I love, love , love my WI skillet. I purchased mine at the Wisconsin grilled cheese festival.
This past Christmas I purchased one each for my three daughters. They were so happy to get one too. We each have them hanging on our respective walls. We are a true WI skillet family.
My children gave me the Michigan skillet for Mothers’ day last year…what a wonderful surprise! The very first time I used it was for a birthday cherry pie which was very well received and quickly “disappeared”! The cast iron bakes a wonderful flakey crust…I just love my skillet and can’t wait for the Michigan UP to become available!
About Us
Our story begins with an award winning 9ft x 6ft art installation of the United States cast into individual iron skillets made by founding owner & metal artist Alisa Toninato. The first state shaped skillets were cast in parking lot using hand build tools to melt down cast iron bathtubs and old home radiators sourced from scrap yards and neighborhood remodelers.
In 2011, with the help of her Midwestern artisan community, she and partner Andrew McManigal completed the full contiguous map of state skillets for a debut at the Art Prize Exhibition in Grand Rapids, MI. Turning some heads at the show, the cast iron state skillet concept quickly became an online hit with collectors & fans of quirky artisanal productions.
In 2012, the young artists were approached by Martha Stewart’s team, and invited to show the art piece on the last live airing of The Martha Stewart Show. Later that year, the artisan team known under the brand name FeLion Studios, was prestigiously recognized as one of 10 honorees at Martha Stewart’s inaugural American Made Awards, celebrating creative business leaders across the USA.
From handmade art piece to industrial production, the popular state skillet concept was soon re-imagined, and in 2012 the American Skillet Company was born! Partnering with Midwestern iron foundries to help manufacture new and more ergonomic designs of the state skillet concept, the American Skillet Company began production of a more sustainable way to create the state skillet idea while distributing to a greater population of interested customers.
Today, we still create our skillets in small-batches with the touch of artisan hands all along the process. Each state shaped, cast iron skillet is hand crafted, pre-seasoned and made in Wisconsin from start to finish.