VPI Industries reveals Shinola x VPI table.

Hey all, Mat from VPI!  We are excited for this collaboration @jperry  your post just made my day!  @mr_m  by 2017 VPI will be down to 4 production tables all at different price points (not including the reference/Avenger tables).  The Shinola table will sit right in the price point where the Classic once was so it should naturally fall into place.   

I may not be in the market for one of these but I'm still pleased to see the announcement.  I've been a fan of, and own some, VPI products for years.  And having grown up in Michigan I've also been aware of Shinola and their high quality products for some time.  So an interesting coming together.

And very funny jperry.  Must admit I've wondered why Shinola was chosen as a brand name?

That is a great looking table. Nicely designed. A bit of Rek-o-Kut or Empire look to it.

The colloquialism "You don’t know s--- from Shinola, that’s why your shoes don’t shine" was a reference to Shinola shoe polish, a standard in American shoes from around 1900 until they went out of business in about 1960. Apparently when the head of an investment firm said he wanted to make high quality watches in the US, someone used the old colloquialism to describe his understanding of what it would take to do that. The name stuck and they became the Shinola company, geared to making quality American products including watches and bicycles. The current Shinola company is a new company, having been founded in 2011. There is no actual relationship to the old company, the new group just liked the name and obtained rights to use it. They manufacture in the US, although they use watch parts from Switzerland.

Thanks DTC. I knew the story behind the saying, but not the reason Shinola chose their company name.

Sometimes audiophiles have trouble telling the difference between the two as well.

Obviously, the best of luck to all in this turntable venture, and may they always know the difference.