Shinola Cafe

The question isn't why you'd build a watch factory in Detroit, it's why you'd want to see American jobs go anywhere else. Through four Detroit winters, we've been working to bring manufacturing jobs back to Detroit and back to this country. We build our goods to last, but of all the things we make, American jobs might just be the thing we're most proud of. Each Shinola bicycle undergoes a precise, custom-level assembly by experts in our Detroit Flagship retail store at 441 W. Canfield. Because we believe there's only one way to properly build a bicycle, and that's one at a time, by hand, with rigorous attention to detail and using only the highest quality components available. We transformed 30,000 square feet of raw space into a state-of-the-art watch factory inside the College for Creative Studies within the historic Argonaut building. Our production combines meticulous hand-assembly with the most advanced technology available to ensure our watches are both beautiful and built to last. The 12,000-square-foot Shinola Leather Factory produces small leather goods and over 50 percent of our watch straps, using traditional labor-intensive methods as well as modern hi-tech custom-made Italian machinery. Like all of our leather goods, these products are made from leather tanned in some of America’s oldest and finest tanneries.