Crafting a Revolution

Valerie Berlage is a woodworker, artist, and owner of Lauraine Lillie Studios based out of Western North Carolina. She developed her craft and business name from her grandparents who taught her how to make. Tune in as we discuss the early days in the woodshop with her grandfather, to what is inspiring Valerie to create her contemporary jewelry designs, intricate wall hangings and other works now....

Nicole Crowder Upholstery is a Black-owned furniture and upholstery studio creating commissioned, generational, one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and home furnishings like meditation pillows, poufs and more. Nicole's work has been commissioned by the leading hotel chains, restaurants, and spaces. She also has created bespoke pieces for private clients and has been featured in design publications,...

Rosi and Annikki work together as Polilla Cooperative, an artisanal carpentry business in Mexico. They have found in carpentry, a trade traditionally viewed as a male practice, that as queer women their access to the profession is limited. They have also faced things like sexualization, harassment, and being treated as less capable, restricted to a secondary status. Through their experiences of tr...

Rachel David, raised in Maryland and resident of North Carolina, is a blacksmith, sculptor, designer and maker. Her metalwork practice is holistic, encompassing art, furniture, architectural elements, activism, collaborations and gardening. The work focuses on social and environmental justice, community, and communication, analyzing the many layers of colonization, restraints and expectations acro...

Sieng, Crafty at Heart, is a nurse, wife, Mom, and maker. Her maker journey started when she made a teeter-totter for her kids with the help of a local woodworker. After that, she started gathering tools to fill up her garage and started seeing what she can make. She has enjoyed making everything from furniture, to home projects, and recently resin. You can follow along with Sieng and her maker jo...

Allie Katz is a classically trained fine artist with a passion for 3D and digital art, which translates to never being good at doing just one thing. They created Geeky Faye Art to showcase their need for adventure. With Geeky Faye Art you will find a variety of projects across multiple styles, approaches, and mediums. Allie is constantly in search of new artistic expression. Everything with Geeky...

Jean Gray Mohs is an abstract artist that uses inter-disciplinary techniques to create dynamic and colorful sculptures using materials such as wood, threads, cardboard and more. She is based out of North Carolina, is a homeschooling mom, as well as a double lung transplant recipient. In our chat Jean Gray shared her approach to balancing life and work in isolation for the past few years, while sti...

Stephanie of Uncommon Outpost is an artist, maker, and general collector of hobbies. She has tackled pretty much everything between car mechanics to sewing, pushing herself to always take her projects outside the box. Stephanie grew up with two parents who did everything themselves way before being DIY was cool, and she was included in that from the very start. You can be sure she always has at le...

Joy, laughter, and the unexpected are at the heart of Annie Evelyn's work. Employing a range of materials (handmade paper flowers to Swarovski Crystals) and processes (tessellating metal pieces to create soft upholstered seating or embedding fresh cut flowers to add aroma), Evelyn uses furniture's inherent interactive qualities and relationships to the human body to create new and surprising exper...

Alex is a queer sparkle queen, ceramic artist, Jewnicorn, community enthusiast, rhinestoner, dog-mom, and extroverted-Aries who is currently making magic and art in Portland, OR.  Everything she makes is about her unique experience in this world as a multifaceted extravagant being. After graduating from Bennington College with a concentration in Visual Arts, she followed her heart and adventurous...

Born in New York City and currently residing in St. Louis, Uruba is a professional artist whose focus is abstractions. Her use of custom and unique textures and acrylic colors enables her to portray visions with commanding depth. Her passion for becoming an artist was put on hold for over 20 years as she was completely engrossed with her role as wife and mother of four. Now with an empty nest, she...

Christina is a Maine native, now living on North Haven, an unabridged island in Maine's archipelago.  Her mission is to create innovative pieces coupled with artistic applications while highlighting the beauty of natural wood. Christina intends for each piece to be versatile; useful and lasting, while intriguing interest and engagement. Every piece is designed and crafted beautifully to live beaut...

Christina is a Maine native, now living on North Haven, an unabridged island in Maine's archipelago.  Her mission is to create innovative pieces coupled with artistic applications while highlighting the beauty of natural wood. Christina intends for each piece to be versatile; useful and lasting, while intriguing interest and engagement. Every piece is designed and crafted beautifully to live beaut...

Sadie Mae is a woodworker, DIYer, maker, wife and fur mama. It all started when she tagged along with a friend to go get some barn wood. She ended up buying some wood herself and making her first dining room table. This was during a time where she left a job that had become exhausting and was looking to see what she would do next. She started making more pieces for herself and for others. Eventual...

We are a group of queer and racially diverse craft artists who work in each of the traditional mediums (clay, glass, metals, wood, and textiles). With Craft Equity, we want to provide a space of healing and support and sharing. This account is for people who have been harmed: people who have never spoken of how they were mistreated and people who have spoken out only to be disbelieved or dismissed...

Pam Robinson is a metalsmith, goldsmith, jewelry maker and designer based out of Chicago, IL. She is the owner of Garnet Studios and is the Education Director for national non-profit The Furniture Society. In this episode we sit down to hear Pam's background and journey as a maker and artisan, and how she balances the duties of being an education director, business and studio owner, and artist. Yo...

Sherry has always loved to draw and create. While in high school became a strong mentor for her. She then went to college and studies Business. Many years later, she met a quilter and she fell in love with the medium. The quilter offered to teach her traditional quilting. She then attended a lecture on the dyeing of fabrics and how to make the fabric an art quilt. Her creativity and curiosity were...

Joanie is a carpenter, maker, DIY expert, and handy ma'am. She went from America's Next Top Model to being a carpenter on TV. Perhaps not the traditional path, yet she loves working with her hands and creating. She still does work with TV shows, in fact she has one on Discovery Plus now, Remix my space, releasing on January 12th. When not showing off her skills on TV though, she does a wide array...

Ann Johnson is a mixed media artist and a professor at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Her passion for exploring issues particularly in the Black community has led her to create series of works that are evocative and engaging. Ann's work has been exhibited nationally in solo, group and juried exhibitions. Most recently she has focused on experimental printmaking, and in 2015 she was acknowle...

Brandy is a self-proclaimed chair nerd. She loves chairs and has learned so much about them. She feels compelled to share her knowledge and encourage others to learn chair caning. Chair caning is a skill that is on the verge of becoming lost. Brandy actually comes from a long line of chair caners. It has allowed her to meet people from all over the world, letting her learn more as well as share he...

Jocelyn is a lover of all home DIYs. When her and her husband closed on their home in 2019, she automatically knew that there were updates going to be made. After getting painting out of the way she began to tackle some more difficult tasks leading her to use power tools for the first time. She admits that it can be scary, so that is why she takes you along on her journey. You can see her build co...

Laura started making soap as a hobby, something to do for fun, with no intention of ever starting a business. After sharing her creations on social media, friends started asking if they could buy the soap. Once more and more friends bought soap, she realized she had a business on her hands and decided to go legit. Laura's soaps start with a fun name, usually something referencing pop culture, and...

Tania lives in Southern California, slowly building out her workshop one tool at a time. After a series of traumatic life events, and finding herself in a depression, she found her way to woodworking. It started with just a few tools her father had, and then it continued to grow. Learning all she can from YouTube, Tania spends as much time as she can in her workshop. She continues to grow her skil...

Becky is a Cuban American living her best life with her wife in their new to them home. She found herself looking to fill her time with something that brings her joy and came into power tools and DIY home projects. At first, she was all about sharing her journey on social media and then found the community and came to love the community. You can follow along with Becky and all of her shenanigans o...

To furniture maker and artist Aspen Golann it's more than just a tenon - seemingly simple details have a vast backstory and implications within a larger social narrative that Golann can't help but see with every joint she makes. She is also an instructor and educator, and is currently traveling and launching The Chairmaker's Toolbox, an equity initiative to get the tools and knowledge of Windsor c...