Cut the Craft

Amy Umbel and Brien Beidler

Have you ever looked at potters smiling from their booth at the farmers’ market and wondered: “what’s their deal?” Have you ever considered whose hands are behind the wooden chair you're sitting on? How about those fancy kitchen knives you admire?
Cut the Craft is a podcast that brings stories of handcraft and its makers to you. Perhaps you are a craftsperson looking for a fresh perspective, or a newcomer to handmade things; no matter your starting point, your hosts Amy Umbel and Brien Beidler are here to cut the craft.

#40 in the Top 100 crafts All time chart

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Top 10 Cut the Craft Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Cut the Craft episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Cut the Craft for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Cut the Craft episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Episode 008: April Stone

Cut the Craft

08/11/20 • 67 min

Recorded April 30 2020. During this episode of Cut the Craft, we speak with to April Stone, a Black Ash basket weaver from the Bad River band of Ojibwa in Northern Wisconsin. April guides us through the entire process of harvesting, preparing the splints and then weaving baskets. She shares what she’s learned through the process: not just how to weave, but the healing that can result through handwork. To see more of April’s work check her out on instagram @april.l.stone. April’s craft crushes include Jonathan Klein, JoAnn Kelly Catsos, and Gabriel Frey.

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Episode 17: Thiago Endrigo

Cut the Craft

12/15/20 • 96 min

Episode 39: Kiko Denzer

Cut the Craft

11/30/21 • 104 min

Episode Recorded October 18, 2021.

Kiko Denzer deftly mixes clay, food, and carving together with a dash of philosophy to bake in the fires of this next conversation. It’s a departure from our typical format, but Kiko has a welcomed perspective of craft and lifeways that doesn’t often show up in the craft world. He has spent most of his life teaching others how to build earth ovens, creating sustainable buildings and publishing books. Throughout the show we visit the role of craft in everyday life, the value of investing in one's local community, and most importantly, how we’re all just walking bellies.

To find more of Kiko’s work visit his website: https://www.handprintpress.com/ and on Instagram @kikodenzer and @earth.oven

Cræftspeople Kiko admires:

Martin Prechtel (floweringmountain.com, many titles, first one is Secrets of the Talking Jaguar -- all his stories bridge the many gaps between indigenous origins and modern dilemmas. A good starting place is this interview: Saving The Indigenous Soul)

Betty Seaman ( unintentional community, gardens, natural building, wonderful craft & art work of many kinds, including martial arts (she built a dojo for her spouse @muhudojo)

Nate Johnson (crafts)

Robin Wood, Wood Tools (craft business/community in Sheffield, UK, ala Bernard Leach)

Russell Sparks and Redbird (skills, hunting, community, events -- co-coordinators of The Buckeye Gathering)

Tamara Wilder (paleotechnics)

Stephen Edholm (skill cult)

Tending the Wild by Kat Anderson

Deanne Bednar (natural building)

Emily Reynolds (studying/practicing plastering in Japan)

Kyle Holzhueter (plasters/permaculture)

Angela Francis (natural building)

Esther Gokhale, posture and craft, "primitive posture," addressing physical demands of craft

Ananda Coomaraswamy, esp. Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art