One of Shinola's 60 factory workers assembles a bicycle. Photo by: John Spinks

Shinola has expanded its space in Detroit's Argonaut Building to include leather manufactuirng. The company sources most of its raw materials from tanneries in Chicago, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of Shinola.

Producing a watch band is a multi-step process. Leather is brought into the factory, slimmed down in a process called skiving, then layered together, cut into shape, heat-pressed together, then stitched. The last piece is attaching the watch face to the band.

Italian company Galli S.P.A. custom made the machinery in the 12,000-square-foot workshop based on specifications needed to produce Shinola's designs. Photo courtesy of Shinola.

"A lot of good things happen when you can develop products right where you produce them," says Jen Guarino, VP of Leather at Shinola. Photo courtesy of Shinola.

"In doing somethng like [leather manufactuirng], money doesn't buy everything," says Guarino. "You need people who know how to do the job." Shinola predicts it will have a workforce of 60 people in the leather studio by the end of 2014.

Practice Space “It provides a sense of old and new together, showcasing the opportunity in Detroit,” says Justin Mast, an architect and organizer behind Practice Space. “Development here operates in its own way. People need to figure it out and connect the dots.” Photo by Catie Newell

Toby Barlow and Keira Alexandra enjoy a leisurely Alpine morning in bed in their Detroit high-rise home.

The new, enlarged master bedroom is positioned where the old dining room once was. The clients wished to add an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. Throughout the design process, there was push and pull with reconciling the programmatic goals with a finite space. “Getting everything the clients needed into a pretty small was achieved through massaging small dimensions from one end of the house to the other,” says Jost.

A private raised patio in the small backyard further extends and expands the space into the outdoors.

Their creative confections may ruin our diets, but we’re happy to be their taste testers anytime.

A 500-square-foot outdoor space with a grill, a table, and a hammock sits just off the entrance level of the townhouse, offering extra room for dining, relaxing, and entertaining. The corner couch is a custom piece inspired by the large cushions of Moroccan sofas. The Fermob table is paired with Hay Hee dining chairs by Hay.

The lower floor houses a spa, gym, and office. A built-in bathroom by Espace Cuisine includes a sauna.

Philip A. Hart Plaza and Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial FountainDetroit, Michigan Located on the banks of the Windsor River, the Philip A. Hart Plaza was designed by architecture firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls with the help of Isamu Noguchi.

Fir plywood from Freres Lumber joins IKEA cabinets. The figure painting is by Dylan Dean.

Davor (with his wife, Abbe, and son, August) designed the main living and dining pavilion as a double-height space to increase its perceived volume, and added high cubbies for extra storage.

Shinola's creative director Daniel Caudill says, "Our long-term goal is to have everything made here. The current challenge is that since we can't [produce everything domestically], what can we make?" That would be the bicycle, whose parts are made in Wisconsin (frame), California (wheels), Colorado (spokes), and Mississippi (tubing). Photo by: Greg Vore

The glass-enclosed master bedroom floats above the corrugated, oxidized steel exterior.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

A guest bedroom, with furniture from Room & Board, overlooks the bridge above the dining courtyard. The home’s landscape architecture is by Ventura, California–based Jack Kiesel. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

A small, dilapidated 10' x 12' neighboring structure was brought back to life and is now used as an art studio and guest cottage with a Murphy bed. In total, the property can sleep 10 people comfortably.

Marco V. Morelli says his Studio Shed is the perfect refuge. “It’s changed my life for the better,” he says. “I’ve gotten so much more work done, and I think my marital relations are much better because I have a place of my own.”

The bi-level car barn, a spare, timber-clad structure with an A-frame roof, nods to traditional farmhouses, but is “sleek and contemporary in spirit,” says Geremia. Inspired by an old photo of a porcelain farmhouse sink, it features polished concrete floors.

Inside, playful pillows can be rearranged in any manner, and are often used as mock beds for relaxing and looking at the canopies above.

Working with his colleagues at Austin Maynard Architects, architect Andrew Maynard added a 184-square-foot, sun-saturated greenhouse extension to his existing 364-square-foot home, and the new space serves as an office for him and his team.

Olympia Stadium, a former home of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, has also hosted everything from Presidential speeches to boxing matches to circus spectacles. The building was instrumental in turning Detroit into an entertainment destination.

The 5,174-seat Detroit Fox Theatre was the largest of the Fox Theatres. With its unique mix of Egyptian, Far Eastern, and Indian styles, it was a movie palace exotique. Its featured two organs made it a favorite destination for thirty-five cent talkies, vaudeville, and organ concerts. The structure has weathered time and been faithfully restored.

Awash in blue, the prominent "living room" is not just a social hangout for Shinola Hotel guests, but the downtown Detroit community.

The arcaded-Italian style Majestic Theater in Detroit, built in 1909, was Crane’s first design. With 1651 seats, it was the largest movie theater in the world at the time. There is a myth that the great magician Houdini performed the last of his bewitching performances on this stage in 1926.

A double-height space encompasses the kitchen, dining and living area, and features 36-feet-wide glass doors that pocket into southern and northern walls.

Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.