Manufactum, Purveyor of Good Things

Manufactum is a great retailer based in Germany that scours the globe for old-fashioned, handmade and just plain old reliable goods. From gardening tools to cleaning supplies, clothing to sporting goods, everything they sell is charmingly and unselfconciously retro. But what makes it particularly unique from other similar vendors is that this catalogue is assembled by Germans, not a people known for embracing the faux-finish country cottage shabby-chic retro crap that enchants so many Americans. Theirs is a nostalgia for – wait for it, and say it with a furrowed brow - superior utility.

Ever since discovering them online a couple of years ago, I’ve spent hours poring over their catalogue, and someday, I may work up the justification to place an order, perhaps for a set of these super-cool apothecary spice jars or a special edition Rimowa steel suitcase.

Their restrained criteria for products to sell translates to lots of cast iron, steel, glass, brass and leather, with nary a bit of plastic to be found. Fountain pens, wool coats, boar bristle shaving brushes - it’s as if all technological advances made after 1920 have been categorically ignored. The end result is a special, albeit expensive, world full of authentic handcrafted and durable goods, where everything is made by an artisan and nothing is toxic or over-engineered.

What’s so cool about this? They also sell food.

The packaging alone is like a walk through some mythical Beaux-Arts corner store, full of delightfully ornate graphic indulgences for simple items like cookies and Italian nougat. There are glass bottles of vinegar with intricate labels that resemble nineteenth century letterpress handbills, twee little jars of preserves with paper lid skirts, and earthenware mustard crocks with cork lids secured by wax and string. Accordingly, the contents of these beautiful packages are made with the same respect for tradition and rejection of technological adjuncts as the housewares. It’s yet another vote for bringing back the good old days of food – all I need now is a stateside purveyor…