Manufacturing
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Woolly Wonkas
From US military labs to Italian textile mills, wool pioneers are forging new fabrics that could change procurement for the world’s frontline forces. We investigate how a natural wonder came back into fashion.
Business
Serbia's car industry, the real cost of wheat and a Q&A with Wim Elfrink of the New Cities Foundation.
Focus on the Future
Making tortoiseshell glasses by hand is a rare and exacting skill. One of the last practitioners, Maison Bonnet, is making sure the art survives, thanks to its keen young apprentice.
Case study
German luggage maker Rimowa broke into the tough North American luxury market using working practices and corporate ethics transplanted from its Köln home, confounding those who said it couldn’t succeed.
Comeback Kids
Monocle profiles four brands successfully brought back from the brink of failure, from a 400-year-old fabric company in Kyoto to an iconic British shoemaker. Here are their stories of revival and reinvention.
Little wonder
Japan’s mini-car boom was rooted in affordability and low taxation. Then Honda tasked an F1 engineer with its new project, putting high-spec design at the heart of the kei jidosha.
Inventory no. 62
Time to shine your shoes, pamper your pooch and brighten up your home with this month’s assortment of objects.
Making scents
Grasse, the world’s perfume capital, is holding on to its reputation by developing new technology alongside its time-honoured traditions. A centre of fragrance making for centuries, it continues to innovate.
The hand made tale
In a globalised market flooded with faux-artisan branding, real craftsmen are endangered. But in Kyoto, where tradition rules, a new initiative is refreshing generations-old techniques to bring Japanese craft to a worldwide audience.
Sweetness and might
The German confectioner Haribo is more than a cute gummy bear. Behind the playful facade is a corporate powerhouse that aggressively defends its brand, takes rivals to court, and expands its global empire.
