The Wabi Nabe Cast Iron Pot, by Gabriel Hargrove for ODLCO, was released around this time last year, our first small-batch manufacturing project and a cornerstone of the ODLCO ethos. Making the Wabi Nabe would have been impossible without a close working relationship with Roloff MFG, the green sand foundry that produces it for us. The foundry's bread and butter is cast iron anchors and machine parts. Luckily for us, they agreed to take on the Wabi Nabe project, which mixes well with their back catalog of paperweights, bookends, and decorative objects. 

During the most recent round of Wabi Nabe manufacturing at Roloff, we drove up to Kaukauna, WI (leaving Chicago at 3am to make the early morning pour) to film the whole thing so we could share it with you today. Watch "The Making of the Wabi Nabe" for a close look at hydraulic presses, resinous sand, red hot crucibles, and sparkles.  If you want to learn more about the green sand process, flip through the gallery of stills below.  If you are having trouble loading the video on this page, click here to watch on Vimeo.

We're continually amazed by how much coordination, man power, and experience goes into the creation of the material goods we take for granted. Our mission is to seek out small manufacturers (like Roloff) and utilize their expertise to make low-volume production runs of high quality design objects for everyday use. Help us in this goal by sharing this video or, better yet, picking up a Wabi Nabe or a Loon yourself.