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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. Meet the toolbelt masters of Diamondback.

Listen to “The Healing Power of ‘Bello'”

On the Northeastern coast of Italy, an unusual drug treatment center uses craftsmanship — and the strength of community — to rehabilitate some of Europe’s most intractable drug addicts.

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. In the process, they have also built a community that is bringing new respect for those who work in the trades.

Story by LORRAINE SANDERS
Photography by SOPHIA BAIN

2019 Craftsmanship Magazine Gift Guide

The word artisanal has become so shopworn that it’s almost devoid of meaning. (To wit: we once saw a pizza outlet on the outskirts of a small town in northern France that was fashioned in the style of an ATM-kiosk under the following sign: “Artisanal Pizza.”) In stark contrast to this sorry state of affairs, we would like to suggest a few items for holiday shopping made by some of the masters we profiled in 2019.

By EDITORS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP MAGAZINE

Resources for Nordic Sweater Lovers

The Setesdal Museum in Rysstad opened an exhibit in 2019 that honors Annemor Sundbø’s decades of work salvaging sweaters, documenting the culture of knitting, and promoting heritage wool. The exhibit is scheduled to be up for two years, so If you’re planning or even considering a trip to Viking country, this is a great stop…

Want an Authentic Norwegian Sweater? Here’s How to Find One

In my husband’s childhood in Norway, during the 1960s, each of the three boys in his family would get a new sweater every three years. His mother would let him choose a pattern and colors, and she’d then spend all fall knitting that boy’s sweater from wool she bought at the local knitting store. “The…

Old Norwegian Sheep and Their Durable Wool

After writing extensively about the history of Norwegian knitting and textile design, Annemor Sundbø turned her attention to the very foundation of those textiles, to the wool without which, she says, there would have been no Vikings. In the process, Sundbø has become an ardent ambassador for the value of the wool produced by Norway’s…

The Art of Making Norwegian Yarn

While Nordic sweater patterns are thoroughly identified with the region’s culture, knitting actually came late to Norway. At first imported from Europe as a luxury item, knitting was not undertaken as a widespread domestic craft until the shortages of the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century made it necessary. It was then adopted enthusiastically…

Watch “The Norwegian Sweater Keeper”

Annemor Sundbø has dedicated her life to unearthing the myths and meanings behind Norwegian sweater traditions.

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