Traditional Craftsmanship

In honor of Native American Heritage month, a rare and deeply personal look inside the living tradition of Pueblo pottery—written by a descendant of one of the great matriarchs of clay.

In Burano—a tiny island 4 miles from the city of Venice—the ancient art of ultra-fine, hand-sewn lace somehow remains alive. And so does the equally ancient culture surrounding it. Our correspondent visits with the master craftswomen of Burano to learn their history, their secrets, and the prospects for their future.

Brian Boggs, maker of fine, handcrafted wood furniture in Asheville, N.C., just can’t seem to leave a good idea alone. A lifetime of tinkering and experimentation has led to his line of innovative woodworking tools—and to creating some of the world’s most beautiful, comfortable hardwood chairs.

Mike Dangeli, a First Nations artist and craftsman from the Nisga’a tribe in Western Canada, has devoted his life to preserving Indigenous history in masks, dance, song, and, mostly now, by carving ornate totem poles. The poles, a tradition that Dangeli says date back to creation, are meant to honor important moments in Indigenous history—both the treasured and the painful.

For anyone who shaves–men, women, or any gender in between–today’s disposable razors, disposable cans of cheap foam, and other throwaway items cost too much, and create too much trash. To help us counteract this trend, and return shaving into a pleasure, we offer you a treat: our 2023 guide to traditional shaving gear, with tips on fine shaving techniques.

In honor of Juneteenth and Black Music Month, take a tour through the history—and the sounds—of the musical culture that has been a cherished folkway in and around the nation’s capital for decades.

For millennia, Indigenous peoples across the world have built and used wooden skin boats to fish and hunt, for sport and travel, even for warfare. Skin kayaks are the unique product of Arctic peoples, but non-Indigenous admirers of the craft are making them, too. Does that matter?

Craftsman Jack Mauch, still in his 30s, is already creating breathtaking examples of craftsmanship in everything from furniture-making to ceramics and metalwork. If this kind of range is what it takes to become a master artisan in today’s world, God help the rest of us mere mortals.

A Dutch archaeologist finds artisans and thought leaders who are redefining craft, skill and, ultimately, the real meaning of a knowledge economy: a short film presented by The Craftsmanship Initiative, in collaboration with The Centre for Global Heritage and Development.