The Heritage Flag Company

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The Heritage Flag Company, out of Southern Pines, North Carolina, handcrafts these beautiful wooden flags from reclaimed barrels. Their flags represent the American spirit and are dedicated to all the men, women and families that have served the USA. 50 Built has the Small Batch Flag, and it fits perfect above the fireplace. It has become the focal point of our home, a conversation starter with guests, and a proud artifact that will be handed down from generation to generation. The Small Batch is 24.5″ x 13″ and weighs in at 12lbs. It is sturdy and has a rustic beauty to it with the contrast of the old barrel age and the imagery of an American flag. Two hooks are mounted on the back of the flag, with felt covering the rear wood surface so it can rest softly, and firmly, against the wall. The Small Batch retails for $199. A…Continue Reading

AT-95

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Today we are talking with Dani Turkovich from AT-95. AT-95 is making quality furniture and fixtures in Middle America from American resources.   Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourselves and how AT-95 came to be? While working 10 years in various large architectural firms, Dennis Blankemeyer expected to become the next Frank Lloyd Wright. Unfortunately, his design skills were set to work mainly drafting toilet partitions, shuffling mass quantities of paperwork and creating drawing after drawing for $150 million dollar projects in a large architectural firm. After long days hammering out drawing after drawing in an impersonal cubicle farm, Dennis would spend the majority of his free time designing and concepting items for a store that he dreamed of opening with his wife, Denise. Dennis and Denise opened American Furnishings in 1995 in a very small, 1,200 square foot space in Grandview, Ohio. Because Dennis and Denise were green in the ‘retail’ industry, business…Continue Reading

ANDERSEN WINDOWS

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Andersen Windows is a household name in the home and window industry. They have been around for over 100 years and have remained dedicated to American-made and sustainability.   FACTORY TOUR DETAILS: Cost: FREE Reservations: 800.852.9442 Tour Duration: 2 hours Factory hours: M-F 9AM-3PM ANDERSEN WINDOWS 100 4th Ave North Bayport, MN 55003

DRIFT STUDIO

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Today’s interview is with Brent Starck, founder of Drift Studio in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Drift is a design studio, think-tank, prototype lab and ultimately a maker of module furniture.   Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourselves and how Drift came to be? I have been planning and imagining the idea of Drift Studio for most of my life in some form or another. I’ve always been an inventor, an artist and a maker at heart and I’ve always imagined a life where I could pursue those passions on a daily basis as my career.  Drift Studio is my effort to make those dreams a reality. It is a place that hopefully will become a creative hub for product ideas and an incubator to help nurture those ideas into reality. I studied economics at the UW-Madison and while I fully enjoyed the whole experience it wasn’t until junior…Continue Reading

C.F. MARTIN GUITAR Co.

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This week’s wallpaper highlights the Nazareth, Pennsylvania Martin Guitar factory. Available in 4 different sizes for your computer or iphone. Free to download. Also available as a poster for purchase in the shop. STANDARD SCREEN | WIDESCREEN SCREEN | HD SCREEN | iPHONE

CARVED – WOOD iPHONE SKINS

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Carved is a company in Elkhart, Indiana that has a serious passion for creating the finest wood iPhone, iPad and Kindle skins. They are highly customizable with a laser-etched process, or they come simple and clean in Mahogany, Walnut, Redwood, Olive Ash, Paldao, Padauk, Purpleheart, Bamboo, Ebony, Sycamore or Cherry woods. A great feature is the price-point for these American made skins. For the iPhone, the basic clean wood covers start at $19 and for the detailed laser etched designs you are looking at $29. One feature, that is a true perk of domestic manufacturing, is the ability to customize your own. For $49 you can send your own artwork and have them create a truly unique, one-of-a-kind skin. The two we are reviewing today have intricate laser-etched details carved into the wood, one of a world map, and the other of a ‘Wild West’ character. The wood grain is beautiful…Continue Reading

TEXAS TIMBER BATS

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Today’s interview is with Joe Hardin of Texas Timber. Joe and his father, Wayland, started Texas Timber back in 1998 and have made a niche for themselves in the custom wood bat market. It’s a great story, keep on reading!   Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourselves and how Texas Timber came to be? Sure. I’ll start with my dad, Wayland; he grew up in a small farming community and has always approached life by letting hard work speak for itself. He is one of those guys that can implement anything – from woodworking, to welding, to mechanics– he still amazes me with what he is able to do. He is also the type of guy that if it you can get by on a task with 2 nails, he is going to use at least 4 nails to make it solid. We joke as a…Continue Reading

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER

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Hillerich & Bradsby Co., better known as Louisville Slugger, got its start back in 1884. It began when a furniture maker’s son, Bud Hillerich, used the furniture shop to make a custom bat for professional baseball player, Pete Browning. Two decades later Louisville Slugger signed the first athlete to endorse a bat, Honus Wagner and the rest is history. Today Louisville Sluggers are used in every line up in the major leagues. They use Northern White Ash grown in their Pennsylvania and New York forests. Each year 40,000 Northern White Ash trees provide the timber for the 6,000-10,000 bats produced at the factory every day. That equals 8 million bats a year. The factory mixes tradition with technology, where old school craft meets modern CNC machine. The CNC machine used to make the major league bats is the only one of its kind in the world. From there the MLB…Continue Reading

ETHAN ALLEN

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The furniture industry has been one of the hardest hit over the last two decades and North Carolina is ground zero for the US furniture industry. Ethan Allen was founded in 1932 and is currently one of the largest furniture companies in the USA. More than seventy percent of its cherry, maple and alder wood pieces are crafted in the United States. Ethan Allen has six manufacturing facilities including two sawmills, but over the last four years have had to close 2 factories. With the threat of cheap foreign imports, now is as important of a time as ever to support the companies that still make an effort to manufacture in the USA. ethanallen.com