Craft
Page 17
Abel García López
In Paracho, Mexico’s guitar-making capital, some luthiers battle cheap imports. A few, like Abel García López, draw on generations of knowledge to produce concert-quality instruments for the world's top virtuosos.
Sure footed
Bontoni shoes takes things slowly, producing just eight pairs a day. Their dedication is helping Montegranaro, Italy’s shoe town, take changes to the global footwear market in its stride.
Arte & Craft
High-definition TV is forcing a return to old-fashioned craft. Monocle visits Arte, the polished Franco-German channel that has never let its standards drop, to learn the art behind its high-quality broadcasting.
Time is everything
In Honshu's forested mountains, Seiko's craftsmen hand-build the Grand Seiko with monastic precision, proving Japan's mechanical watchmaking rivals Switzerland's finest — one meticulous, unhurried component at a time.
Mode in Japan
Next to the vast Tokyo International Gift Show, a smaller, edited craft and design show called For Stockists has become the hot ticket, thanks to its charismatic founder.
Clay pride
Spain’s northwestern coast is guarding a design secret, one that Monocle has decided to share. Sargadelos is a workers’ cooperative that has been producing exquisite ceramics on and off for 200 years.
Caillou Boats
Near Tiverton, Rhode Island, John Meikle and his team handcraft small wood and fibreglass daysailers. These boats conjure up visions of more idyllic times. We join them in their halcyon daze.
Patrizio Cappelli
In 1995, Patrizio Cappelli left his family's chemist business to found his eponymous tie-making enterprise. A discerning clientele now flocks to his Naples atelier for his seven-fold, self-tipping neckwear.
Abdel Zaher Binding
With over half a century of craftsmanship under his belt, Mohamed Abdel Zaher has transformed his family-run book-binding business into a modern enterprise, retaining all of its character and charm.
Maine Event
Portland’s annual Maine Boatbuilders Show attracts an unusual mix of salty dogs, families and wealthy customers, who fly in to inspect the artisanal sloops, schooners, kayaks and yawls on display.
