Osmium – Interview

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Today we are talking with Mark Paigen, owner and designer at Osmium, a high-quality clothing company based in Massachusetts. Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourselves and the events that lead up to starting Osmium and the catalyst for doing so? A few years ago, I sold Chaco, the outdoor footwear company that I had built over a 20 year period. Chaco had been a true labor of love and I wanted to take some time, chill and discover what would come next. Six months later, I sailed from Massachusetts to the Caribbean via Bermuda. I wanted to live aboard, explore the islands and enjoy some serious down time. There are a ton of islands down there, each a bit different from the last and plenty of opportunity for exploration and fun. Many months later however, I found myself craving more than another white sand beach, kiteboard session and…Continue Reading

Cone Denim

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Since we featrued Tellason a couple weeks ago and their premium denim, I wanted to repost this factory tour of Cone Denim. One of the gems we have in the USA. So much history… Few institutions garner the respect of their industry the way Cone Denim has. In the textile industry since 1895, they are a world leader in manufacturing corduroy, flannel, and most notably, denim. Denim aficionados around the world know what it means to have a pair of jeans manufactured out of selvage Cone denim. Cone’s White Oak Cotton Factory was built in 1905, and by 1908 became the world’s number one producer of denim. Like most manufacturing plants, a community was built around the mill it has remained a staple of White Oak and the Greensboro, NC area. The coveted premium selvage denim manufactured today uses some of the same equipment from over 100 years ago and…Continue Reading

DARN TOUGH SOCKS

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Today’s interview is with Darn Tough’s founder and president, Ric Cabot. We talk about the quality, pride, and family heritage that epitomize Darn Tough’s socks.   Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourself and the events that lead up to starting Darn Tough? My father and grandfather were in the sock business, so I was born into it. Growing up there were socks all around the house, and I would flip through the pages of fashion and hosiery magazines that were sitting around the house. I was always interested in joining my father in the sock business and had an appreciation of the fashion and textile industries.   How was the industry different back before Darn Tough? Before I started Darn Tough Vermont in 2004, I was working with my father Marc at our family’s business, Cabot Hosiery Mills. Cabot Hosiery had been very successful up until around…Continue Reading

MATIX CAPITAL COLLECTION

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Matix Design Director Mike Gomez says the Capital Collection is designed to build awareness around the quickly vanishing art of American clothing manufacturing and to shine a light upon the quality produced by those that still take pride in the craft. “It’s surprisingly difficult at this point in time to make stuff in the US,” says Gomez. “There’s just not a lot of factories in existence that can do this work.” Matix VP Brian Dunlap says in addition to using the superior quality of American made textiles, Capital Collection designers went the distance and challenged themselves to source everything, down to the trimming, domestically. “There’s a lot of stuff you see that says Made-In-The-USA,” says Dunlap. “But many of the components that go into these products are actually made overseas. The thing that sets this collection apart is that we’ve gone to great lengths to actually build every trim, every…Continue Reading

TELLASON JEANS

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Denim and American culture are intertwined and have been since the 1870s. Built as an industrial work pant for miners and farmers in San Francisco, California and evolved into a staple in everyday fashion by the 1950s. It’s always been a source of pride to have a durable pair of denim manufactured from quality components. Tellason jeans are made in San Francisco with the highly coveted White Oak Cone raw denim from North Carolina and tanned leather patches from the state of Oregon. If you are looking for a quality pair of denim that reflects the industrial history of the USA, then take a gander at a pair of Tellason jeans. The above video was posted by Vertical Online.

CHURCHILL WEAVERS

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Today’s interview is with Heather Powers, a designer who worked for the historic textile company, Churchill Weavers. For over 85 years Churchill Weavers manufactured premium handwoven textiles in Berea, KY. A few years ago Churchill Weavers closed its doors. All images posted above are from the Kentucky Historical Society collection.   Can you give us some background info on yourself and your experiences in the textile industry? I started out in textiles with a BFA from Savanna College of Art and Design in 1998. Churchill was the first job that I got in the industry working after college.  I was really lucky to be able to go there straight out of college and I spent about a year there. I chose to work for them because I knew that they had their manufacturing on site and that really interested me. I had a woven focus in my textile degree and…Continue Reading

18” CANVAS LEATHER MASON BAG

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The fashion world offers consumers many options when it comes to materials, styles and colors of carriers and bags.  Unfortunately, we are often disappointed by the bags functionality and longevity.  The solution to this problem; the 18” Canvas Leather Mason Bag by Museum of Useful Things.  It is one of many “Made in the USA” products offered on their site.  It is constructed for heavy duty use, with such features as double stitched handles, a Masonite base, water weight canvas and heavy duty metal clasps.  Of course, this bag was originally designed for plumbers and masons, which means it can and will withstand any wear and tear a non-trade consumer brings its’ way. Images from: museumofusefulthings.com

HARMONY ART

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Tell us a little bit about your background as a designer and your experiences in the textile industry that brought you up to the point of starting Harmony Art. Thank you for having me on. It’s nice to be here. I went back to school to be a textile designer in 1998.  I graduated in 1999 and immediately started working for Karen Newberger designing prints for pajamas. So I worked in house for her for a year and then I got a job offer to work freelance for a design firm doing a lot of home and bedding products. Bedding, bath, kitchen, that kind of thing. I worked for them for 4 years. We did a lot of designing for mass markets like Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens & Things, Nordstrom, Mervyn’s. You name it, I’ve probably designed for it at some point in my life. Even when…Continue Reading

MATIX x LOSSA

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There are few industries that are as quintessentially American as the Motorcycle industry. Iconic skateboard apparel company, Matix, teamed up Lossa Engineering of California to build an all-American motorcycle from fabrication to upholstery. The motorcycle build was based on the Harley 1200 a company dedicated to American manufacturing for over a century. The attention to detail, paint scheme and the end product is a great example of what can happen when you have the power of manufacturing at your finger tips. Cruise on over to Matix’s website for more on the project. The above video is from Matix’s Vimeo Stream.