5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
Monome is Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain. We make adaptable minimalist hardware interfaces in upstate New York. We like challenge and sincerity and subtlety.
What made you want to be a maker?
Making wasn’t an active decision— it’s simply always been. We’ve both been fortunate enough to have been encouraged from such a young age and it followed that eventually we’d come to rely on creative pursuits as a method of self sufficiency. My early musical work using technology constantly ran up against limitations introduced by commercial products looking to satisfy a broad market. Much of this conundrum has been overcome by creating open-ended, versatile tools whose function can be defined by the user. Inspired by simple materials and constraints we aspire to make beautiful and useful things of all sorts- be it a highly developed piece of technology like our instruments or a porcelain knife sharpener. We desire to surround ourselves with tools that not only feel good in hands but spark our brains to think differently about process.
The music instrument industry is dominated by very large corporations who are all competing to commodify the latest trends. This inevitably leads to a lot of cheaply made equipment that’s fad based and therefore rarely approaches a timeless quality. Recently more and more small creators have been succeeding in producing genuinely new devices, thoughtfully constructed with intentions of community building. Hand-made with locally sourced parts followed by a deep commitment and enthusiasm for the devices’ use and longevity— this is the new old way we need to think. We’re glad to be a part of this movement— we make small editions a few times per year. Our users become collaborators and together we push boundaries.
Favorite product that you make?
The one twenty eight. Black walnut and aluminum. We’ve been revising this design for years now. I think it’s maybe close to perfect. Maybe.
List five of your favorite tools.
1. Moleskine and micron pen. Sometimes technology gets in the way.
2. Calipers. To comprehend one must first measure.
3. Oscilloscope. Reveals the invisible.
4. Wood stove. Warms things warm.
(photographs from Monome)
5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
I am Kent Fortner; originally from Kansas. I now craft an annual batch of Road 31 Pinot Noir in Napa, CA. I’m a one man band.
What made you want to be a maker?
My grandparents were Kansas farmers. My dad makes frames. My mother paints. My sister is a woodworker. I like to work with my hands. Science, math, and storytelling were very much a part of my upbringing. I suffer from extreme wanderlust. Wine is an awesome intersection of culture, adventure, story, science, craft, my heritage, and driving a tractor. It’s a dream to make a living this way.
Why should people support your business/products?
The beauty of wine, particularly Pinot Noir, is that it tells a story. It speaks of soil, climate, vintage, fermentation, cellar and barrel. But, it also tells the story of farmer and winemaker. In a world trending towards increased industrial production, I spend time confirming there is an artist behind the art, and I hope others do the same.
Favorite product that you make?
For a guy who only makes one wine a year, the answer is pretty obvious. I guess each vintage is different, but the wines are alive and change over the years, so I have shifting favorites depending on how any one vintage is developing. If I had to pick one vintage experience, it would be 2011, which was such a tough harvest that it was basically the Judgement Day (but I feel like the wine I made got invited to the pearly gates).
List five of your favorite tools.
1. My Green ‘66 F100 Twin I-Beam Ford Truck : it was willed to me by my grandparents, who lived on Road 31 in Kansas. It’s on the label, and it is indispensable to my work and identity.
2. Refractometer : pulling it out of the drawer, cleaning it, calibrating it, and putting it on the dash of my truck signals the beginning of the excitement of harvest….
3. Bulldog’s Pup : an ingenious way to gently and quietly move wine out of a barrel. It requires a calm hand to monitor and takes about 4 minutes per barrel, which is very zen.
4. Leatherman Wingman Multitool : 90% of life’s problems can be solved with it and a roll of duct tape.
5. A Kadar Oak Barrel from the Tokaj Forest of Hungary : not only is it very important for the flavor of my Pinot Noir, but it’s inspiring to craft using a “tool” that is itself an incredible work of craftsmanship and heritage.
(photographs from Kent Fortner)
5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
My name is Jude Kirstein of Sugar Wheel Works. I live and work in Portland, Or and I make handmade bicycle wheels.
What made you want to be a maker?
I wanted to be a maker because I have seen so many things moving towards proprietary systems. There aren’t as many people concerned about sustainability and repairability. Wheels had gone the way of disposable systems. I also wanted a career path that allowed me to work with my hands. Sometimes, it’s challenging working in front of a stand for the duration of the day but most days I really like what I do. I primarily true using sound so there’s plenty of room for both innovation and skill and that’s what’s great about what I get to do.
Why should people support your business/products?
It’s really because we care. We care to a fault—almost obsessively. We care about getting the build right as well as the design. If my name is going on it then it has to be perfect.
Favorite product that you make?
I like designing wheels of all types, and I especially love making touring wheels!
List five of your favorite tools.
1. DT Swiss Spokey wrench (made in Switzerland)
2. Morizumi spoke cutter (made in Japan)
3. Scribe (made in USA)
4. Tensionmeter calibration device (made custom for me in Portland)
5. Coffee mug (made in Portland)
(photographs from Sugar Wheel Works)
5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
My name is Ian Clark, I’m a chef and the brewer of BRU handbuilt ales in Boulder, CO. I build small batch “chef beers,” unique takes on classic styles from my garage nano-brewery.
What made you want to be a maker?
I’ve always had this uncontrollable desire to build things with my hands. Cooking started at the age of 14, but before that I was building skateboard ramps for me and my friends, cars with my father, sheds, dirt bikes, the list goes on. There is so much more gratification when you use, eat, look at something that you have made. Something that you spent the time and care to create. It really makes it worth it.
Why should people support your business/products?
Our beers aren’t just beer, it is an expression of who we are. Our craft, our passion, and our love captured in a bottle (or a glass) for you to enjoy. It starts with writing the recipes and the thoughtful selection of the ingredients that go in them. I choose ingredients that I know, as a chef, that will build on the flavors that are already present in the styles of beer I am creating. Our beer also takes time and patience. We don’t believe that great beer can be created without allowing for natural carbonation so we bottle and keg condition all of our beer. We also don’t filter and pasteurize our beer because after we put in all of that good stuff, why would we take anything out? Last our beer has our values in it; like using wind power and eco-friendly cleaners, as well as composting, recycling, and donating 1% to the planet. We hope that all of that passion, joy, creativity, technique, and sleepless nights makes our beer taste that much better for you.
Favorite product that you make?
This depends on the season, but right now with Spring coming I’m really enjoying Citrum, our IPA handbuilt with lemon zest and juniper.
List five of your favorite tools.
1. chef’s knife (there is no knife more useful)
2. hydrometer (tells me when my beer is done)
3. spoon (might be the most perfect tool)
4. google (research, questions, I’m a geek!)
5. pint glass (for enjoying what I created)
(photographs from Bryce Clark)
5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
My name is Victor Sultana of Victor Axe + Tool located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I refurbish, build and design axes and hand tools.
What made you want to be a maker?
Every day, I have a need to make and that doesn’t mean starting from scratch. I feel like most makers today, including myself, are improvers. We see something and have a natural desire to make it better or make it our own. Making is one of the things I do that is essential to my personal happiness and when I stop, I feel somewhat incomplete. Being able to start a project, from concept to completion, gives me the sense of pride, control and creativity that I need to be successful in life, as well as in my 9-to-5.
I never thought much about axes or other hand tools until I saw the Best Made Co. American Felling Axe. It was beautiful. I had to have it… but I also had to have $350. I mentioned building my own and a friend/co-worker was on the phone in seconds with a contact he had in the lumber business and before the end of that very same day, he had hickory on its way. The motivation then was my own frustration with not completing projects in which I could see no end. I wouldn’t let myself stop. From then on, ʻthenʼ being January of 2012, it was about completing a step and then researching the next one that I had to take on. First, drying the wood and then backing up to build my own kiln. Starting to carve the shape, but traveling back and forth to the local wood source for better tools. In the end, with all my time (approx. 30 hours) and all the money I spent on tools and beer, I’m sure I surpassed the cost of the initial axe that had caught my eye. However, the difference was I had built my own axe… and my own story.
Why should people support your business/products?
Whenever I share with someone that I build axes, it isn’t just a simple conversation. They want to know, “Why axes?” or how I got started. Then the whole story begins to unfold about axe number one. As I’ve continued to build custom tools for people throughout the country, almost every one of them has a story to share as to why they desire an axe. I get to work with them to help tell their story or the story of who they’ll be gifting it to, through a very uniquely designed and hand crafted tool.
From experience, I can also share that the tools I build using vintage axe heads will perform and last longer than any of what you will find at your local, big box hardware store. There are a few exceptions, but not many.
Favorite product that you make?
My favorite axe to build and to use is what’s considered a Boy’s Axe. They have all the shape and feel of a full-sized felling axe, but weigh less and come in lengths between 26” - 28”. They’re the most versatile in regards to type of use - everything from small felling to splitting to trail work. If you’re only going to own one axe, this is what I suggest.
List five of your favorite tools.
1. Wooden Wedge Mallet (restored)
2. Nicholson® Bastard File
3. Wood River® Straight Spoke Shave
4. Stanley® Surform Pocket Plane
5. Apple® iPhone 5
(photographs from Andrew Maguire Photography)
5 Questions for Those Who Make
In 25 words or less describe who you are, where you’re located and what you make.
My name is Ryan Perkins, and I make bespoke jeans, jackets, bags, neckties, scarves, and other menswear in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
What made you want to be a maker?
I think that like a lot of people who are makers, it was never a conscious goal of mine, rather it was something that I just did. Being a maker is part of who I am, and it has shaped just about every part of my life. There’s a home video of me from when I was about three years old, where I’m sitting on the floor of my parent’s bedroom and hacking apart some styrofoam with a wood saw and babbling about what I’m working on. In middle school I got interested in woodworking, which was convenient because my dad had a wood shop on our property. Rather than going over to a friend’s house after school to run around or play video games, I would go work in the shop and make little bits of furniture, science experiments. Or have my friends over to help me, though most of their parents weren’t very happy about that.
In high school what I made followed my interests. I played guitar, so I made an electric guitar. I loved biking everywhere, so I started building bicycles. I taught myself how to build websites and take photos so that I could share what I made with other people. When it came time to decide where to go and what to study in college, I knew that I wanted to learn how to make things better, so I decided to study mechanical engineering. What I didn’t know is that so much engineering happens on paper and in computers, that most engineers never have to personally make what they design. I think by my second year I was getting anxious to work with my hands, so I started working in machine shops and research labs.
One day I found a desk on the side of the road that had a sewing machine in it, and I took it home. I gradually taught myself how to sew at night, when I would come home from working in the shop and my hands would still itch to make things. I made a pair of jeans, then one for my friend, then a few more. I bought an industrial machine, and went to Los Angeles to find some fabric distributors. I started a brand so people could follow what I make, and named it R. Perkins MFG because at first I wanted it to encompass anything I made, but it’s mostly just been clothing so far.
By the time I graduated, it was a full time thing, so I let it grow naturally. I wanted to form an entirely idealistic business, where I have complete control, and it’s transparent how things are made and what they’re made of. No investors, ad copy, customer service department, business plans. I really just wanted to sew, I had no interest in running a business. But I had to do everything myself, either to save money or because I’m too particular to hire someone. I knew it was an unwise way to do things, but I wanted to try and see if I could make it work. I do all the branding, graphic design, web development, photography, social media, customer relations, sourcing, pattern development, design, cutting, sewing, quality control, maintenance, taxes, shipping, registration, etc. Somehow it’s worked out so far. I have no idea how, but I’m really, really grateful. It gives me so much hope for the modern human era that something like this is possible.
Why should people support your business/products?
I want people to support my business because the products are the best fit for them. But what’s best for an individual customer is difficult to determine, and even harder to articulate. So I try to keep all channels of communication open, and retain as much flexibility to make a product to someone’s specifications as possible. There are a lot of things I do as a brand that people love to support these days, like making everything by hand in America, using all natural materials, sourcing things domestically, but none of those is my explicit goal. My goal is to make items that look as good as possible for the longest time possible. That’s what I have in mind when I make design choices, select materials and components, and finally sit down and sew. I want my customers to know that, but also that they can ask me why I do something a certain way, and that I’m happy to explain the rational thought process behind it.
Favorite product that you make?
My favorite thing to make is still jeans. At the moment every pair I make is bespoke, made to each customer’s specifications. I get to develop a relationship with the person who will one day be wearing my jeans, and they get to choose among a number of denims, thread, and hardware options, and figure out the details and fit they want. Making a bespoke pair of jeans is different than making a bespoke suit, because jeans can’t be altered. Once they’re finished, I can’t go back and change anything. So I need to understand what the customer wants before getting started. Plus there’s something so intensely personal about jeans already, it’s just that more special to be wearing the only pair of its type in the world.
List five of your favorite tools.
1. Dressmakers pins: This box is something that people tend to gravitate towards when first visiting my shop. I think that’s because it’s so beautiful and classic. But it means something about how I make my clothes, which is that I don’t use factory production methods, I use old-world tailoring methods. For a factory to run efficiently, with minimally trained workers, there’s usually a machine for each stitch with a folder or guide that allows the operator to accurately repeat a seam with great rapidity and low effort. You can certainly make great clothes like this, but it’s not how I do it. I imagine it would be terribly dull for the operator. Rather, I line panels up by hand and pin them, and I sew without guides or folders, which takes a lot of time.
2. Hardware dies: These are an example of how I strive to do everything myself. Usually you buy dies from the same company you get your hardware from, and they fit a specific machine and work great every time. But they’re also extremely expensive, especially considering that they’re just hunks of metal. So I made those when I was working in a machine shop, and I use a cheap, everyday arbor press to attach the hardware
3. Head knife: This is a recent acquisition, something I got because I’m learning how to work with leather. It’s an all-purpose leather knife, good for skiving, trimming, cutting, etc. Plus I get to learn how to maintain a quality blade, which is something that appeals to me over using an endless stream of disposable razors blades.
4. Rotary knife + mat: This counts as one tool, right? When you make bespoke clothing without guides or folders, your panels need to be symmetric and precise, and accurate to the pattern you drew. Otherwise things won’t line up, or the measurements won’t work out, and you don’t have a chance to do it again without repeating the effort. The rotary knife and mat are the only way I know how to achieve this accuracy without cutting dozens of layers on a fabric saw.
5. Singer 211G155 Industrial Compound Feed Sewing Machine: This is my workhorse - it handles everything I throw at it. 16 layers of 16oz denim? 1/4” leather? No problem. It’s vintage, but that’s not why I like it. I like it because it was orders of magnitude cheaper than a new machine, and I know how to fix it. I repair sewing machines on the side, and lots of domestic brands are really into getting old machines because they are cheap and easy to get, and they look nice on their websites. But a poorly adjusted sewing machine is pretty much worthless, so unless you know how to fix them you’ll need to pay to maintain them.
(photographs from Ryan Perkins)
