The Almanac of American Makers · Vol. I
A curated field guide to the companies still cutting, sewing, forging, and distilling on American soil. The old guard that never left, and the new makers bringing it back.
No. 01The Directory
Search by name, craft, or state. Filter by what they make and when they started. Old guard and new guard, held to the same bar.
No. 02The Map
Each state is shaded by how many makers in the almanac build there. Pick one to see who is working in it.
Drawing the map…
No. 03The Timeline
Every maker pinned to the year it opened its doors. Below the tape: the trade shifts that sent most American clothing and footwear production overseas, and the makers who opened shop anyway.
Hover or tap a pin to see the maker. Drag the tape sideways on small screens.
No. 04How It's Made
The words on the tag mean something. Here is what they mean, how the thing is built, and which makers in the almanac still do it this way.
Footwear · Construction
A strip of leather, the welt, is stitched to the upper and to a rib on the insole. The outsole is then stitched to the welt, never to the upper itself. That means a cobbler can cut the sole off and stitch on a new one, again and again. Named for Charles Goodyear Jr., son of the rubber pioneer, who mechanized the method.
Footwear · Construction
The upper is flared outward and stitched straight down through the midsole. The result is a wide, stable platform and a tight seal against water. It is the signature of Pacific Northwest logger and smokejumper boots.
Footwear · Construction
A single piece of leather cradles the foot from underneath and wraps up the sides. A separate top piece, the plug, is stitched to it by hand. Maine shoemakers have built them this way for generations.
Cloth · Weaving
Woven on narrow shuttle looms that carry the weft thread back and forth continuously, which leaves a finished “self-edge” that will not fray, often marked with a colored ID line. Slower and denser than modern projectile-loom denim. Cone Mills' White Oak plant in Greensboro, North Carolina, wove it until 2017.
Leather · Tanning
Not cowhide. Cordovan is a dense, fibrous membrane that lies beneath the hide on a horse's hindquarters, and each horse yields only two shells. Chicago's Horween Leather Company, tanning since 1905, spends months finishing it. It rolls and ripples rather than creasing.
Leather · Tanning
The slow way: hides soak for weeks in tannins drawn from bark and wood, instead of a day or so in chromium salts. It starts out firm, then burnishes, darkens, and takes on a patina that records how you carried it.
Cloth · Finishing
Tightly woven cotton duck saturated with wax. It sheds rain and wind, stiffens into the shape of the person who wears it, and when it wears thin at the creases you rewax it instead of replacing it. Filson's Tin Cloth is the classic example.
Cloth · Knitting
Fine wool from Merino sheep that wicks moisture, regulates temperature, and resists odor. Knit densely enough on American machines, a pair of socks can carry an unconditional lifetime guarantee.
No. 05The Standard
Three labels that look alike and promise very different things. Learn to read them and you will never shop the same way again.
The real thing
Under the Federal Trade Commission's standard, an unqualified “Made in USA” claim means all or virtually all of the product is made here. Final assembly or processing happens in the United States, and all significant parts and processing are of U.S. origin.
Read closer
Put together here from parts that may come from anywhere. The FTC allows the claim only when the product is substantially transformed here and the assembly work done here is substantial. Honest, but not the same promise.
Says nothing
Tells you where someone drew the idea. Tells you nothing about where it was cut, sewn, lasted, forged, or finished. If a brand only says “designed” or “inspired,” assume the rest happened elsewhere.
Why it matters
Industry estimates from the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America.
No. 06Nominate a Maker
This almanac grows by word of mouth. If you know a company that still makes its goods here, and makes them to last, send it in. New workshops are as welcome as hundred-year-old mills.