton, Vancouver and the Atlantic provinces. For the United States, she created hats for the cities and neighbourhoods of Boston, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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From there she launched a line of hats for skiers and snowboarders covering Mont Tremblant, Whistler, Banff and Revelstoke, as well as the U.S. snow destinations Aspen, Vail and Jackson Hole.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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Ms. Borschke is looking to build on her momentum and move into new markets, but she perceives a stumbling block. Her City of Neighbourhoods tuques are made in Canada, which is a source of pride. But that has turned out to be a sticking point for customers south of the border. Ms. Borschke wonders whether she should manufacture State-side. “My American customers value product made in their own country,” she says.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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“Should I make the move from producing entirely in Canada and use facilities in the U.S. to better service that market?” she asks. Would she save money with such a move? And would logistics be improved for shipping across the border?J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

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