Welcome to Episode 51 of Why Make? We are excited to be talking with Boston native Aspen Golann, an artist & furniture maker, and recent graduate of the North Bennet Street School, who blends early American furniture forms with sculpture and social practice. Aspen maintains an active teaching practice. Most recently Aspen is a recipient of the second annual Maxwell/Hanrahan Awards in Craft, she has also received a Windgate residency in the wood/furniture design program at San Diego State University and a Critical Craft Fellowship at Winterthur Museum to explore the physical and social history of the Windsor chair. We also talk about her involvement in The Chairmaker’s Toolbox—a project that provides free tools, education, and mentorship for BIPOC, Gender Nonconforming and female makers seeking to build sustainable businesses. And we talk with Aspen about being a gay woman in the world of woodworking, teaching high school for 7 years, brooms & brushes and her obsessions, most recently with making her own hardware and hand silvering mirrors during her SDSU residency. Join us as we “transform materials to transform form” and crack some brains open talking with Aspen Golann.