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Detroit

Spring 2016

The Shinola Polish

In the 1960s, Shinola, the venerable American shoe-polish company that became famous for a World War II soldier’s crack, “You don’t know shit from Shinola,” shut its doors. The move was a fitting bookend to the golden age of American manufacturing. Then, in 2011, a Texas developer revived the name as a maker of watches, leather goods, and retro bicycles in the broken heart of downtown Detroit, where, the company says, “American is Made.” Is making things in America again that easy?

BY Laura Fraser
Spring 2016

The Search For The Perfect Leather Bag

Boutiques selling hip shoulder bags seem to be all the rage these days. Some look rustic enough to take into the woods, some more suited to the streets of Manhattan. With all these offerings, how does an eager consumer judge quality? Herewith, a visit with four contrasting American leathercrafting shops. And a little story about Marv Obenauf, a former firefighter turned master artisan of leather dressings.

BY Todd Oppenheimer
Meet Marv Obenauf, who makes of some of the world's finest leather dressings.

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    “Tomorrow’s Library”: In a simple, residential San Francisco neighborhood, a former Christian Scientist church has been transformed into the library of the future. Behold the @internetarchive, the world’s only repository of its 279 billion web pages. https://t.co/BCpCSE8thX https://t.co/Qh5fu5cMDk

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    "Could Small Still Be Beautiful?", written by @brycetbauer, explores the legacy of E.F. Schumacher, a German-born, British economist who argued that the push for endless growth was destroying the foundations of meaningful work. @Center4NewEcon
    Read Story: https://t.co/FrMQSghaSh https://t.co/YhbJn0uled

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    “Cuba: Madres (y Padres) of Invention”: No cultural trip to Cuba would be complete without acknowledging the artists, craftspeople, and self-taught engineers who have helped keep the country running while technological time stood still.
    Read Story: https://t.co/KFmFzZ28JK https://t.co/wMMeoNIC6L

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    Congrats to our sustainable fashion correspondent @AldenWicker for making it into the 2019 Editor’s Picks @longreads with “Argentina’s Textile Crusader”. https://t.co/VyNnQX3gqQ

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    “The Future Is Handmade”: A Dutch archaeologist finds artisans and thought leaders who are redefining craft, skill and, ultimately, the real meaning of a knowledge economy: https://t.co/tetWhs68pj
    https://t.co/XGVHWZD6bC https://t.co/SNXRHYf15T

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    The @nytimes recently published a story about a program in the Appalachians helping drug addicts recover through craftsmanship: https://t.co/Bqs0iidsaC
    We also published a similar story in 2019 — The Healing Power of “Bello”: https://t.co/naHwrinIYu

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    “The Perfect Pen”: Fountain pens have always served as the quintessential combination of beauty, tradition, and dexterity. But did you know they’re also tools of environmental consciousness?
    Read Story: https://t.co/kC5a1X0Tpw https://t.co/fE57Owbrgv

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    Meet Jack Mauch, the newest member of our growing family of “Craftsmanship’s Young Turks.” At age 32, Mauch is already creating breathtaking examples of craftsmanship in everything from furniture-making to ceramics and metalwork: https://t.co/dZawkbCmVv
    https://t.co/qbvYGWpSUD https://t.co/Xd2G1N40KK

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    We’re excited to see our recent feature “Greece’s Secret to Perfect Honey” on @TheWeek!
    @robwaters001
    Read Story: https://t.co/Uqqhs21fFC

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    In Italy, the age-old vermouth giant Martini & Rossi practices what might be called industrial spirits craftsmanship; in the U.S., a new breed of distillery is popularizing more irreverent spirits. Our correspondent visits both in search of their essences. https://t.co/67sI5pVAQJ...

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    Arthur Harsuvanakit is a quiet, thoughtful young man who works in @autodesk’s generative design lab at Pier 9. With a background in woodworking as well as digital engineering, Harsuvanakit is a natural for his job: https://t.co/hSJuOcTEBr
    https://t.co/6iNCYhJmoM https://t.co/mSvVkW8hMx

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    “The Value of Time”: When an American-made quartz watch costs up to $1,500 and its counterparts from other countries, including Switzerland, range from $50 to more than $50,000, what’s the difference between them?
    Read Story: https://t.co/M9UK9OQvTz https://t.co/Z78gQlNgOL

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    Craftsmanship Quarterly is 5 years old! And what's the traditional 5-year-anniversary gift? Wood! Take a look at the stories we've published related to woodworking. We are proud to highlight these rare and largely unsung artisans from around the world: https://t.co/iyrdxXwWxA...

  • Craftsmanship Quarterly
    Sustainable Clothing & Textile Gifts - In “Argentina’s Textile Crusader”, we discovered why clothing and other textiles made from guanaco wool are a sustainable choice. @AldenWicker
    Resource Guide: https://t.co/lblfsstKP2
    2019 Gift Guide: https://t.co/X28MBSHA5Y https://t.co/kfMoie5657
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Recent Articles

  • Could Small Still Be Beautiful?
  • 2019 Craftsmanship Quarterly Gift Guide
  • Greece’s Secret to Perfect Honey

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