Here is our summer-inspired American Made sandal roundup—stylish, with comfort and sustainability in mind. Let us know if we missed any of your favorites, and check out our American Made Facebook page for more of our favorite locally made finds. Barbara Shaum’s stunning leather sandals are made in Manhattan and are an example of beautiful [...]
We’re a little obsessed with the South right now and were thrilled to discover Taylor Bruce’s Wildsam Field Guides. The guide to Nashville came out last fall and the guide to Austin this May. The guides are an amazing mix of travel tips, best-of lists, essays, memoirs, and interviews with everyday citizens as well as [...]
Most people walk down the beach looking out at the sea, up at the sky, or toward the far-off horizon, taking in nature and contemplating the peacefulness of the scene as they saunter along. Not jewelry maker Lauren Rogoff, who walks with her head down, busily hunting for beautiful or unique pieces of sea glass [...]
“Life is too short to not do what you love.” Or so the saying goes. For some this might merely be an aspirational adage, but for designer Meg Galligan, these words served as a call to action. After working in online advertising at Google for four years, Meg made the gutsy decision to abandon the [...]
We recently caught up with another inspiring entrepreneur from our inaugural class of American Made Award honorees: Flora Grubb, owner of San Francisco–based garden center Flora Grubb Gardens. Here, Flora let us pick her brain on what it means to be a modern-day maker. What kind of response did you see after receiving your American Made award? [...]
All photos by Ryan O’Hara Theisen; makeup by Sarah Graalman using M.A.C. We’ve been so inspired by the small-business owners that we’ve met around the country in the spirit of our American Made initiative. Whether pursuing new side projects or making a total life leap, these makers are responding to a creative pull and transforming their dreams [...]
Photo by The Weaver House. Interestingly, it took leaving the States for Chicago-native Kiyoshi Mino to become an American Maker. While on two deployments to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, Kiyoshi was inspired by the simplicity of life within the remote villages of the Paktika province, an area along the Afghan-Paskistani border. “They live almost [...]
When we perused the country for our inaugural group of American Made Honorees, we couldn’t help but get fired up over the work and passion of Alisa Toninato, a metal designer based in Madison, WI. As much a creative artist as she is a savvy business owner, Alisa founded FeLion Studios in 2010 and has [...]
Part coffee shop, part part printing press, the crew behind Oddly Correct is seriously passionate about what they are roasting and where they stand in the world of coffee. How was Oddly Correct born? Oddly Correct was born out of a mix of coffee passion and a strong belief that one could do what one [...]
It was a pleasure meeting Brett Binford and Chris Lyon, founders of the ceramics cooperative Mudshark Studios in Portland, OR, at our American Made events last fall. Brett and Chris (pictured below, from left) received our 2012 Crafts award on behalf of Mudshark and have continued to inspire us since. They’ve already achieved a business goal mentioned in [...]
