“By the work one knows the workman.” Jean de La Fontaine

Part of the motivation for starting ACL in the beginning was to celebrate the small-batch independent people that are working with their hands to design and make beautiful product. By identifying craft a key narrative of this site, I wanted to do my part to support the little guy that is investing everything he has to make a living with his own two hands.

I recognized that well-made things are the physical embodiment of hard work, time and expertise. These are attributes that deserved respect and, I thought, appreciation on a bigger scale. I also came to understand that, in the modern world of the super-fast-consumption-crazy Internet with everything warranting Next Day Air and the like, the small-batch slow made things that take time are actually worth the wait. This curiosity about what goes into things and how they are made continues to drive the site to this day.

Fittingly, Ketel One Vodka has created the Modern Craft Project (which dovetails beautifully with the same spirit of supporting craft that goes to the heart of ACL), a global program to foster the independent craftsman who makes great things by hand. The company has established a “Ketel One Legacy” program to support, promote (and even help fund) the passions of a few unique craftsmen. One way to look at it is an incubator for well-made things and they are looking for makers. That’s where things get good – all craftsmen can submit their project or skill here for a chance to earn the support of Ketel One in continuing to building your own legacy.

To keep the Portlandia-ness to a minimum, all gratuitous “birds on things” will be automatically rejected. That’s not actually true, I made that up. But all craft will be considered and the world will be a better place because of it. [MODERN CRAFT PROJECT]