Walking into Quinn Petersen’s home is like stepping into a melting pot of mutating art projects. It’s a cross between lunatic fringe artist and Americana. Quinn and his wife are the embodiment of post-moderism art. They have dedicated their lives to hand-crafting truly beautiful objects and goods. This is how you get Made in America.
It’s as if they have elected to divorce themselves from society, to exist without roots, to set out on that uncharted journey of the imperatives of the self- and they couldn’t be more welcoming into their hidden sanctuary. Quinn Petersen owns QP Collections- a small sample of his work that he makes available to the public. All his products are lovingly “Made in the U.S.A.” But while American-made goods are now fashionable, few have been willing to stake their professional future on it quite like Mr. Peterson. A former advertising executive at Ragnar, who oversaw the all their art direction, Petersen has decided to devote himself to refining his craft as an artist, rather than continue to pursue a life a prediction. The “Made in the U.S.A.” label has grown scarce, thanks to the offshore manufacturing in apparel and other industries, it has acquired cachet as a signifier of old-school craftsmanship, even luxury. And every one of his products are luxurious.
As any product of this approach, Quinn has started his own American Made company: QP Collections. They have three hand crafted products… “Just three?” I ask. “We want everything we make to be beautiful, perfect and a piece that people will appreciate as a part of their life. The look. The feel, the quality of construction… it all has to be there. We won’t sell any item that doesn’t meet these specifications. Until we perfect that, we won’t introduce any more products.”
