I recently followed a group on a tour of the Bybee Stone Company in Elletsville, Indiana; an area involved in limestone craftsmanship since the Civil War.
During that time, I found that they also set an example of craftsmanship, enduring relationships and contemporary relevance I would like to follow in the work done at C R A F T.
On the main floor of the mill, the rough cutting is done with a series of large machines, some of which have been with the company for more than a lifetime. Many were created as bespoke equipment by the old manufacturing companies in the region, the names of which are sometimes only carried on by their equipment that remains. Even so, these lovingly maintained tools are still put to hard work every day.
The sense of tradition and continuity is strong on the cutting floor, where master stonecutters work a piece from block to finished work over days or weeks of hand-carving. The older foundation walls at one end are made in part of un-used pieces of limestone cornice from the oldest days of the mill.
But, despite the age of the company and it's equipment, Bybee Stone is constantly working to be relevant to the world they send their pieces into.
Skilled labor and contemporary digital design tools are being used together to better coordinate the evolution from drawings to finished work. By remaining compatible with the latest techniques used by building designers and maintaining a highly skilled group of craftsmen, the company is able to produce a better quality of work at a faster rate than many of it's more automated competitors.
To me, this is what makes Bybee Stone the most relevant. Their ability to produce quality hand-made pieces with local labor, while also remaining competitive with global mass-producers is what empowers them to preserve the benefits of a traditional way of work.
