We took a lot of care in choosing who makes our Always Pan. We researched tens of factories and visited 15 in person in order to find a factory making goods with the same amount of care that we take with our business. Our Always Pan Factory is run by a kickass woman, who took over when she married into the family business of three generations.

We chose them because of their dedication to balancing top-notch quality production with thought, care, and support for their team of 401 makers and administrators. All employees benefit from performance-based bonuses, health care, and regular professional development opportunities.

Our Drinking Glasses are crafted by a team of expert glassblowers. Located just outside of Bangkok, the factory has been operating since 1974. Glassmaking is a team effort, and our factory takes professional development seriously to help each artisan develop their craft. Each glass passes between 10 different team members to ensure quality at every step of production.Our Drinking Glasses are produced by traditional handmade technique, which means each glass requires precision and craft. Hot glass is first gathered from the furnace and molded using specialized tools to create the unique glass shape. When we visited the factory, we caught up with one of the artisans who make our glasses, who has been with our Drinking Glass Factory for over 30 years. On his craft, he said, “I have a lot of pride and happiness in my work. I’m very proud of myself to have gotten to where I am today.”

Our Eternal Strength 永力 Cleaver is crafted in the knife-making region of China. Our factory has been in business for over 20 years and employs 80 expert knifesmiths, some of whom who have been crafting premium knives for over 15 years.

Our Cleaver Factory is one of the only makers that uses traditional cryogenic methods to treat their steel—resulting in a blade that’s stronger and sharper for longer. On top of their expert craftsmanship, all of the mastersmiths have strong worker benefits and compensation, including: PTO and bonuses every season, health care, free lunch at the factory, and birthday activities every month.

Our Lunar New Year Platters are made in a province that specializes in traditional Chinese tea wares. The owner has over two decades of production experience, and six years ago struck out on his own to start his own factory.

At our Platter Factory, they take great care to manage their environmental impact with respect to the earth we all share. In particular, they’ve developed processes and procedures to make sure that they are contributing to the preservation of local water sources and ethical waste management practices. Beyond their water recycling system to keep industrial waste out of local sources, they also maintain a zero emission standard that is re-certified every year.

We’re big believers in coming together at Our Place—so we were pleased to hear that the makers at our Platter Factory elected an official representative in 2018, and together, they hold regular meetings with management to make their workplace even better.

Every good idea starts at the end of a bottle of mezcal. At least, that was true for Salime, one of the co-founders of Xaquixe Glass Innovation Studio. After a long night of drinking mezcal, she decided she wanted to bring glassmaking back to her native Oaxaca, and jetted off to the USA to learn everything she could about glass. From there, she met her co-founder, Christian and together they returned to Oaxaca to start Xaquixe.

Using their combined skillsets as artist and engineer, they created a line of stunning and sustainable glassware. Every step in their glassmaking process is optimized for energy conservation. Each one of our hand blown mezcal glasses starts out as locally-sourced post-consumer glass from the community. The ovens are powered by recycled oil from local restaurants—but the energy doesn’t stop there. They funnel the heat from the ovens to power their on-site mezcal distillery.

They have a team of expert artisans, some of whom have been working with Xaquixe for over 13 years. See the rest of their  silhouettes and shapes here at Xaquixe Glass Innovation Studio.

La Chicharra is on a mission to push the boundaries of Mexican ceramic tradition and combine modern techniques to amplify artisan craftsmanship. The studio was founded by two fine artists, María Fernanda Oviedo Mendiola and Eduardo López Cervantes.

Their mission: to use fine art techniques to make their mark on Oaxacan ceramic tradition.

We love La Chicarra because they're all about making and breaking traditions—something we have in common. Each glaze is crafted by local clays and dyes to create unique blends inspired by nature. Their silhouettes are finely designed and hand-finished right in their Oaxaca de Juárez workshop.

See the rest of their ceramic silhouettes and shapes here at La Chicharra Cerámica.

Las Mujeres Tejedores de Yo'o Kua'a are a collective of 20 indigenous artisan weavers from San Juan Colorado, a mountainous coastal region in southwest Oaxaca. Together, they carry on the tradition of backstrap weaving and have been working together for twenty years. Agustina, their president, is the namesake of the table runner that we made together.

The backstrap loom allows for the delicate pattern work of embroidery with the durability of a fully finished weave. In addition to their expert weaving, the artisans rescued the heirloom coyuchi cotton crop and propagated it for use in their beautiful textiles. Coyuchi cotton gives color in our Agustina Table Runner and it’s grown minutes away from where our artisans weave in San Juan Colorado.

This is the first major export for Las Mujeres Tejedores de Yo'o Kua'a and we are honored and humbled to bring their work from Our Place to yours. Looking to commission from Las Mujeres Tejedores de Yo'o Kua'a? Shoot us an email.