The Material Review

Issue 088: The Last Renaissance Man, Approach Shoes, A Look Inside Ludwig Drums, The Mets, Barneys, America’s Karate Kingpin, Timex's HQ and Spotlight On: Oxford Shirts.

Michael Williams

and

Taylor Stacey

May 07, 2025

Stories worth reading. Stop indexing the internet.

The Last Renaissance Man

“Ely Callaway went from running the Burlington textile company to founding ultra-successful wine and golf businesses—all while hiding a lifelong secret” [Air Mail]

What is an ‘approach’ shoe – and why should you be wearing them?

“This climbing sneaker was designed for mountains, but it’s taking over the city” [FT]

Inside the Ludwig Drums Factory

“Ringo Starr made Ludwig drum kits popular, but the instrument makers of Monroe, North Carolina, keep them that way” [Oxford American]

If the Mets Are No Longer Underdogs, Are They Still the Mets?

“New York’s other baseball team has the league’s richest owner and just poached one of the game’s best hitters from the Yankees. They may never be the same” [The New Yorker]

“The late, great New York department store lives on—well, sort of, and in name only, really, inside a few Saks stores, a gated community in Tulum, and a 2010s zombieland in Tokyo. Efforts to resurrect the brand have sputtered and failed, and maybe for good reason, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying.” [Puck]

Bad Dojo: Tiger Schulmann Didn’t Get to Be America’s No. 1 Karate Kingpin Without Busting a Few Faces

“Former senseis and business partners accuse Schulmann of building his $35-million-a-year martial-arts empire with Mafia tactics. What, you expect him to apologize?” [Esquire]

The clock is ticking on Timex’s iconic Connecticut headquarters

“The watch company is moving out of its time-telling building, and demolition may be looming. Can a small but passionate group save it?” [Fast Company]