The first iteration of Tom Roering’s amphibious all-terrain vehicle, the Wilcraft, was far from amphibious: it took on so much water that it wouldn’t float. The year was 1998, and Roering was determined to build a mobile ice-fishing house. He and his family had been building permanent ice-fishing houses for years but had experienced setbacks: … [ Read more]
Ice Ride: From mobile ice fishing to saving lives, the Wilcraft navigates niche markets and tough terrain
February 25, 2019 by
Next Gen Limb Design
October 29, 2018 by
For 130 years, Winkley has helped make Minnesota a hub for prosthetics and orthotics Inside a glass cube, Robert grinds away at a leg, swiveling his head from side to side, slowing down to carve the fine details of the ankle bone and arch, occasionally pausing to blast the leg with air and clear the … [ Read more]
Woodsmanship & Tradition at Little Crow Custom Bows
September 24, 2018 by
If you get Lee Waltman, owner and sole employee of Little Crow Custom Bows, started on varieties of wood, you’d better have some time on your hands. Not because Waltman is overly wordy or dry, but because he’s a zealot for detail and fastidiously interested in every facet of traditional bow making. Waltman’s workshop sits … [ Read more]
Shoes With Soul: Stylish shoe repair at Greenwich Vintage
March 26, 2018 by
It’s me!” Tamas “Zen” Pomazi shouts as he enters Papa’s Shoe Repair II in downtown Waconia. The phrase is a signal to Julio Sanchez—owner of Papa’s—that it is, indeed, him and not a customer. Pomazi passes a row of bookcases that separate the service counter and small retail racks near the entrance from the workshop … [ Read more]
Insert Beer to Continue: Craft beer, cocktails, and nostalgia are reinvigorating the modern arcade
September 25, 2017 by
“Pinbot circuits activated” Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Start “Finish him!” If you were born between 1980 and 1990, these sayings were probably—and maybe still are—part of your lexicon. Even if you didn’t grow up stomping Goombas or trying to rescue April from the Shredder, you might have gleaned the language from an older brother or cousin. For those of … [ Read more]
Brewer Profile: Dave Berg, August Schell Brewing Company
July 25, 2017 by
A peacock has marked me with a deadeye stare, its regal tail splayed on the stone walkway outside the gift shop of the August Schell Brewing Company. I’ve just parked on Schell’s Road, and a cyclist zips past on a Surly Cross-Check, nods, and hops off. I snap some pictures of the bird, taking in … [ Read more]
Urban Boatbuilders is empowering youth, one boat at a time
June 28, 2017 by
“From Lake Superior, you can go anywhere in the world.” That’s what one of the instructors at Urban Boatbuilders in St. Paul likes to tell his students. “Not that I would recommend traveling the world in a canoe,” Marc Hosmer, Urban Boatbuilders’s executive director, says. “But the idea of connection to the broader world and … [ Read more]
Brewer Profile: Michael Koppelman of Badger Hill Brewing Company
May 31, 2017 by
It is midday on a Friday, one of the first 70-degree days in May, and Badger Hill Brewing Company’s taproom is hushed, save for a few lone wolves flipping through newspapers at the bar. I’m here to meet with Michael Koppelman, part owner and head brewer of Badger Hill. Though we’ve never met before, he … [ Read more]
Craft Culture: Fresh views on camping at Vistabule Teardrop Trailers
April 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment
There’s a timeless nostalgia and sense of adventure in the very shape of a teardrop camping trailer. The petite, two-person campers weigh around 1,200 pounds and can be hauled by most station wagons or small trucks. They were popularized in the 1930s, but the internet age renewed them into fashion. Now a handful of entrepreneurs … [ Read more]
Do It Yourself, Together: How maker spaces & tool libraries are building community
March 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
A squat, unassuming building of beige-painted brick and exposed cinder block sits tucked behind some of the great restaurants of Northeast Minneapolis’ Central Avenue. A red, hexagonal sign reads “MPLS Make” in white letters. It’s 4pm on a Thursday. A sign on the back door reads: “KNOCK LOUD! We’re rocking music and power tools in … [ Read more]
Craft Culture: Creative reuse and customer empowerment at Junket Tossed & Found
February 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
At first glance, you might think Junket: Tossed & Found is yet another vintage shop surrounded by numerous other vintage shops on Minnehaha Avenue in South Minneapolis. Old rockers, desk chairs, and salvaged theater seats huddle together out front. There’s a ‘90s-era school desk with a flip-up lid and a classic red wagon. An old … [ Read more]
Trailblazers 2016: Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone of Revival and Corner Table
November 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When Nick Rancone and Thomas Boemer transformed Corner Table in 2013, they connected with a zeitgeist. High-end diners and food adventurers still craved sustainability, but with a little less bang-you-on-the-head zealotry. Instead, they angled for seasonally-focused, casual elegance with a side of soul—think coq au vin next to maple-roasted jowl. That modus operandi carried them … [ Read more]
Sepak attack: The sport of takraw is gaining a foothold in Minnesota
September 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Thirty people are are dispersed between two nets on a near perfect August night outside Olson Middle School in North Minneapolis. Younger players, roughly between 20 and 40, play at one court, 50-and-60-somethings at the other. The courts are twined-off, the grass worn. Spectators cheer from the sidelines. From a distance, this might seem like … [ Read more]
Single-Speed Service: The fast-paced world of bike delivery couriers
July 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I arrive at the Uptown Minneapolis office of Rock-It Delivery at 10am on a warm Thursday in June. It’s a cave-like space, dank and minimal, with a vintage couch by the window, a desk with a computer, and, of course, bikes lined up along the far wall. There is a cargo bike for large orders … [ Read more]
Penumbra marks 40 years of illuminating the African-American experience through art
June 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When you pull up to St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre, considered one of the largest and most important African-American theater companies in the nation, the first thing you notice is the playground. Tots toddle down teal-colored slides. Little yellow dump trucks sit bedded in a swath of wood chips. The fence that borders the property is … [ Read more]
