Craftsmanship Quarterly: Latest Stories
Spring 2023 - The Future of Craftsmanship
Of Dahlias, Devoted Growers, and their High-Stakes Competitions
While many gardeners take their flowers seriously, few devote almost all of their time to growing one breed—the dahlia—then drive hundreds of miles to go mano a mano against other fanatical growers, for nothing more than a blue ribbon. But that’s exactly what Deborah Dietz does.
Written by THOMAS COOPER
Photography by JAK WONDERLY
New Field Notes
The American Folk School Movement and ‘Slow Economics’
Rather than looking to big corporate employers like Walmart for economic stability, could more rural communities in the U.S. welcome…
Written by JOANNE CLEAVER
Berea College Students Craft a Bright Future, Tuition-Free
As U.S. student debt balloons to $1.75 trillion nationally, calls for loan forgiveness and low-cost or free college tuition programs…
Written by ROBIN ROENKER
Redesigning an Old Recipe: The School Lunch
Stereotypical school lunch fare (think fish sticks and frozen “pizza”) has been the butt of jokes for decades. It’s an…
Written by JEFF GREENWALD
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Videos
Watch “Jack Mauch Making a Door with Hand-Roasted Veneer”
In this 4-minute video by Jesse Beecher, watch craftsman Jack Mauch make a wooden door, hand-roasted slat by slat.
By JESSE BEECHER
Watch “The Future Is Handmade”
A Dutch archaeologist finds artisans and thought leaders who are redefining craft, skill and, ultimately, the real meaning of a…
By MAIKEL KUIJPERS
Watch “The Ancient Mangle of Santarcangelo di Romagna”
In a tiny town on Italy’s Northeastern coast, the Marchi family printworks may be the world’s last shop to produce…
By LUISA GROSSO
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Podcasts
Listen to “The Conductionist”
The late Butch Morris, a figure from the outer edges of jazz, reimagined conducting as a form of composition, coining…
Written by FRANCIS DAVIS Narrated by MITCH GREENBERG
Listen to “The Play Gap”
In the inner city neighborhoods of Providence, Rhode Island, Janice O’Donnell set up playgrounds where kids could build anything they…
Written by TODD OPPENHEIMER Narrated by AVANTHIKA SRINIVASAN
Listen to “What? A Bamboo Bicycle?”
A bicycle made of bamboo might look a little silly—brown and fat, with swollen joints. But Craig Calfee, a respected…
Written by JEFF GREENWALD Narrated by JEFF GREENWALD
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