Featured story: "Jack Mauch, A New Renaissance Man"
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Featured story: "Jack Mauch, A New Renaissance Man"
At 16, young Jack Mauch was so eager to begin his life's work as a craftsman that he didn’t even finish high school, preferring to forge his own path to mastery. The rest, as they say, is history.
Dear Friends,
A few years ago, we profiled a young master craftsman named Jack Mauch, whose star has only continued to rise. Born into a large, artistic family, Mauch was so eager and ready to carve his own path that he left high school at 16, took the GED and applied to a prestigious art and design school in Maine (MECA&D). By the time he hit his early 30s, Mauch was already creating breathtaking examples of craftsmanship, in everything from furniture-making to ceramics to metalwork.
His inspiring story fits perfectly within our current Spring theme (and will likely be new to the many thousands of readers who have joined us since it was first released in 2018), so today, we’re bringing it back to the front page. I hope you’ll enjoy “Jack Mauch: A New Renaissance Man,” written by Natalie Jones — who also narrated the more recent audio version. As with all of our podcasts, you can listen to or download it directly from our site, or from your favorite streaming services like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Our new Spring issue, which will continue through the end of May, is all about “The Future of Craftsmanship.” 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 other news, we’re working on some new offerings here that we’re excited to roll out to you soon, as part of our up-and-coming paid subscriber channel here on Substack. We’ll have more information in the coming weeks, and don’t worry — the paid subscription channel won’t change our regular weekly features or our magazine archives, which have always been free of charge and free of ads. We’re simply adding on another layer of rich, unique content that we hope our readers will be inspired to support.
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
Spring 2023: The Future of Craftsmanship
Look at almost anything you own of real quality, and you immediately see its maker's commitment to beauty, functionality, and longevity. Those values, which in our mind define works of craftsmanship, are being aggressively tested these days, as more and more material goods exhibit shoddy workmanship, and are not made to last. The trash this creates not only damages our environment, it also erodes the principles of excellence that advance us, both individually and collectively. In this issue, we introduce you to some brave souls and organizations that are fighting to preserve, and expand, the intelligence in our hands.