Tucson Meet Yourself vendor carrying on mom’s legacy after her passing

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — At the final day of Tucson Meet Yourself on Sunday, Charlotte Ham spoke with more and more customers and realized there were quite a few of them that could relate to her. Many of them had family members with memory care issues.

Charlotte’s mom Toni was diagnosed with dementia four years ago.

“That determination and drive that she had, I believe just came natural to her,” she described her mom.

Toni Ham started selling her hats at Tucson Meet Yourself in the '90s, but started 'Toni’s Designs' before that. She made big hats with feathers and ornate designs traditionally work by southern Black women.

“Just showing that there’s a lot color in our culture,” Charlotte said. “She had an entrepreneur spirit so I think that was kind of instilled in her and she passed it on to me.”

A few years ago Charlotte took over for her mom and last year she started allowing customers to customize the hats with her mom’s materials.

“She had a way of connecting with people through fashion by making people feel good,” Charlotte said.

Unfortunately, Toni passed away in December 2022 from dementia. Charlotte was able to care for her mother before her passing and learned what it meant to care for a loved one who has dementia.

“You lose them twice. You lose them mentally and then you lose them in death,” she said.

Now Toni’s hats are on display at the African American Museum of Southern Arizona. Some of the money Charlotte makes from hat sales goes towards the Alzheimer’s Association.

Charlotte is determined to share her mom’s legacy, even years after she passed away. The vendors next to her at the festival are people her mom knew. Still to this day, Charlotte hears stories about her mom that she never knew before.

“It absolutely brings me closer to her even though she’s not here anymore,” she said.