Craftsmanship

On a small island near Venice, the fine art of hand-sewn lace somehow remains alive. Our correspondent visits with the master craftswomen of Burano to learn their history, their secrets, and the prospects for their future. Women Who Embroider the Air originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine focused on master artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excelle...

Animals, plants, soil, and air have long collaborated to regulate our climate by stimulating “the water cycle.” They have also helped control natural disasters like the wildfires now raging in Australia — until we disrupted their partnership. The good news is that there is a clear pathway to reconciliation. The New Water Alchemists originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia onli...

When Mae Gaines moved from Los Angeles, CA, to Boise, Idaho, she expected her life would be different. What she didn't anticipate was the response when she opened Boise's first — and only — vegan soul food restaurant.  *Trigger warning: This episode contains an offensive racial slur, repeated by the interviewee as she describes a real-life incident of verbal assault. We chose to leave th...

In a postcard-perfect valley in southern Norway, Annemor Sundbø nurtures her life’s work: old garments, paintings, and other clues to the myths and meaning woven for centuries into Norwegian sweaters. Now she’s trying to bring back the sheep that used to sustain this time-honored craft. The Norwegian Sweater Detective originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine fo...

Marino Menegazzo hammers gold leaf by hand into sheets 200 times thinner than a human hair. He works in the same studio where Titian, one of Italy’s great Renaissance artists, once lived and painted. Now Menegazzo’s craft, where the hand can still beat a machine, is on the edge of extinction. The World's Greatest Goldbeater originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online...

In a corrugated tin shed that somehow survived California’s massive fires in Sonoma Valley, Gary Freeman labors to keep old VW Beetles and vans—the cars that defined the counterculture of the 1960s—chugging along. Some become great “daily drivers” for as little as $15,000; some get auctioned for more than $200,000. It’s all part of one man’s quest for automotive immortality. The VW Doctor Is In or...

Bill Black has poured his life into refining a simple piece of handmade horse gear called a hackamore. Although the device is rarely used anymore, it can teach a horse to work cattle with unusual brilliance, and beauty. The Rawhide Artist originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine focused on artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll fi...

The now iconic white guitar made famous by the Disney film, “Coco,” was created in Paracho, a small Mexican town where almost every shop makes guitars. Underneath the new icon lies centuries of craftsmanship. Mexico's Master Guitar Makers , written by Laura Fraser, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of...

While Scotland is branded by its famous Highland bagpipes, Ireland has long made a very different kind that plays a much wider range of music. Meet the indefatigable, obsessive masters of Irish uilleann pipes. Do the Most Interesting Musical Pipes Come from Ireland? , written by Larry Gallagher, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovator...

With gumption, insight, and brilliant use of social media, a few guys in Virginia built an operation that makes what could be the world’s finest toolbelts. Meet "The Toolbelt Masters of Diamondback". The Toolbelt Masters , written by Lorraine Sanders, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellen...

While Japanese master craftsmen command up to $100,000 for turning bamboo into a fishing pole, aspiring younger makers can barely find anyone to take them on as apprentices. And this isn't the only time-honored Japanese craft at the brink of extinction. How could this happen in a country that, for centuries, has served as a model of handmade perfection? Japan's Gorgeous, Precarious Fishi...

On the Northeastern coast of Italy, an unusual drug treatment community uses craftsmanship to rehabilitate some of Europe’s most intractable drug addicts. San Patrignano — or "SanPa" — was founded more than 40 years ago by a hotelier who inherited a 200-hectare estate and wanted to do something about the epidemic of addiction  in nearby Rimini. He began by inviting drug addicts to his es...

Spiritual faith has long been shaped by the lettering on a religion’s sacred texts. This is particularly the case with Judaism, so we visited three Hebrew scribes—in Jerusalem, New York City, and the liberal enclave of Berkeley, California—to understand why such laborious traditions continue. The Power of the Scribe , written by BRYCE T. BAUER with contributions by LYNN HOLSTEIN and TODD OPPENHEIM...

Confined to our homes during the Covid-19 quarantine, many of us have realized this is an ideal time to start baking our own bread. The idea has spread so fast that stores are running out of flour and yeast. But fear not. Resources abound for how to make your own yeast, and even your own flour. Artisanal Homemade Bread Made Simple , written by Todd Oppenheimer, originally appeared in Craftsmanship...

Mark Sturges doesn’t advertise. Clients have to find him by word of mouth, but find him they do. He’s become a master of an agricultural art as old as agriculture itself: basic compost. The Bug Whisperer , written by Kristin Ohlson, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many mor...

As our environmental challenges mount — from devastating wildfires to hurricanes and floods — one solution, largely ignored thus far, may lie in using an unlikely-sounding material for home-building: straw. Has the lowly straw bale home’s time finally come? Straw Bale: The Ultra-Ecological House , written by M.E.A. ("Mea") McNeil, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multim...

A young Oregonian believes that he can create a uniquely American form of the Japanese bonsai tree. And he is literally betting the farm on the idea that if he builds it, they will come. The Bonsai Kid , written by Nancy Lebrun, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You can find many more storie...

In the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, a band of determined indigenous women led the overthrow of a criminal cartel. Their victory revived the town’s traditional livelihood, and ushered in a model form of self-government. When Indigenous Women Win , written by Andrew Sullivan, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architec...

Through years of painstaking, often combative detective work, Hugo Kohl rescued an era of early American jewelry manufacturing technology that was on the brink of extinction. And what Kohl makes with these old machines turns out to be superior, in many ways, to the finest modern jewelry. "The Jewelry Archeologist" , written by Alison Main , originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly...

Where else would you expect to find a band of techno-scientific craft beer geeks, except in the industrial side of San Francisco, ground zero for startups? Join our fermentation correspondent as she travels to the outer edges of beer flavors with the boys of Method Brewing.  "How Far Can Beer Science Go" , written and narrated by Grace Rubenstein , originally appeared in Craftsmanship Qu...

For more than six centuries, a lone figure—part guard, part human angel—has circled the bell tower every night in the Cathedral of Lausanne, calling out the hour. For the last 28 years, it’s been Renato Häusler’s turn. High above the ancient city, Häusler calls out the time five nights a week. “C’est le guet! Il a sonné dix…Il a sonné dix!” (It’s the night watch. It’s 10 o’clock. It’s 10 o’clock…)...

Gelato, it turns out, is a very different creature from ice cream. And there are reasons that the best gelato tastes so creamy yet somehow still light—and indescribably perfect. In honor of summer, we delve into the secrets of artisanal gelato-making from master gelatiere Andrea Soban of Valenza, Italy. "The Secrets of an Italian Gelato Master" , written by Erla Zwingle , originally appe...

When you watch masterful stand-up comics perform, they seem just naturally hilarious. Don’t kid yourself; this is hard work — a craft like making anything else of value. "The Art of the Joke" , written by David Munro , originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You can find many more storie...

In this exploration of the hidden stories behind materials such as wool and rayon, silk and polyester, and vegan leather, Alden Wicker — a frequent writer, blogger, and speaker on sustainable fashion — finds some inconvenient truths about the animal rights movement. "Eco-Fashion's Animal Rights Delusion" , written by Alden Wicker , originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a...

Could a small, controversial farmer in California have found the most effective way to grow food in a warming world? With only minimal irrigation, and gross profits of more than $100,000 an acre, Paul Kaiser certainly thinks so. "The Drought Fighter" , written by Todd Oppenheimer , originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly , a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, a...