California

Willy Wonka meets herbology? Craftsmanship’s contributing editor gets a hands-on lesson in making plant medicine, with sweet results.

Inside the Berkeley Herbal Center, traditional plant knowledge is thriving—not as a museum relic, but as a living practice focused on holistic healing.

Nate Dube’s passion is exploring the aesthetic possibilities of manipulating microscopic, single-cell algae called diatoms. Welcome to the world of diatom arranging, an obscure craft that’s been obsessing a small subculture of the ultra-meticulous for nearly two centuries.

For nearly 30 years, woodworking has provided Miles Boudreaux with purpose, connection, and a creative “fix.” Now, science is catching up to what he’s learned from experience.

With specialized training, professional glassblowers, like those of the West Berkeley co-op Adams & Chittenden, can also make scientific glass, turning out precise, customized tools for advancing research and discovery—tools that machine-made glass cannot match.

When Joe Cunningham started making quilts, in 1979, it was an unusual occupation for a man—a fact that set him free as a fabric artist.

For Beatrice Thornton, an artist, photographer, and archivist based in Oakland, CA, nature is more than a muse: It’s also the source of the sustainable materials she uses for developing analog film.

Andy Graham—musician, instrument maker, inventor, and patentholder—takes us on a brief but fascinating “tour of sound.” Graham’s enchantment with a centuries-old Aboriginal wind instrument, the didgeridoo, has yielded several new instrumental creations. His passion for experimentation shines through as he discusses the process behind his work; the joys of tinkering; and some of the highlights…