Episode Recorded October 18,  2021.  Kiko Denzer deftly mixes clay, food, and carving together with a dash of philosophy to bake in the fires of this next conversation. It’s a departure from our typical format, but Kiko has a welcomed perspective of craft and lifeways that doesn’t often show up in the craft world. He has spent most of his life teaching others how to build earth ovens, creating sustainable buildings and publishing books. Throughout the show we visit the role of craft in...

Episode Recorded October 11,  2021.  Freddy Roman has grown up within the furniture field and mastered a variety of trades revolving around restoration woodworking and everything that goes along with it, from veneer work in neoclassical furniture to glazing antique windows. This is a thoughtful episode coming from someone who occupies the space where “trades” and “craft” are the same. Freddy shares his thoughts about the differences between handwork and machine work and what he’s learned in...

Episode Recorded October 1,  2021.  Julia Kalthoff specializes in making carving axes in Stockholm, Sweden under the moniker Kalthoff Axes. As a young girl she grew up amidst textile crafts but was always curious about metal… “How did it work? How could you transform it from one state to another?” By a series of coincidences she worked at an axe making workshop and then managed Wetterlings Axe Manufacturing business. All this experience taught her a lot about the small but very important...

Episode Recorded August 9,  2021.  Kirk Lang specializes in kinetic sculpture and jewelry with a particular focus on astronomy; the first time he saw Saturn in “real time” he was hooked! The sense of awe he felt as he looked through a telescope at the stars heavily influences his work as a craftsperson. He explores unconventional materials like titanium, niobium and meteorite which he pairs with gold and softer metals to render wearable jewelry. Kirk also teases out the interplay of meaning...

Recorded July 21, 2021.  In this interview Danielle Chutinthranond shares her non-linear path leading to pottery and how important following her instincts has been in the process of becoming a craftsperson. She identifies her reciprocal/creative relationship between her pottery and the food intended to be served on her pieces, and even creates work based on particular entrees. Along the way she also has created a new relationship between traditional symbolism and the decorative aspects of her...

Episode Recorded July 13,  2021.  Weaver Christine Novotny identifies herself within a traditional lineage of weavers, but also sees  herself as placed within a contemporary context and wants to keep weaving relevant for today. She draws heavily on her training as a painter to design the colorways of her weavings and finds the interactions of colors and design to be part of what keeps her process moving. She also has discovered the difference in commitment between painting and weaving....

Episode Recorded June 28, 2021.  Aspen Golann is a dynamo furniture maker based in North Carolina who started out her craft career dabbling in weaving before being drawn to woodworking at North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts. Recently she’s been collaborating and working on a new craft equity project looking for tool makers in the field that are under-recognized for their amazing work. In the episode she also reflects upon the lifestyle she wants to create as a craftsperson;...

Episode Recorded June 21,  2021.  David Harper Clemons points to how his relationship with materials can be the springboard for work and how he’s drawn to the broad spectrum of physicality in metalwork. He shares his thoughts on mass production and how that relates to the economics of studio craft. David also elaborates on themes like social/cultural commentary, how last summer’s events tie into his personal experience, and that he now feels as if he has a visual vocabulary to create work...

Episode Recorded June 2,  2021.  Elizabeth Brim has an illustrious Artist Blacksmithing career that matches her colorful personality. She’s well known for turning the blacksmithing world on it’s head with her steel womenswear. She popularized a technique of using compressed air to make pillows out of steel and she also played an instrumental role in rebuilding Penland Craft School’s Iron program. Elizabeth has been an important part of challenging the established notion of who a blacksmith...

Episode Recorded May 4, 2021.  Porfirio Gutiérrez is a Zapotec textile artist specializing in natural dyes. He uses insects, plants and fruits to create dye for the textiles he creates in his studios in California and Oaxaca. He grew up in a family where the knowledge of medicinal plants and textile/dyeing crafts were part of his life, and Porfirio’s journey of re-discovering his passion of honoring the tradition, knowledge and ancestral heritage of his craft is an important part of his work....

Episode Recorded April 17,  2021.  Woodworking enthusiast Roy Underhill sits down with us to share his experience teaching students and his belief that both hand skills and materials shape us in a profound way. Roy teaches students both in person, online, and for 37 years on the popular PBS television show “The Woodwright’s Shop.” Through those outlets Roy has shared his passion for hand tool woodworking and loves contributing to questions and knowledge surrounding woodworking and its...

Episode Recorded April 5th 2021.  Jeffrey Hart is a natural builder and fellow podcaster in the UK. He specializes in using natural materials to build healthy homes for people and the earth. In this interview we touch on some of the general history of materials and buildings and how they’ve changed overtime. Jeffrey also talks about the building ethos he’s settled on, and how to look at local materials and use them in our own building vernacular. To find more of Jeffrey’s work check out his...

Recorded March 29, 2021.  A staple to cabinetry work, Nancy Hiller sits down with us to illuminate the intricacies of different tuna fish sandwich recipes. Jokes aside, during the course of her woodworking career, Nancy has come to recognize the importance of efficiency in her business, and also how writing is part of what keeps her happy. In spite of her intimidatingly incredible work, Nancy’s dry sense of humor makes it easy to connect on a personal level and her mission of educating the...

Recorded March 23rd 2021.  In this information-packed interview, Sweetgrass basket maker Corey Alston takes us through the history of basket making in Gullah culture. Corey relates how the tragic history of African enslavement is inextricably rooted to his story as a maker and how his work is directly influenced by Gullah culture. Harvesting his materials by hand is important to him as he navigates the diminishing availability of wild sweetgrass in his area that was once a much more...

Recorded March 8th 2021. Incredibly talented Bill Oyster guides us through the twists and turns of his path toward making bamboo fly-fishing rods. After realizing his love of crafting fly rods he quickly had a huge waitlist and took a deep dive into...

Recorded February 22, 2021. Woodcarver Danielle Rose Byrd started out making things with anything she could get her hands on. Her ingenuity has continued to influence her work as she starts to include different materials into her practice. Danielle is...

Recorded February 15, 2021. Papermaker and book artist Radha Pandey gives us an in-depth view into the history of papermaking, starting in China, Korea and Japan, and it’s subsequent migration to India and Europe. She tells us why she’s so interested in...

Recorded February 8, 2021. Studio potter Akira Satake shapes his story for us as he circled around creativity through a variety of life paths. He started his journey through photography and music but came to a breaking point that led him to pottery....

Recorded February 1, 2021. Book arts legend, Hedi Kyle, guides us through her career as a book conservator and her ground-breaking influence on the book art community. As well as her depth of experience, Hedi stresses the importance of learning the...

Recorded January 18, 2021. Metalsmith Erica Moody introduces us to her first experiences with setting goals, financial stress, large projects and the behind the scenes effort that goes into building a business. In a moment of life’s intensity she...

Recorded December 14, 2020. Designer/maker, Cody Nowell, guides us on her journey towards homecraft. Having a background in textiles, Cody landed her first job sewing sails for sailboats. The technical experience from that job has helped her explore a...

Recorded December 7, 2020. Letterpress wizard and graphic designer Brad Vetter has a lot to say about his start in crafting designs with letter press, often towing the line between laser engraving and traditional letterpress technologies. From his...

Recorded November 10, 2020. We decided to mix up this episode a bit for the holidays! This is a two-way interview, where we have a few questions for woodworker and teacher Thiago Endrigo, and he has a few for us! We covered a lot of ground including the...

Recorded December 3, 2020. This Side Projects starts with announcements from John C. Campbell Folk School and North House Folk School, and progresses into a collaboration with Ray Deftereos of Hand Tool Book Review podcast! Ray chose to share and...

Recorded October 1, 2020. Miriam Johnson is a London-based stone carver, mason, and sculptor. She chiseled herself a place in stone carving at age 17 and hasn’t looked back since. She has a diverse background in both architectural masonry and the...