The mag has a nice feel on the hand: matte finish & respectable weight. The cover is lighter than expected, but pairs well with the unpretentious non-grid layout of the text blocks; a carefully considered nonchalant kinda appeal.

view more photos of my trip on my instagram: onandbeyond

One of the highlights of our visit was meeting the employees manning the sewing machines in the factory. There was such a minute attention to every little task they performed, that their pride in working for such a community invested company was more than evident…

I wanna thank Sean for having us in Winnipeg and sharing a very personal side of his company with us. This was easily one of the most eye-opening trips I’ve had the pleasure of going on. A little video recap in a few days.

The first thing I noticed is a contagious passion and sympathy in regards to the dying tradition of aboriginal art. In fact, Aboriginal art does not receive the recognition nor value it truly deserves especially when we think of the numerous companies mass-producing replica moccasins and mukluks, selling them dirt cheap, making it impossible for the aboriginal community’s lack of brand identity to compete and market their goods in a postmodern shopper’s world… Which brings us to the matter at hand; Sean has developed the Storyboot project in which Manitobah Mukluks commissions aboriginal craft-artists to hand cut, sew & embroider Mukluk boots in the method they were always meant to be made. Not only is it a means to revive the art but also as a way to give back what is deserved to the native community.

The premise of our journey was to visit Norway House and meet one of the artists contributing to the collection of one-off’s. We were lucky enough to have time to roam around the town which gave us a glimpse into the social imperfections making the Storyboot project that much more relevant when in situ.

At last, we get to observe each needle and thread meticulously puncture the freshly smoked deer hide; it’s a visually mind-numbing experience similar to watching the timelapse of an architectural build site. We sat in the room for a while, asked her questions about her past, about the community but most importantly about the art of handcraft and how it is bringing the Cree nation together.

This isn’t nearly the end of our journey nor is it the conclusion to my visual essay. We have yet to see the arms holding up the curtains, the people sweating to make project’s like this possible, a less romantic but equally pertinent side of the company. Hold tight we’ll wrap up the dichotomy in a few days.

Here’s my submission:

The awesome folks at Baldwin. (Below: Matt Baldwin)

SNS Herning

McNairy