Poglia & Co.
A singular product crafted with love and careful consideration. That’s what we strive for in our jeans, and when we met Max Poglia, we knew we had met a kindred spirit.
Max is a creative designer by training based in New York, who started making handcrafted knives, leather bags, and blankets for his own use. He first incorporated some of his pieces at Buvette, the acclaimed restaurant in New York and now Paris, and the Bedford Post, the inn in Bedford, NY owned by Richard Gere. It didn’t take long for people to start noticing his products and he soon released an entire line.
The pieces themselves are gorgeous. Raw leather bags that will darken and gain a rich patina with honest use. Knives made with steel cut from reclaimed disk plows and finished with brass, bone, wood and horn. All made by hand in Max’s workshop in his native Southern Brazil and supporting families of artisans.
But what really sets Poglia & Co. apart is the philosophy that feeds the work. Poglia products encourage us to be more thoughtful about life’s small moments. It’s not that the knife makes the picnic so much better – it’s that the knife prods us to put more attention and care into the picnic, making the experience richer. Underlying the products is the belief that a life is actually just the sum total of these small moments. It’s like the old Annie Dillard quote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
There’s also a deeper ethical imperative that lies at the core of Max’s work – an urging to actively care for the things around us, and the belief that active care makes the object of that care more beautiful. Take his knives – the blades aren’t stainless, so they require hand washing and drying. With time and care, they develop a beautiful, timeless patina that a typical stainless blade could never replicate. We think this philosophy extends to the people in our lives as well – our wives, parents, children, and friends. When we pour our love into them, they become more beautiful in our eyes.
Max calls this philosophy the marriage of ethics and aesthetics. His Instagram is a big part his work. It’s a stunning collection of photography that shows what these elevated moments can look and feel like.
We’re proud to carry Poglia & Co. products in our Richmond store. We have a small selection of leather bags and pocket knives finished with horn, wood, and bone. The bags sell for $390, and the knives are $230. We hope you’ll stop by and take a look. We’re excited to share them with you.
