Best Of Cleveland: Record Storage

Let’s face it: As vinyl record collectors, we can be … over-the-top. Don’t touch the surface. Dust with a dry carbon fiber brush. Do you hear the warmth? The separation? Why, then, would we store our prized possessions in milk crates? Brit and Jason Prather, the husband-and-wife woodworking duo behind PratherMade, understood this when handcrafting their record storage solution. “We’re obsessively detail-oriented,” says Brit. “We’d take our own records out to the garage and ask: ‘Is it functional? Is it comfortable to use?’ ” Made from locally sourced poplar, walnut, cherry and maple and metal piping, the line now ranges from a 30-record floor rack ($70) to the three-tier, furniture-size Morad storage unit ($875) that houses 450 records. Wall-mounted racks ($65-$80), grooved ledges ($20-$55) and an on-deck album stand ($30) feed the urge to display albums like art. The forward-facing racks are designed to mimic browsing at the record store — a retailer even commissioned the original piece. “We want to make something you can keep forever,” says Brit, “something you’re proud to put your records in.” prathermade.com

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