Listen to “A Black Artist’s Haven on a (mostly) White Vineyard”
Martha’s Vineyard has long been seen as a summer retreat for the East Coast elite. The island’s reality, however, is a far more complex environment that has welcomed and inspired generations of Black Americans, including an artist and doll maker named Janice Frame.
Listen to “The Toolbelt Masters”
With gumption, insight, and brilliant use of social media, a few guys in Virginia built an operation that makes what could be the world’s finest toolbelts.
Listen to “The Secret to Vintage Jeans”
In November, 2017, the doors closed on North Carolina’s White Oak plant—one of the first, and (almost) the last, big textile mill in the U.S. to make true, vintage-style denim. Our correspondent tracks down the secret to classic jeans, and their unexpected future.
Listen to “Historical Clothing’s Comeback”
A collection of sewing enthusiasts, dedicated to the anachronistic art of making old-fashioned clothes, stumbles onto a path that revives quality, comfort, ecological consciousness—and respect for the female form in all its varieties.
“Slow Fashion and Place-Based Economies,” with Fibershed’s Rebecca Burgess
Rebecca Burgess is the executive director of Fibershed, an internationally recognized nonprofit focused on transforming the clothing and textile system. She is also the author of two books, and a vocationally trained weaver and natural dyer. She sat down with Craftsmanship Magazine to talk about price and privilege when it comes to “slow fashion,” why…
The Secret to Vintage Jeans
In November, 2017, the doors closed in North Carolina on Cone Denim’s White Oak plant, one of the first, and (for a while) the last, big textile mill in the U.S. to make vintage-style denim. When our correspondent first visited, he discovered that the secret to classic jeans has long come from a strange mix of obsolete machinery and American mythology. Now, after following other companies that moved manufacturing overseas, traditional Made-in-USA jeans might be coming back.
By BRIAN HOWE, with updated reporting by TODD OPPENHEIMER
Listen to “The Human Cost of Recycled Cotton”
Organic, recycled, or synthetic: As the fashion industry scrambles to find more sustainable textiles, what’s the future of cotton? And what is the true cost? Editor’s note: This story was updated from the original by the author for re-release in our Fall 2021 issue.
The Human Cost of Recycled Cotton
Everyone in the fashion world wants to find a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way to make cotton clothing—or a benign (and equally comfy) alternative to it. In Scandinavia, an enterprising cadre of materials scientists is on the brink of succeeding. But almost no one appreciates these innovations’ social costs.
Story and photography by ALDEN WICKER
Watch “Mike Morgan’s Quest to Make Traditional Skin Boats”
Mike Morgan’s fascination with small, traditional watercraft dates back to the ’80s. Building on his decades of experience as a musical instrument maker and repairer, Morgan set out to deconstruct and understand the ancient kayak designs so he could make his own authentic boats.
