Often, when you ask somebody what they do for a living, you’re not expecting a response like “bootmaker.” But George Vlagos, as you can see above, is doing his part to keep the art of hand-made bootmaking, and his family business, alive and well. He’s not the only one keeping a valuable craft in the family, though, although some are… odder than others.
The Rosenwach Group
Water tanks dot the skyline of many cities… but have you ever wondered who makes them? Dating back to 1895, when water towers were essentially giant barrels, the family owned business has grown rapidly, to the point where the Rosenwatch Group is somehow involved with most water towers.
Erikson Labs, Ocularists
Christie Erickson and her son, Todd Cranmore, have a very specific job… making ocular prosthetics for people who have lost their eyes to disease, injury or other circumstances. Ocularism isn’t just a matter of slapping a lens in there and calling it a day, though; each prosthetic is modeled on the remaining eye, when possible, and is hand-painted, layer by layer, color by color, until the patient has a perfect eye.
God’s Own Junkyard
Ever wonder what happens to neon signs when they get taken down? There’s a pretty good chance they wind up here. Chris Bracey inherited the junkyard from his father and also learned the craft of building neon signs. If there’s a custom neon sign in a movie, it’s likely been engineered and built by Bracey. Once the studios are done with the signs, he takes them back and puts them in his glowing junkyard.
Neuman Alphorns
Remember those Ricola commercials? Meet the family that handcrafts the alphorns you see. Painstaking carved by hand, wrapped in cane, polished, sanded, and painted, every horn they make is unique. No, they won’t sing the jingle.
Fereikos Snail Products
As hard as it may be to believe, there’s a market for eating snails, Fereikos is one of the premier food companies on the market offering snails and snail products. They’re high-protein, low-fat, and popular enough that Penny and Maria Vlachou started their own farm for them, which has expanded operations across Greece and now ships internationally.
It seems the families that work together stay together… no matter how strange the business is.