When I travel I try to connect with craftsmen whenever I can. (Here are a few photos of a Rome woodcarver and Pisticci shoemaker, two of many I’ve managed to pester, befriend and often then take to lunch.) It’s been a way to learn and connect with real people in far away places. The tools that craftsmen use have also been a fascination. I come home with cool jewelry shaping anvils or wood chisels, just because they were so well designed and impeccably crafted. So when we got a call recently from Craig Winer and Garry Chinn from Garrett Wade in New York City asking if Miriello Grafico might be interested in helping their “tools for enthusiasts” catalog perform better, the answer was an easy “yes”.
Garry has been traveling the world for decades sourcing the coolest, best-made hand tools the world has to offer. Japanese specialty saws, Swedish carving knives, re-issued British tools made from the original metal molds, all the hard to find, form-follows- function tools that transcend their original functional role.
We’re in the process of diving deep into the Garrett Wade brand and catalog design. When the product is as good as this, the design work is more about setting the stage than fabricating a story. I love working when it feels like play.
Garry and Craig’s Garrett Wade site is : www.garrettwade.com
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