A Craftsmanship Roundup: Five Stories of Inspiring Women in Craft
In honor of Women's History Month and International Women's Day, we offer you a handpicked selection of our many stories about female artisans, entrepreneurs, and changemakers from around the world.
Dear Friends,
For Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a number of our stories about women artisans and innovators on our Facebook page and other social channels. And for this week’s feature, it was so difficult to choose among them, we decided to offer you a collection of our favorites about women artisans that you may not have had the chance to read (or listen to) yet:
In “The Glass Builder,” written by Peggy Townsend, meet local and national legend Ann Morhauser, a wonderfully irreverent character who started with nothing but debt and a dream. (There’s an audio version, too, narrated by Avanthika Srinivasan).
“The Little Block-Printing Workshop that Could,” written by by Alden Wicker, profiles Padmini Govind, who picked up the threads of her mother’s modest home business and grew it into a thriving cottage industry amid a multitude of local and global challenges.
“A Home-Grown Social Entrepreneur,” by Will Callan, profiles urban farmer and garden educator Kelly Carlisle, who founded Oakland’s thriving Acta non Verba program.
In “Women Who Embroider the Air,” written by Erla Zwingle (with an audio version narrated by Nancy LeBrun), you’ll meet the master craftswomen of Burano, Italy, who are keeping the centuries-old art of fine, handmade lace alive.
In “Metalsmith Forges Opportunities for Black Women Artists,” written by Ruth Terry, you’ll meet jewelry artist and nonprofit founder Karen Smith, of We Wield the Hammer, who has made it her mission to model and increase representation in metalcraft.
Next week, we’ll wrap up our Winter issue with an in-depth profile of Fred Brownstein, one of the last remaining masters of classical figurative marble carving. The story focuses on Fred’s fight to preserve stone sculpting’s traditions in the midst of today’s rampant spread of automation. This article, written by Tom Cooper, has been many months in the making; in my eyes, it reflects my reasons for starting this venture, and this magazine, as well as anything we have ever published. We can’t wait to share it with you.
Our upcoming Spring issue will focus on how and where the artisans of the future are learning their crafts and trades. Each Friday, we’ll release a feature story, short article, mini-documentary, photo essay, or podcast that relates to our mission — to “create a world built to last.” Along with stories that speak to each issue’s theme, we always have works on other topics, so please, stay tuned.
In the meantime, I hope you'll always find something intriguing to read, watch, or listen to within our pages. We welcome your thoughts via email, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Thank you for reading and sharing our stories, for donating to our cause when you can, and for being such a loyal part of the Craftsmanship community.
Be well,
Todd Oppenheimer
Editor & Publisher, Craftsmanship Quarterly
Winter 2023: The New Stone Age
When humans first embarked on their incessant quest for innovations, they began tinkering with little more than the rocks and stones at their feet. The Stone Age endured for more than 2 million years, and the stonework remains of ancient civilizations — from the Megalithic Temples of Malta to Stonehenge to the Great Pyramids — continue to awe and fascinate us today. Throughout the world, stone is still quarried for use in grand monuments, memorials, and much more. In this issue, along with other topics, we highlight some modern-day devotees of this timeless, prehistoric material.