by Elyssa Goodman After working in advertising for over a decade, Britain-based designer Andy Poplar was burned out—he decided to quit his job and be a stay-at-home dad. Then one day, two years ago, he decided to teach himself how to etch glass,…
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Artisanal leather goods inspired by the Futurist camouflage patterns of WWI ships
Applying a Futurist pattern to an ultra attentive cold-embossing technique, the designers behind the new leather accessories line Midsummer +1 give an old-world Bengali craft new shape. The brilliant leather clutches—produced by a fair trade co-operative in Kolkata, India—follows the lengthy Shantiniketan process where the leather is soaked, stretched,…
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A finely crafted cover for a range of artisanal jobs
Venerable leather goods purveyor Moore & Giles sources the finest hides from around the world to find the perfect fit for each product. For their latest release, a leather work apron, Moore & Giles worked with two types of vegetable-tanned leather—gorgeously dark hides from Virginia and supple, honey-colored Tuscan skins. Using centuries-old tanning techniques, these two leathers have been traditionally constructed to hold up to the abuse inherent in bartending, wood working or, really, any other job that requires an apron.
After working with New York cocktail bar PDT on a leather-bound encyclopedia of recipes, Moore & Giles returned to have mixologist Jeff Bell give the robust apron a test behind the bar. The artisanal craftsmanship of the leather offers an appropriate parallel to Bell’s finely crafted cocktails, while the apron’s two front pockets and kangaroo-style pouch offered plenty of easy access storage.
The leather work apron features an adjustable neck strap and two body ties, and is available in two distinct colors that age with time to develop a beautifully worn, naturally polished patina. For more information see Moore & Giles online where the apron sells for $375.
The new Swedish furniture line bears its own interpretation of Scandinavian design
The Scandinavian obsession with hallmarks of quality, attention to detail and hand-craft is embedded in the psyche of the region’s people. Recent years have seen a return to the core ideals of its design-minded countries—Finland, Denmark and Sweden—as each redevelops its own distinct national identity. For interpretations of its native style, Sweden can now look to Stockholm-based furniture brand Snickeriet, an offshoot of the carpentry workshop of the same name. Much like fellow Swedish company Zweed, the Snickeriet collection aims to bring its designers and craftsman closer together. While the original Snickeriet will continue its existing commission business, the new venture opens up a higher level of craftsmanship to a younger audience with a zesty, provocative visual aesthetic and an unusual stand-alone approach to building a design collection.
“As a designer or woodsman you’re always looking for projects outside your comfort zone,” explains founder Karl-Johan Hjerling. “The workshop is at the center of everything we plan to do with the new enterprise—from concept to production, all kept in the hands of pure craft. We can let each idea develop in a very pure form, seeking solutions as the need arises and solve them in-house.”
Production is handled by artisans Gunnar Dahl and Karolina Stenfelt, who have already been significantly recognized in Sweden for notable pieces for TAF architects, Byredo perfumes and Note Design’s jawdropping Soot. Rounding out the Snickeriet team are Hjerling and his design partner Karin Wallenbeck, who have cropped up recently with work for the likes of Swedish stalwarts Svenskt Tenn and Acne.
In keeping with the one-off approach to its commission work, Snickeriet will create each piece as a single unit, rather than as part of a series or ongoing collection. “Advanced cabinet-making is often associated with ‘older’ furniture and classical aesthetics. We want to preserve this of course but also develop it and apply it to new forms of expression,” says Dahl.
The initial four pieces—Havet, Frank, Verk and Fä (Sea, Frank, Work and Beast)—make expressive statements in this vein, boasting the kind of workmanship that pays homage to the roots of Swedish craft and exemplary skill while infusing each piece with an exciting, adventurous design narrative.
An undulating, tactile piece, Havet’s dark exterior hides a contrasting, clean inlay demonstrating perfectly Snickeriet’s old-meets-new approach. The hacked, waved exterior is as painterly as it is sculptural.
Frank offers a slightly humorous take on the cupboard, certainly not a piece for the fainthearted but one which, like the brand itself, is not afraid to wear a sleeve of hearts. Laser-cut and etched plexiglass with brass detailing straddles a clean oiled maple frame.
Slim and athletic, the suspended Verk desk plays on proportional form. Poised on sharp steel legs the Verk also shows off a contrasting inlay.
Rounding off the initial offering is Fä, the Beast lamp, which perhaps takes its name from the leather used in its construction. The richly lacquered pendant manages to convey simplicity and opulence at once.
Snickeriet launches 10 May 2012 at Nitty Gritty, which will show the pieces through the end of the month.
Likeminded artisans gather in a collaborative workspace in Portland
For some people, the constant rattling of trains outside their window might be irritating. But for Beam & Anchor co-founders Robert and Jocelyn Rahm, it sounded just right. “I grew up in a small town in Missouri,” said Robert. “The trains sound like home.”
For years the Rahms had dreamed of opening a collaborative workshop for a dedicated community of likeminded artisans. The first step was finding the appropriate space, which they did in a beloved, but neglected, warehouse in the heavily industrial north Portland neighborhood of Albina. Surrounded by the eerie echoes of bands practicing in nearby garages and puffs of steam from Widmer Brothers Brewing the next block down, the space was theirs after eight months of persuading the owner to hand over the keys. “The owner really loved the building and didn’t need the money,” says Robert. “We had to convince him that we were really using it, that we’d honor it and were trustworthy.”
Earlier this spring, Beam & Anchor finally opened its doors. Stepping inside is not unlike stepping inside the Rahms’ home, which is understandable given that their primary goal for the space was that it should feel like one in its decor and furnishings. The upstairs floor of the two-story building houses a half-dozen “makers” and their employees, like Taylor Ahlmark and Nori Gilbert of Maak Soap Lab and Wood & Faulk‘s Matt Pierce, where they painstakingly craft the richly detailed soaps, furniture, bags and other goods to sell in the retail store below. Robert accents their displays with interesting vintage finds like an antique gurney from the Korean War, among others.
To characterize the space as merely a workshop and store, however, would ignore the building’s animating spirit. Upstairs, an open kitchen with a large dining table serves as a gathering space, and most of the workshops are separated from each other with floor-to-ceiling curtains instead of walls—except for the wood shop, which is partitioned off because of sawdust and noise. However, even that wall has a glass viewing panel through which visitors to the building can see furniture coming together.
Some of the craftspeople, like Jocelyn’s brother Bren Reis, knew the couple beforehand; Reis is a woodworker who founded Earthbound Industries. Others sought them out once word of the project spread. “Community is so central to what we do here,” says Jocelyn. Robert adds, “We aimed to pick people that we would have over for dinner.”
That community spirit serves as a foundation for the Rahms’ plans to host community events like “maker networking” suppers and a summer music series, are underway, and there’s been some interest in setting up food carts in the parking lot.
Beam & Anchor’s early and enthusiastic reception belies the popular belief that creativity thrives in isolation. With support, encouragement and a constant infusion of new ideas, Portland makers have a haven in which to nurture their ideas. The best part is that the building, as a dynamic experiment, is not that difficult to duplicate. All you need is a germ of an idea and an empty building to see it grow.
A new catalog spotlights Portland artisans in their natural habitats
In an effort to become more than just a shopping destination, Core’s flagship store, Hand-Eye Supply in downtown Portland, Oregon has taken the standard catalog to an artful new level.
Photographer Christine Taylor is a long-time friend of Hand-Eye Supply manager Tobias Berblinger, and when she learned he was making a new catalog for the store—a project that would likely result in the requisite bland product displays and posed models—she proposed an alternative. Taylor enlisted Berblinger to instead round up local artisans, cooks and craftspeople, and she took portraits of them in their work environments, holding and wearing gear that they use themselves.
The upshot, a catalog and lookbook called “Makers in the Modern Era,” creates an instant survey of Portland’s creative community as it looks every day. Taylor included traditional and non-traditional occupations, men and women, young people and old. The only thing they all have in common is that they all work with their hands. The commercial portraits have an arresting vintage feel to them, which Taylor pointed out are based on photographs from the ’30s and ’40s. “I used a hot flash, and the subject is just glancing up, as if you’ve just walked in on them,” she explains.
The portraits are not purely documentary photographs, as the subjects are styled and posed, but the people, workshops and talent are real and so is the gear. Glass artist Andi Kovel of Esque Studio wears a pair of Ben Davis shorts, while Ping line cook Scott Whitus and kitchen manager Brandon LaRobadiere pose in the restaurant in a pair of Pointer Brand Denim aprons.
The catalog will be released 18 November 2011 at Hand-Eye Supply. To sign up for the newsletter and catalog, visit the store website.
Dossier37’s Olivier Dupon explores the handmade revolution in a new book on craft
A long time buyer, retailer and blogger of artisanal products, Olivier Dupon has turned to print, documenting some of the most talented individuals and mesmerizing products of the handcraft movement. His book “The New Artisans” takes readers into the studios of influential craftsmen as they shape one-of-a-kind items that reflect their personal style. The majority of the book showcases the artisans and their studios (including CH favorite Esque), with the latter part organized as a directory in which products are arranged by type for catalog viewing.
While the artists often draw inspiration from their region, reviving forms like “Danish porcelain glazing, Norwegian birchwood carving or Portuguese letterpressing,” Dupon insists that all of the artisans “have a creative force that is ingenious and knows no limits.” Dupon sees an intricate connection between the artisans and their customers, explaining that clients “wish to acquire products that have meaning, a singularity and a charge of human work.”
The book serves well as both a collectible and as a reference guide, featuring a current crop of designers whose products are available online. The book is a must-have for arts-and-crafts types looking for inspiration or those just interested in learning about contemporary handmade production.
“New Artisans” sells online from Amazon and Thames & Hudson.
A new online shop celebrating the tradition of Moroccan craftsmanship
Famous for colorful souks where artisans peddle handmade goods, Morocco hasn’t been spared the effects of Westernization. To help keep the craftsmanship heritage alive, Aimee Bianca and her Moroccan husband Chafiq Ennaoui came up with Beldi, a country-specific online shop highlighting select housewares and accessories. Explaining they noticed “more and more cheap plastic stuff from China in peoples’ homes” when visiting Morocco, the pair not only expose the country’s finely crafted objects to the world, they also give online shoppers a fresh destination for items that are often difficult to source.
Spanning classic Moroccan rugs to bathwares and leather accessories, Bianca says because Ennaoui grew up in the medina of Marrakech, “almost everything we have is from people Chafiq knows personally, some of the artisans he originally knew through his grandfather or since he was a child.” Future inventory will include items from different areas around the country, tapping each region’s distinct artistry.
Similar to stores such as Kiosk, RS Too and even Opening Ceremony, part of Beldi’s appeal comes from finding artisans who would not otherwise be able to sell beyond their geographical border, bringing their skills into the limelight. But because of the way Moroccans conduct business—”everything’s done by bargaining, and can be a long process of meeting multiple times, drinking tea and finally coming to an agreement”—Bianca and Ennaoui also serve as gateway to a buying process the average tourist wouldn’t always experience.
With aspirations to one day be as all-encompassing as Lisbon’s famed A Vida Portuguesa boutique, Beldi is already starting off as a beautiful celebration of a culture with a long history of handmade goods and artisinal craftsmanship. Keep an eye out for more to come from the many regions around Morocco.
Sinewy surrealism handcrafted from reclaimed Brooklyn wood
Woodworker
Palo Samko‘s impressive showing at ICFF has created a high level of buzz, and rightly so. Working out of his Brooklyn Navy Yard studio, Samko has been hand-crafting furniture and other housewares for years, lately turning out a whole new array of clocks, lamps and mirrors.
By integrating metal with wood in several of his creations, Samko brings an intriguing element to woodworking and furniture-making in general. His latest and most interesting clock designs, the Salvatore Clock and Dali’s Clock, give a three dimensional nod to famed surrealist Salvador Dali and look just as stunning (and confusing) lying flat on a table as they do hanging on the wall. Also worth noting is the Walnut side table and its elegant, hand-cast bronze legs. The craftsmanship and creativity in these three pieces alone brings something new to the often stale market of furniture design.
Sustainable practices and unconventional designs are central to Samko’s production process, using salvaged wood from surrounding neighborhoods as much as possible. When asked about the approach, the designer points out that reclaiming joists and structural beams from old demolished buildings is a great and underused resource. As an active collector of unique antiques, he often incorporates findings into his work to create completely one-of-a-kind (and sometimes interactive) pieces.
Larger tables start at $8,000, going up from there depending on size, material and details, while clocks run $300-850, and mirrors start at $650 depending on diameter. Contact Samko through his site for details.
“Cow to cone” ice cream from America’s heartland
Family owned and operated, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s‘s bold seasonal and signature flavors are a neo-cottage industry success story. The American-style, artisinally-blended ice cream truly lives up to the name. Made from a combination of homegrown ingredients and whole cream from the freely grazing cows at nearby Snowville Creamery, every batch is “pasture to table, cow to cone” fresh.
While picking favorites among flavors like a milk chocolate flecked with single-origin Askinosie chocolate or a spicy coconut and peanut concoction takes some tough palates, after some serious taste-testing we narrowed in on a few.
“Salty Caramel” quickly disappeared after the container’s seal was broken. The creamy consistency delivers rich vanilla notes and a smooth caramel finish, described by some CH tasters as phenomenal.
Another overall winner, Jeni modeled “Buckeye State” after Ohio’s classic chocolate-and-peanut butter treat. Rich but not overpowering, the peanut butter tones blend seamlessly with strong dark chocolate to create a perfect balance of salty and sweet.
“Influenza” sorbet earned a nod for a wild taste and its unusual flu-fighting mission. With intense flavors—including cayenne pepper, Marker’s Mark bourbon, honey, lemon, and orange juice—this nurturing mix has everything you need to make you better whether you’re sick or not.
To get your hands on a freshly-prepared pint, use Jeni’s store locator to find these delicious flavors and more in supermarkets across the U.S., or swing by one of their four (soon to be seven!) Ohio locations. If you happen to live far from a supplier, Jeni’s ships door-to-door nationwide as well.
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