An artist finding an expressive medium is like a musician finding his instrument. For one local couple, finding their medium, they like to say, came naturally.
Angelique Bakalyar grew up on a dairy farm in Maryland. David Hayles, her husband and professional sculptor and architect, says he grew up all over the world. From England to the United States to everywhere in between, Hayles says he traveled throughout his entire childhood. Bakalyar says while she was growing up, her mother made her clothes and living simply was introduced early on.
Years down the road, Bakalyar got a job with Hayles and Howe – an ornamental plasterwork and scagloila company based in both Bristol and Baltimore – half owned by Hayles. The two were paired as roommates on a job and later became involved.
After the couple got together, Hayles suffered a small heart attack while on a trip. Hayles fell into a coma after hitting his head on a cobblestone along a path in New Orleans. Bakalyar, still in Indiana, says she would inquire about David’s recovery and prognosis daily. “I was already very depressed and hurt by what had happened, and people kept asking me the same things ... After a while it hurt more to talk about it all the time,” said Bakalyar .
In time, Bakalyar started devoting her time to sewing what she called, her “happy hat,” a hat that meant when she was wearing it she could no longer be asked about David’s injuries. People respected her decision and in time making hats was therapeutic for her as well as a good way to pass time.
In time, Hayles woke up and luckily did not suffer any long-term disabilities. Now after 11 years of dating and three years as husband and wife, the artistic duo says life is an adventure every day and building and creating new things keeps it interesting.
Bakalyar has continued to make her signature hats, and after moving to Oxford roughly five years ago, attending the local Colorscape Chenango arts festival annually is a tradition she intends to continue. The couple created their home in a unique style and is currently looking into the possibility of hydro-elecritcty. The couple cans their own food, grows a large garden and uses natural resources whenever they can, referring to themselves as “true pioneers.” Their property, known to most as “Beaver Palace,” will soon be just that. The couple has begun designing their palace, which will include a library, a dancing studio for Bakalyar, a sewing room and more.
Hayles continues to do fine art sculpting and helps annually to plan and create the booth for his wife’s hat business at Colorscape. After the festival, the couple takes the booth home and finds other uses for it such as a wood shed or work station for Hayles. The duo recently built a paddock and horse shed for Twitch, Bakalyar’s paint horse. The couple also has a goat named Abigail and two dogs named Otis and Amy.
Opening a bed and breakfast is an idea the couple hopes to one day fulfill as well as having cabins lining the property for people who want to get away from the everyday pressures of life and take a break. From being a child playing with plaster molds to now owning part of an international company, and from learning to sew to expressing herself with her hat making business, the duo says they were born to express their life through art.
“I make things out of my heart. I came from a long line of quilters, and doing this comes natural to me,” said Bakalyar. Bakalyar’s hats are all 100 percent original, and in her first 96 brim hats she has placed a puzzle piece in order to keep track of where they have gone. Each hat takes from three days to three weeks to create.
Bakalyar and Hayles say they have not slowed down since moving to New York. “We are always up to something,” they agree.

Editor’s Note: “Chenango Stories” puts the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear. If you know someone who is interested in telling their “Chenango Story,” contact Jill Osterhout at 337-3075 or e-mail: josterhout@evesun.com.