JOURNAL | Projects, Events and New Products

  • Product Spotlight at Xiao Ye PDX :: A Chef knife roll for the chef

    "Xiao Ye is a neighborhood restaurant in the Hollywood District in Portland, Oregon serving First Generation American food."

    And with full transparency we admit on getting a tip from many many friends about the delicious experience we would embark upon. Xiao Ye's casual atmosphere is "professionally comforting", that's all I can really say to describe it LOL, I'm not a foodie that knows all the vocabulary. However, they are masters at the intersection where luxurious and cozy meet. We were served hand-made pasta dishes with fresh grated cheese, a decadent fried chicken with gravy poured all over it, to name just a few things, all-the-while plenty of champagne was flowing over our glasses.

    Impressed and inspired, we gifted Chef Louis Lin a knife case, seeing as how we believe that well-crafted goods go should never be alone. So, from our full-grain soft cattle hides, Louis now owns a 6 slot professional knife roll built to protect those precious knives that we know he likes to keep very very sharp. It is just like they say, a picture is worth a thousands words, so below we have included a few photos captured by Carter Hiyama from Datsu Films of the day we dined at Xiao Ye, and his new knife case. This truly was "a night of snacks" we won't soon forget. 

    Carter Hiyama at Xiao Ye Portland OR
    Carter Hiyama at Xiao Ye Portland OR
    Carter Hiyama at Xiao Ye Portland OR

     

     

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  • Now located in Portland Oregon

    "So, I headed North on the 101 where I picked up Kiel Johnson..."

     

    On December 13th, 2023 I hit the road with all of my belongings and said bye to my parents, family and friends in Santa Barbara. Just for now, see ya next season kind of thing because I’ll be back down to SB to visit the HOMER MAKER @homermaker store in Montecito sometime next month. So, I headed North on the 101 where I picked up Kiel Johnson @kieljohnson a long time friend and college buddy back from the Long beach state days now living in San Luis Obispo CA. he’s also down for a good road trip, especially if it involves what he calls, and I quote’ “a life chapter flip” which I’m guessing is a reference to the thousands of books he reads every year. That man wakes up at 3am and powers through the pages like a soldier’s duty. Anyhow, it took a few days to get set up, but I now live and work in Portland, OR. And I’m proud to announce that I feel quite comfortable here. As my mom pointed out, Oregon is in my blood. She was born in Eugene OR before her family moved to Santa Barbara a long time ago so we have lots of family in the area near Astoria. Portland is a great city and I can’t wait to see what develops here, so please reach out if you are in the area so we can connect!

    More updates will be coming in the near future, like: where will my design studio be set up? Will there ever be a retail store in Portland for Make Smith?

    All these questions will remain in development over time… but in the meantime, the website is live and I am shipping products now after the Holiday vacation. Please feel free to check the website if there is something you would like to purchase, and just DM me and we can work it out. The above image is the first piece I've made in my new Portland OR custom leather crafting studio. 

    Cheers!

    Steven

     

     

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  • Wickett & Craig Vegetable Tanning

     "Veg-tanning is a natural, eco-friendly process..."

    We thought we would share a little history and shed transparency around the high quality English Bridal leather we use in our prodcuts. We have been using Wickett & Craig English Bridle leather for all of our belts, key chains and bag strapping. Labor-intensive and incredibly appealing, English Bridle is a traditional leather with a variety of uses, from classic equestrian gear to high-end leather goods. Drum dyed and hot stuffed, English Bridle is smooth, flexible yet durable. 

    Founded in 1867, Wickett & Craig is a world premiere vegetable tannery. A labor-intensive method that requires skilled workers, veg-tanning is a natural, eco-friendly process that produces deep-colored leathers of superior quality. We’ve been perfecting the art of leather making for more than a 150 years. Watch the story of our company.

     

    Wickett & Craig | Superior Leather Since 1867 from Wickett & Craig on Vimeo.

     

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