On this edition of “The Secrets of Mastery,” a production of Craftsmanship Magazine, we talk with musical inventor Andy Graham, whose long-term fascination with a centuries-old Australian aboriginal wind instrument, the didgeridoo, has yielded several off-the-wall new musical creations. The Electric Stringed Didgeridoo, the Didge-ly Bow, the Fiddleridoo and the “Didge Bass” all are just a few iterations of the ancient instrument that Graham has fashioned over the past 25 years. Fr...
On this edition of “The Secrets of Mastery,” a production of Craftsmanship Magazine, we’re talking about taking bamboo to new heights. Jonas Hauptman, an industrial design professor at Virginia Tech, has been experimenting with ways to use bamboo, a giant grass, to build multi-story housing. Hauptman says bamboo could be key to housing the world’s growing population in a more ecological way. Bamboo culms, or stalks, can be harvested in just 3-5 years, and they grow back in ...
On this edition of “The Secrets of Mastery,” a production of Craftsmanship Magazine: why is entomologist Doug Tallamy on a national crusade to get private landowners to tear their lawns? As a wildlife ecology professor at the University of Delaware, Dr. Tallamy sees the world from a bug’s point of view. He’s also a co-founder of an organization called Homegrown National Park. The organization is trying to convince Americans to grow native plants — not ornamental, non-natives — in order to inc...
It’s one thing to make, it’s another thing to sell. On this edition of “The Secrets of Mastery,” a production of Craftsmanship Magazine, we talk with Rebecca van Bergen, founder and executive director of NEST, about what craftspeople need to have thriving businesses. NEST helps craft businesses around the world grow by providing training, resources and sales opportunities. The international organization has worked with 2000 artisans and businesses in more than 100 countries, from quilte...
This week on "The Secrets of Mastery" produced by Craftsmanship Magazine, we’re talking about letterpress printing. For centuries, newspaper and book publishers used this analog method of printing, involving heavy machinery, ink, paper, and thousands of tiny metal typecasts, to reproduce their words for the masses. Though it’s largely been replaced in commercial printing by cheaper, faster methods, there’s a tactile, handmade quality to letterpress that makes the digital word feel...
On this edition of "The Secrets of Mastery," we’ll hear one woman’s journey from starving artist to owner of a successful, large-scale glassware company. Annie Morhauser, founder of Annieglass, started her business 40 years ago with little more than debt and determination. Today, her glassware can be found on fine dining tables across the country—as well as in the Smithsonian. “The secret to mastery is adaptability,” Morhauser says. “I don’t care how talented you are, how much money, opportun...
On this episode of "The Secrets of Mastery," from Craftsmanship Magazine, we walk into the world of drought-resistant gardening at the Ruth Bancroft Garden and Nursery in Walnut Creek, California. Cricket Riley, former design services director for the garden, gives us a tour of the 3-acre oasis of succulents, cacti, and herbaceous plants that need very little water. Then we sit down for a chat about the unique horticultural design principles of the late Ruth Bancroft, and how her love of succ...
As consumer technology improves, basic household appliances, like the washing machine, keep sprouting new, high-tech functions. Not surprisingly, they’re also increasingly difficult to repair. So our journalistic gumshoe ventured to find out: Who put us in this jam? And why? “The Great Washing Machine Scam,” originally appeared in Craftsmanship, a digital magazine about master artisans and innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recording...
Though he calls himself simply a “songster and storyteller,” Andy Hedges is compiling a rich, unique audio archive of cowboy music and poetry—and bringing the legends of the genre together on CD and stage. "The Cowboy Folklorist" originally appeared in Craftsmanship, a digital magazine about master artisans and innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — free of charge and free of ads. You can see...
Ever open a brand new package of clothing and get a strong whiff of chemicals? Journalist Alden Wicker took a deep dive into the chemicals in our clothes in her new book, “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick and How We Can Fight Back.” Craftsmanship Magazine interviewed Wicker about the prevalence of chemicals in clothing, and about the regulatory efforts and personal choices that can keep fashion safe. Written by CRAFTSMANSHIP EDITORS Introduction by PAULINE BARTOLO...
A good conductor can lead an orchestra with almost anything — even a chopstick. Leonard Bernstein was known to conduct a full symphony with just his eyebrows. Why, then, in this age of cheap manufacturing, are handmade, customized batons still in demand? Written by JEFF GREENWALD Introduction by PAULINE BARTOLONE Narrated by JEFF GREENWALD Produced by PAULINE BARTOLONE Music by Town Market by Blue Dot Sessions Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions Beethoven’s Sixth (Pastorale) Symphony Jean-Bapti...
When a promising rock musician tired of the road and the pressure, he gave up music and got a job at a hardware store. Then one day, he had a revelation. "The Cigar Box Guitar Maker" originally appeared in Craftsmanship, a digital magazine about master artisans and innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — free of charge and free of ads. Written by NANCY LEBRUN Introduction by PAULINE BARTOLONE ...
When Hohner, the world’s largest harmonica manufacturer, changed its flagship model (and in the process, its signature sound), a few musicians and harp customizers waged a quiet rebellion—and won. "The Return of the Harmonica" originally appeared in Craftsmanship, a digital magazine about master artisans and innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — free of charge and free of ads. Written by BEN...
Oboists can spend more time making reeds for their instrument than playing their music. One such musician, the comic monologist Josh Kornbluth, has a lot to say about reed making's painfully exacting process. "The Agony and the Ecstasy of an Oboe Reed Maker" originally appeared in Craftsmanship, a digital magazine about master artisans and innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — free of charge ...
The late Butch Morris, a figure from the outer edges of jazz, reimagined conducting as a form of composition, coining his own word for the combination of the two. "The Conductionist" originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — all free of charge and free of advertising. Written by FRANCIS DAVIS Introducti...
In the inner city neighborhoods of Providence, Rhode Island, Janice O'Donnell set up playgrounds where kids could build anything they want, and break anything they want. She has been stunned by what everyone has learned in the process. "The Play Gap" originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources o...
A bicycle made of bamboo might look a little silly—brown and fat, with swollen joints. But Craig Calfee, a respected pioneer of carbon fiber bicycle frames, swears by their strength, flexibility, and ecological value. "What? A Bamboo Bicycle?" originally appeared in the Summer 2016 issue of Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our s...
Jill Giordano makes women’s clothing with fine fabrics in timeless styles, and in combinations that can be mixed and matched in multiple ways. The goal: Improve your look, save the planet, and save money. "The Antidote to Fast Fashion? System Dressing" originally appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources o...
In Japan, an aging population, declining birthrate, and a concentrating of jobs in the major cities, has left rural areas across the Japanese countryside littered with abandoned houses—known as akiya, or “empty homes.” Now, a movement is on the rise to repurpose and enliven them with artistry and craft. "Can Japan’s Akiya Movement Rebuild Rural Communities?" originally appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online magazine about artisans, innovators...
Ross Shafer made his mark creating a popular brand of mountain bikes, called Salsa, and a line of small but crucial bicycle parts that no one had brought to the market before. Now he’s making what might be the world’s most beautiful “pedal steel guitar.” Could Shafer’s relentless eclecticism offer a model for a second Renaissance? "From bicycles to “pedal steel” guitars: One maker’s quirky frontiers" originally appeared in the Summer 2016 issue of Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia, online...