Think about the strangest thing a graphic designer could entrepreneurially design for the mass market. Then think of Peter Buchanan-Smith, former art director of The New York Times Op-Ed page and Paper magazine. What you end up with is designer axes. Yes, you heard me right–AXES (not guitars, but the kind that cuts wood or other things).
When axed why he chose them, Buchanan-Smith said this about his company, Best Made: “For me, the axes are symbolic of many things we all seem to be longing for these days: simplicity, hard honest work, virtue, independence, loyalty, and endurance are the first things that come to mind. This is the start of a new company and a movement of sorts. Axes don’t just belong in the hands of lumberjacks–we see them in Upper East Side townhouses, Wall Street offices, urban design studios, leaning up in living room walls everywhere; in the hands of everyone, of all shapes and sizes, backgrounds, and tastes. Pick up an axe and feel the power surge through you. (It’s unmistakable!)”