Brooklyn Makers

A creative renaissance blooms in Brooklyn. At its heart is a thriving community of artisans producing a remarkable variety of handmade goods. In Brooklyn Makers, photographer Jennifer Causey captures the spirit of this homegrown movement by documenting thirty of the borough's most celebrated craftsmen. This eclectic mix of established and up-and-coming makers includes bakers, ceramic artists, clothing designers, florists, distillers, and more. With an eye for small details, Causey's charming photographs reveal each artisan at work in their own space. Her lively interviews reveal what inspires them, keeps them motivated, and their thoughts on the city where they live and work.

The history of any skilled urban trade is ultimately tied to the growth and development of the city in which it is located. From its humble eighteenth-century beginnings, instrument making grew to be one of New York City's most sizable and important trades. By the 1840s, the city was the largest producer of instruments in the Western Hemisphere, and, in the decades that followed, designs and innovations pioneered by New York artisans influenced and inspired instrument makers throughout the world. Although many of the these instruments survive in American museums, there existed no comprehensive guide to their makers. Nancy Groce's biographical dictionary chronicles all of these master craftsmen in colorful detail, from the obscure work of Geoffry Stafford in 1691, to the zenith of the 1890s, and on to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In this follow-up to our bestselling Brooklyn Makers, photographer Jennifer Causey returns to her Southern roots to introduce us to a group of artisans with a long tradition of craftsmanship and a wonderfully vibrant cultural history. In communities across the South, amidst breathtaking country landscapes and bustling city neighborhoods, a thriving creative revival is underway. In Southern Makers, Causey captures the spirit of this movement by documenting twenty-five of the area's most celebrated craftspeople. This eclectic mix of established and up-and-coming makers includes bakers, textile artists, denim designers, jewelers, woodworkers, brewers, farmers, and more. Causey's photographs are suffused with Southern charm as she explores the artisans' spaces, from restored homes and old factories to repurposed gas stations, general stores, and flowering fields. These lively interviews reveal personal inspirations and motivations, along with heartfelt reflections on the place where they live and work.

Made in Brooklyn is a belated critique of the Maker Movement: from its origins in the nineteenth century to its impact on labor and its entanglement in the neoliberal economic model of the tech industry. Part history, part ethnography, Made in Brooklyn provides a unified analysis of how the tech industry has infiltrated artistic practice and urban space.

An authoritative history of the trailblazers of the independent rock 'n' roll record industry