It hums, it beeps, it buzzes, it clangs \u2014 but only the artisans in blue lab coats can make Shinola\u2019s leather factory sing. The team, 66 in total, is made up of people of all ages, from all walks of life and nearly every industry from automotive to healthcare to hospitality. Their one common thread \u2014 a desire to create.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a big difference between people who like what they do and people who just show up for the paycheck,\u201d Store Keeper and Maintenance Coordinator Chris Maxwell says. \u201cThis isn\u2019t like any other factory I\u2019ve ever worked in. There\u2019s a deeper level of care and because of that, a deeper sense of pride in everything we do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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Artisan Robert Berry (pictured above)<\/p>\n
Chris retired in 2014 but has been following Shinola since its inception, excited by the idea of bringing new manufacturing opportunities to Detroit, just a mile away from where he lives. \u201cWhen an opportunity came in through the Department of Veteran\u2019s Affairs, I leaped at it,\u201d Chris says. \u201cRetirement\u2019s not for me, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jen Guarino, vice president of manufacturing, set the tone for the kind of culture she wanted to cultivate the minute she moved her desk from the corporate space to the factory floor her first week on the job. \u201cI like to be with the people, in the heartbeat of it all,\u201d Jen says.<\/p>\n
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Jen Guarino (pictured above) on our factory floor.<\/p>\n
The workday begins at 7:00 a.m. and within minutes the floor is bustling with activity. Janet Jackson, David Bowie and The Temptations take turns serenading the crew as they cut, skive, glue, stitch, paint, emboss, assemble, burn, buff and inspect each new product with a fine-tooth comb.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need both a critical and a creative eye in leather manufacturing,\u201d she says. \u201cThe term artisan really does apply when you’re in this environment because no matter how much science or technology you implement, leather is still an organic material.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Renee Lancaster (pictured above) thread burns loops for the accordion cross body.<\/p>\n
Katie Hoffman has a desk but you\u2019ll rarely see the production manager in her seat. She\u2019s often in the thick of it alongside the artisans working to make the lines as efficient as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an all-hands-on-deck-kind of factory. Our successes and our shortcomings are shared among the entire team.\u201d Katie says.<\/p>\n
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Katie Hoffman (pictured above) with the Accordian Crossbody team.<\/p>\n
With a steady hand and laser focus, Carla Davis paints the fraying edge of a journal cover, checking her work carefully before setting it on a conveyer belt to dry. \u201cI\u2019ve had all kinds of positions within the factory, but edge painting is what I enjoy the most. I can walk into a Shinola store and pick up any journal and tell you if it\u2019s one I painted. No one else would ever notice the subtleties but we can tell.\u201d Carla says. \u201cWe put a piece of ourselves in everything we make. It really is a labor of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every week, hundreds of hides of various colors and finishes hit the cutting room floor and go on to become watch bands, wallets, belts, bags and more. As skill levels increase, new products are introduced. Every day there\u2019s something new to learn and every day there\u2019s something new to teach.<\/p>\n
“Our biggest investment is not equipment, it’s not the building \u2014 it\u2019s training,” Jen says. \u201cYou either teach it or you lose it, so we\u2019re teaching it. In the case of leather goods, we can\u2019t make a new product unless we bring new people into the trade and share the tools with them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
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Marcus Alexander and Diana Tkachuk (pictured above)<\/p>\n
Head Seamstress Jovita Vrista has been sewing for over 50 years and was brought on to teach others to sew \u2014 but she\u2019ll be the first to tell you she\u2019s still learning. \u201cDon\u2019t believe anyone that tells you they\u2019ve mastered leather. You can master a machine, but you cannot master leather,\u201d Jovita says. \u201cEvery piece is different, and every finish requires a new procedure. You can\u2019t work on auto pilot,\u201d she says. \u201cBut that\u2019s why I\u2019m here. I love the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s so fast, I\u2019ve seen her machine start smoking,\u201d Artisan Shamona Williams says of Jovita. The two sit side by side to build the Accordion Crossbody Bag, which requires no less than 100 steps to assemble. \u201cShe\u2019s taught me everything I know, usually without saying a word.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Shamona Williams (pictured above) assembles an Accordian Crossbody Bag.<\/p>\n
Leather requires mindful craftsmanship. \u201cOnce you put that needle in the leather, you own it. There\u2019s no forgiveness with the material, as there is with synthetic fabrics,\u201d Katie says. \u201cThe precision of our sewers is a pretty incredible thing to behold.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Joe Mathis III (pictured above) point stitches a watch strap.<\/p>\n
Shinola has always believed manufacturing should look, sound and feel different. Our 12,000-foot, sun-soaked corner in the Argonaut Building is proof that it can. It\u2019s the only factory of its kind, and we can say that because it\u2019s a new factory every day. It doesn\u2019t look anything like it did a year ago, and it won\u2019t look anything like this a year from now. It was designed to be redesigned \u2014 to accommodate new ideas and entertain better ways of doing things every single day.<\/p>\n
Manufacturing high-quality leather goods in a new way was easy once we manufactured a new kind of leather factory.<\/p>\n
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Shinola Leather Products are made with American leather and imported hardware. Tarez Franklin (pictured above)<\/p>\n