In this episode, Joshua talks with woodworker and researcher Andrew Gonzales who wrote for Issue Twenty-One about traditional New Mexican furniture making. Gonzales received an M&T Craft Research Grant in 2025, and in the course of his hands-on investigation, discovered some fascinating aspects of this particular craft heritage. You thought you knew “Colonial American” furniture making? Think again. Gonzales has a lot to teach us about his family’s 500-year legacy of traditional craft practice on this continent.
SHOW NOTES
Issue Twenty-One
Andrew Gonzales’ Instagram
New Mexican furniture, 1600-1940: The Origins, Survival, and Revival of Furniture Making in the Hispanic Southwest
In this episode, Joshua again sits down with Kenneth Kortemeier of Maine Coast Craft School to discuss Bill Coperthwaite’s final chapter in A Handmade Life titled “Life Work.” Bill leaves us with a call to pursue a whole life of adventure, rather than one of occasional escape. He wants us to engage deeply with making and living with others. Kortemeier brings breadth a experience leading people through hard experiences in Outward Bound expeditions, boat building, and other handcrafts. This episode may just steer you away from the life of “sitting alone in your room, alone, watching the TV set and waiting for the end.” Bill hoped instead to “encourage people everywhere to get involved.” SHOW NOTES Buy a copy of...
In this episode, Joshua sits down with Kenneth Kortemeier of Maine Coast Craft School to discuss Bill Coperthwaite’s chapter on “Simplicity.” Because Kenneth was a close friend of Bill’s, he brings a fascinating (and surprising) perspective to Bill’s words and life. This man’s “experiment in living” has inspired many to carefully consider their own life choices, in an endless pursuit of the most beautiful and elegant solutions.
SHOW NOTES
Buy a copy of A Handmade Life
Maine Coast Craft School
In this episode, the guys discussion their latest book: Tools for Engagement: Reclaiming Craft in an Age of Technology. This has been in the works for several years, and it is unlike any other craft book out there. Bringing together rich discussion about the value of skilled hand work with a plethora of woodworking projects, Tools for Engagement is designed to make an impact on woodworkers today. In an era that prizes ease and “frictionless” life, it is critical that we respond with personal engagement. Roll up your sleeves. Take up tools. Stay human.
IN THIS EPISODE:
Tools for Engagement: Reclaiming Craft in an Age of Technology
In this podcast episode, Joshua and Mike begin a new book discussion series. This time, the guys tackle Bill Coperthwaite’s inspirational work A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity. As is evidenced by the way Coperthwaite’s name continually resurfaces at M&T, this book has proven to be deeply foundational in the thought and vision of this publication. Just as they did with their podcast series on David Pye’s The Nature and Art of Workmanship, Joshua and Mike will be working through this book, chapter-by-chapter, summarizing his ideas and offering their own reflections (and occasional pushback) along the way. Bill Coperthwaite was a true visionary, but one who was firmly grounded in living out what he believed. The book is not...
“Handmade” does not mean “shoddy.” This latest episode of the David Pye mini-series tackles chapter 10 of The Nature and Art of Workmanship in which Pye takes John Ruskin to task for his sloppy reasoning about workmanship. Pye’s motivation in writing his book was to critique the “illegitimate extensions” of Ruskin’s ideas about art and pleasure in work. He believed that a more precise analysis would clear up this muddy thinking so that the crafts could be recovered and dignified once again. SHOW NOTES Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’” Issue Ten with Ruskin’s “Savageness ”...
OK… that’s an ambiguous title. But, be assured that the guys recorded this episode to make it all come clear. In this next installment, Joshua and Mike expound Chapter 9 of David Pye’s The Nature and Art of Workmanship. This chapter is the culmination of his argument about why surface qualities are so important. Get ready to dive into the weeds – no aspect of craftwork is too small to consider carefully.
SHOW NOTES
Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship
Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’”
Another installment of the “Nature and Art of Workmanship” podcast series. Chapter eight deals with the subject of “durability.” Does precision mean durability in all circumstances? Who’s “to blame” when a product fails: the designer or the craftsman? All these questions and more are addressed in this episode.
SHOW NOTES
Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship
Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’”
Another installment in the Nature and Art of Workmanship series. This time Joshua and Mike walk through chapter six which compares human creativity to the natural world. Regulated work was coveted in ancient cultures because they were surrounded by nature. In our industrial culture, however, we need the liveliness and idiosyncrasy of handwork.
SHOW NOTES
Order your copy of the book here: The Nature and Art of Workmanship
Joshua Klein’s article in Issue Seven: ”A Fresh & Unexpected Beauty: Understanding David Pye’s ‘Workmanship of Risk’”
Another installation of Joshua and Mike’s discussion on David Pye’s book The Nature and Art of Workmanship. This time, the guys dive into the thorny question of what “handmade” actually even means. Is it even a worthwhile concept to use?
