The Hidden Powers of a Sheep
While the fashion industry continues to produce more and more clothing made from synthetics, with all their harmful effects, we’ve ignored the wonders of wool. The material is natural, durable, and endlessly renewable; more important, its creators (the sheep) can help regenerate the soil, along with the world’s drying, fire-prone landscapes. Fortunately, a wool revival seems to be underway.
By JUDITH D. SCHWARTZ
Listen to “The New Sign Painters”
The commercial signs of yesteryear, which were all painted by hand, offer a kind of beauty, personality, and longevity that today’s industrial signs have been unable to duplicate. While exploring what’s left of the old sign-painting traditions, we stumbled upon small but lively seeds of revival.
Metalsmith Forges Opportunities for Black Women Artists
Within an arts ecosystem that often marginalizes people of color, Karen Smith found a nontraditional path to becoming a metal artist. Now she’s inspiring women like her do the same. Karen Smith’s website bio opens with a deceptively straightforward tagline: “I am a Black woman artist.” This declaration feels radical, not because of any explicit…
Listen to “The Perfect Pen”
Fountain pens have always served as the quintessential combination of beauty, tradition, and dexterity. But did you know they’re also tools of environmental consciousness? Join our tour of the fountain pen’s history, infinite varieties, and remarkable powers. With tips for shopping and maintenance.
Listen to “The Lost Art of Traditional Bow Hunting”
As interest in hunting with a bow and arrow has risen, much of the gear has gone high-tech. Meanwhile, a small band of purists like Gabriel Miossi have turned to a traditional Native American weapon: the stick bow.
Listen to “Let Tinkerbell Tinker”
As the economy’s reliance on innovation grows, the offering of toys for girls remains–well, somewhat less than innovative. Fortunately, a few smart women are starting to solve this problem by reviving the time-honored principles of tinkering, this time for girls.
Listen to “The Wizard of Old Wheels”
As today’s motorcycles become more high-tech, the simplicity of a vintage bike becomes more appealing. Among the simplest are Japanese models from the 1970s, particularly the Hondas. That’s why people visit Dave Stefani, whose San Francisco shop looks like a mechanical surgery ward.
Listen to “Is Digital Craftsmanship an Oxymoron?”
On a funky old pier along San Francisco’s waterfront, Autodesk, a world leader in digital tools for makers, runs a futuristic prototype shop that may be redefining the meaning of craftsmanship.
Listen to “The Celluloid Gumshoe”
Eddie Muller has dedicated his life to finding, restoring, and re-releasing lost films of the great Film Noir era of the 1940s and ’50s. His goal: the preservation of our cinematic history, well beyond film noir.
