How Far Can Beer Science Go?
...operations. As with Robert’s cooler, Method plans to publish DIY spectrophotometer instructions online, free of charge. “Wow,” said Cantwell, of the Brewers Association, at the prospect of putting such a...
Straw Bale Construction: The Ultra-Ecological House
...difficult to obtain. “I felt we were seducing people into something they couldn’t do,” Eisenberg says. Even when permits were issued, the straw was reduced to function solely as insulation...
The World’s Greatest Goldbeater
...feels very cutting edge, the practice has been around for thousands of years. With certain conditions, gold does seem to help; with many others, not so much. he reason his...
The Quarantined Country Musician
...hearts online, typing in comments, throwing tips via Venmo and PayPal, dancing and singing along in kitchens and living rooms all over the world. “I like people who dance,” Byrd...
The Agony and Ecstasy of an Oboe Reed Maker
...When you play it, you feel it and hear it immediately. You can tell when a reed has that—even before it’s done.” “It is no exaggeration to say that when...
Our Second Artisanal Gift Guide
...This 2015 Men’s Health “Best Foods for Men” winner based in Connecticut features four high protein flavors using rBST-free skim milk and cream, organic agave nectar and cage-free egg yolks....
Your Salad’s Difficulty with Sustainable Farming
...sure you’ve tried everything possible to find a better way. And that, according to the Rodale Institute, is precisely what most California farmers have ignored. The practice of tilling exposes...
Colorado’s Marble Motherlode
he cutoff into Marble from Colorado’s Highway 133 is a windy, wild, luxurious 6 miles that follow the Crystal River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the state. Lining...
Introduction to “The Future Is Handmade” — A Craftsmanship Mini-Documentary Film
...a tour de force—both intellectually and emotionally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOMujtoicTk THE HIERARCHY OF SKILL uring his explorations, Kuijpers was continually surprised by what he saw in the workshops he visited. “When you...
Introduction to “A Perfect Note: Café Jacqueline and The Art of the Soufflé”
...story about craftsmanship in food,” I said. And indeed it is, as you can see below. But now I’m getting ahead of my story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SOd22Z37dI It turned out that Phoebe’s...
Food by the Gallon
...people to start cooking them. A note on sources and further reading Use this icon to share, download, or print a Google Slides version of this article. igures for the...
The Shinola Polish
...a slow turnaround, despite its bankruptcy. Quicken Loans founder Daniel Gilbert, a billionaire who owns the nation’s largest online mortgage business, picked up 75 office buildings downtown for a song....
Cuba’s Madres (y Padres) of Invention
...he’s training as an apprentice. Nono’s approach to training is as simple as it comes. He’ll demonstrate how he does things, maybe offer a few words of explanation, and then...
The Art of the Joke
...profession where you learn your craft by failing in public,” says Yannis Pappas. “And you know immediately if you’re doing it wrong, because there’s a bunch of people telling you...
Interesting, and Lucrative, Apprenticeships: A Few Suggested Resources
...online (I would be wary, too), these programs appear to be getting better and better. Indeed, a recent study by the United States Department of Education has shown that online...
The Revival of Nero’s Wine
...they’ve done for hundreds of years. Watch them in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN5ziogyxP0 BK Wine Magazine, an online magazine, reviews the efforts of a number of producers in continental Europe who...
Printing with Love
...whiskey, Anthony Bourdain tours Arion and marvels at “some of the most beautiful books ever imagined.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-5NhxYRqUI At another Bay Area shop, Dependable Letterpress, grand vintage presses take on ambitious,...
The Antidote to Fast Fashion? System Dressing
...online or at the mall, and sell to customers who don’t necessarily understand quality when they see it, unless it carries a recognizable designer label. THE $1,500 DUMPSTER COAT ike...
Historical Clothing’s Comeback
...else looks like they just got out of a yoga class. And, after nosing around online, I found a collective of makers who are as delighted by the swish of...
Interested in High Tech? Training Opportunities Abound
...a three-month, full-time web development training and jumped at the chance to apply. The “Learn and Earn” pilot program, run by a nonprofit social enterprise called Opportunity@Work, offered training targeted...
A Woodworker’s Tale
...practice and forgiveness. This seed shape was designed for the ten library tables that Rogowski made for Oregon State Archives. The idea came from a spruce cone found on a...
Venice, Gondolas, and Black Magic
...below the highest ever recorded. Immediately dubbed the Acqua Granda (great water), it shattered, twisted, and destroyed. Roberto Dei Rossi’s boatyard was directly in the storm’s path, leaving an apocalyptic...
Argentina’s Textile Crusader
...online stores like Amour Vert, Jayson Home, and Nuraxi. But no guanaco, yet. Marina says she loves all of South America’s camelids and its artisans in equal measure, but the...
The Cigar Box Guitar Maker
...was known in America in its beginning, dates to the late 18th century, and the contempt for it began almost simultaneously. Tony Hyman, curator of an online cigar museum, dug...
The Search For The Perfect Leather Bag
...what constitutes true quality in a leather bag. Our search begins with the basic duffle bag—in this case, a fairly large duffle from Shinola, the Detroit luxury goods manufacturer that...
Occupy Your Bathroom
...online forum about shaving wrote: “I think the next innovation should be a shotgun shell that’s packed with DE blades, then you pack them in a 4-10 shotgun and shoot...
The Carbon Gatherer
...results.) In testimony last summer before Congress, Wick said that if replicated across just 5 percent of California’s rangelands, “this practice would offset all of the state’s annual agricultural and...
Precious Drops
...open source, meaning anyone or any organization can use it for free. Equally important, these filters are often relatively affordable, even for poor families. A household can filter 20 liters...
Greece’s Secret to Perfect Honey
...by Varroa mites. Planting and growing one crop over vast quantities of land, a practice known as mono-cropping, has emerged as an enemy of bees. Among other harms, the practice...
Resource Guide to American Craft and Folk Schools
...in-person and online; and some are free of charge. The emphasis here is on herbalism, as well as ancestral healing and teaching methods, with a focus on spiritual and cultural...
2019 Craftsmanship Magazine Gift Guide
...some of our more recent stories. If you’re looking for information about a specific craft from a past story, try our newly improved text-search bar on the top right of...
King Charles Redefines Originality
...meaning nothing more than a search for the new. Second, consider the world that existed when the concept of originality was born. Because ancient artists were surrounded by a non-digital...
Rum’s Revenge
...practiced by chocolatiers and the more careful methods used by winemakers, who want to keep their unfermented grape juice free of unpleasant pathogens. “When I started this, my first thought...
The Lost Art of Traditional Bow Hunting
...a man start a fire with two sticks. The man, Joe Debill, turned out to be a devoted student of stick-bow traditions from a variety of pre-industrial societies. Miossi immediately...
The Wootz Hunter
...with his passion. Nonetheless, in the film below, which runs about 15 minutes, it feels like a lot of his spirit is still alive. We hope you enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDyU-15fzog...
Italy’s Ancient Textile-Printing Mangle
...only workshop left that can still do rust printing the old way: on raw, hemp fabric. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jTVov5mQo After Alfonso Marchi, a serious, shy gentleman, introduced me to his son Gabriele,...
The Beauty of a Timeless Rowboat
...about the subject, which we are proud to feature with this story. (See below.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcNhCQMa9eE There are two widespread discrepancies between Bielinksi’s and other Whitehall histories. The first regards...
Italy’s Endangered Violin Forest
...scientists, and dedicated government officials are forging partnerships to make use of the storm’s leftovers. They’re also devising fascinating innovations to keep Cremona’s rare tradition of artisanal excellence alive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BydazkA–OQ...
Italy’s Book Doctor
...Everything here has its roots in antiquity. In Italy we have preserved more documents than monuments, to keep faith with the Enlightenment idea that knowledge must belong to everyone.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmo8m-x-GC0...
The Kayak’s Cultural Journey
...one culture, eventually becomes a route into illuminating and sharing the achievements of another. Which might leave most anyone feeling grateful for the devotions of makers like Mike Morgan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FSZAGDLxec...
Italy’s Last Maker of Traditional Wooden Hat Blocks
...bandsaw to his hand tools with the energy and dexterity of a much younger man. “Doing a job you like,” he says with a smile, “doesn’t make you old.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aZjHWNh_Ro...
Painting for Eternity
...the dancer himself; it’s a replica, in richly and radiantly colored tiles, of one of Nureyev’s most treasured possessions, which he kept with him for comfort while on tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AvI4Mmw0P4...
“Miracle in a Box” — the Quintessence of Repair
...working with what’s usually this person’s most prized possession”—what might be called their own little miracle in a box. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0GWFqKu8cI Editor’s Note: Most of Korty’s other cinematic achievements during film’s...
Podcasts
Follow our podcast for informative, entertaining audio stories and special interviews. For audio versions of our stories, you can play or download our podcasts directly from the listings below, on...
A Black Artist’s Haven on a (Mostly) White Vineyard
...complex wooden scrollwork and other adornments. Oak Bluffs’ “gingerbread cottages” are now a National Historic Landmark. photo by Clarence Holmes Photography Those sun-filled summers were spent free of the current...
From Bicycles to “Pedal Steel” Guitars: One Maker’s Quirky Frontiers
...looks like a farmer, in overalls and muddy boots, as he rushes into the pig pen and is immediately on the ground next to the gigantic Arva (750 pounds), scratching...
Mexico’s Master Guitar Makers
...in Spain). Why Paracho has been called the “guitar center of the world” is immediately clear. Every storefront is strewn with hanging guitars, as well as mandolins, stand-up basses, big-bellied...
Thallium, the Cursed Element
...other sources, but these are the references that are most relevant to our article, and seem most accessible to readers. Where online links are provided, you can click and read...
By Western Hands: Saving Traditional Western Crafts from Extinction
...BWH. “If you’d told me two years ago that By Western Hands would get the sponsorship and support and funding it’s gotten,” Seidel says, “I’d have laughed at you.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58aCLBmYL2Q...
America’s Military-Industrial Oligarchy vs. Our Small Towns
...prowess and its contributions to local commerce. To LaBerge, the event felt like politicians campaigning outside polling stations on election day, a practice that is strictly forbidden. Inside the hearing...
