Another excellent article on this wonderful company: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/how-one-company-levels-the-pay-slope-of-executi

Another excellent article on this wonderful company: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/how-one-company-levels-the-pay-slope-of-executives-and-workers/article15472738/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/h... and I really wish pay slope would be a standard part of discussion of company finances and profits and ethics. I'm always glad of the chance to order from Lee Valley, and have a fair number of their tools (and am beginning a collection of their miniature tools) --- that said, I don't completely like the design language/aesthetic of many of their tools --- it's somewhat streamlined/modern, but also a bit traditional and it just doesn't quite click with me for a fair number of their tools. The reproductions are awesome though, and a few of the tools are really appealing. Other companies whose aesthetic is a better fit for me and which I think have a more consistent aesthetic presentation: - Lie-Nielsen --- unabashedly traditional, they nevertheless make many small improvements which result in wonderful tools which are a great improvement on their vintage predecessors - Blue Spruce Toolworks --- a company which does both wonderfully traditional tools (their chisels and mallets) and new designs which take advantage of modern materials (their "Ultimate Coping Saw") - Bridge City Tool Works --- John Economaki has had two major periods, the first of traditional and unique tools in traditional materials (brass, steel, and rosewood) with some incredibly innovative options which still have no equal in the market, while the second, after his hospitalization for an allergic reaction to tropical hardwoods embraces aluminum in a way which has some folks joking about "tools for the Terminator to use", a third period is still unfolding with the sale of the company to a Chinese firm, and a new business model where daily sales with a limited number of items available at the sales price capitalizes on FOMO to ensure a consistent cash flow, and to allow load-balancing of their inventory. That said, the new prices are great, though the quality control apparently needs (or needed? resolved now?) work.