A Fashion Editor's Quest to Create a Wardrobe with America's Finest Artisans

“It all started when I tracked down a nun who owned a cashmere goat farm,” said Melissa Ventosa Martin, founder of Old Stone Trade, an online marketplace for products made by international artisans.

Since 2021, Ms. Ventosa Martin, 45, has been selling made-to-order items like a green tweed kilt from Andrea Chappell’s Acme atelier in Scotland or hand-sewn loafers from Aldanondo y Födez in Spain, the kind of rare, high-quality things she once bought while traveling in her former career as a fashion editor.

Two years ago, she began planning a collection around the concept of a classic American uniform: a pair of jeans, a perfect cashmere sweater, an oversized blazer, a leather bag with the same level of finish and luster you might find at Hermès.

The challenge was finding people who could produce luxury items on a small scale. That’s how she eventually found the nuns and their goats at the Adirondack Wool Festival. They then introduced her to Clean Cashmere, a company that works with small American farms, helping them source, clean and spin their wool, Ventosa Martin said.

The result is a ribbed, three-quarter-sleeve henley sweater by Maggie Koluch, a New York-based knitter, using undyed cashmere, washed and spun in the United States.

Each piece in the collection tends to have a similar labyrinthine story, exactly the kind of narrative Ms. Ventosa Martin wanted for her small business.

Handmade in America also includes a pair of blue jeans and a jacket made by Glenn Liburd of Glenns Denim for Old Stone Trade, based in Providence, Rhode Island, who previously led the custom program for Levis.

Nothing is more American than jeans, said Mr. Liburd, 68, who grew up in Trinidad and Tobago. Soldiers wore denim into battle, and then the trend spread to workwear and cowboys, eventually becoming what we know today.

He created a pair of '90s-style jeans (with a high-mid rise and a straight leg) from deadstock organic selvidge denim, woven on original shuttle looms in Greensboro, North Carolina. Each pair is hand-embroidered and numbered, with the first delivery being limited to 10. The jeans, like all Old Stone Trade products, are made to order.

“We take some measurements and have a space for the customer to note if they want the clothes to fit a certain way,” Ventosa Martin said. In addition to the collaborations, she has designed a day dress inspired by 1930s nurses’ uniforms. And an oversized navy wool blazer inspired by a 1990s David Letterman photo will be made by Greenfield Clothiers in Brooklyn, along with white wool pants.

But all this commitment to craftsmanship comes at a price. At the high end, an olive calfskin bag made entirely by hand by Lili Storella Leather in New Hampshire will retail for $6,200. (Ms. Ventosa Martin points out that Ms. Storella’s handbags, from her boutique Mila.jito, typically have a six-month waiting list.)

“We try to help the customer understand why things cost what they do,” Ventosa Martin said, when asked if potential customers ever complain about prices. “These craftsmen are paid for their time and their work, and our margins as a retailer are not huge. The main thing is that they get paid what they should be.”

In addition to word of mouth, Ventosa Martin often finds collaborators through social media. The Cowichan Sweater, a shawl-collar cardigan, comes from the Knit With Purpose collective in British Columbia, Canada, and is made by Indigenous knitters from the Coast Salish region. “She reached out to us and we brought together knitters who were excited to collaborate,” said Ron Rice, executive director of Knit With Purpose.

Ms. Ventosa Martin added Canada to the U.S. collection. “We’ve always talked about how lines on a map mean different things to different people,” Mr. Rice said. The lines for Indigenous peoples are arbitrary, stretching across both Canada and the United States.

She added: “It’s a great time to showcase American craftsmanship. There’s so much talent and it’s so diverse. It’s all made here and it’s really meaningful to see that process.”