Conversations with greenwoodworkers, spoon carvers, bowl turners, tool makers and craftspeople from around the world.
We're back with our first in-person guest, Zach Chrisinger. We hear his story of going from first time carpenter to full-fledged green woodworker and how he fell in love with the pole lathe. We discuss the pros & cons of learning from the internet, being on social media, and what really drives Zach to pursue and hone his craft. We get into the finer details of teaching green woodworking skills as well as our usual foray into the nitty gritty of tools and the accessories skills required to master pole lathe turning. It was a real pleasure to have Zach down for the first in-person chat!
PLEASE NOTE: Being our first time recording 3 people in the same room, the audio is not the most stellar we've put out, but with a little finessing it turned out OK. We hope you can look past this and enjoy the contents of the chat!
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https://www.instagram.com/chrisingers.cuts
https://www.chrisingerscuts.com/
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
We are back! And joined by the one and only spoon carving, coppiced Christmas tree growing maverick, Emmet Van Driesche. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, starting by learning about Emmet's journey to becoming a full-time spoon carver, to the trials and tribulations of making a living using social media. We discuss his unique path as a professional spoon carver, how he brought his skills as writer to create Spoonesaurus magazine and his three books and how craft and spoon carving contributes to one's mental wellbeing. Emmet also shares some insights into his workflow, what inspires him to keep progressing and growing his business, and how he manages his unique Christmas tree farm. + more!
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FOLLOW EMMET
https://www.instagram.com/emmet_van_driesche
https://www.emmetvandriesche.com/
Mike & I hosted a small informal gathering here in Sedalia, VA the weekend before the summer solstice. A great group of local sloyd enthusiasts gathered and we carved, cooked, swam, and pole lathe turned for a couple days. This is a short bonus episode introducing everyone who was there. Enjoy!
Join us for this chat with crafty axe maker Julia Kalthoff. We learn about her lifelong craft journey from her mother's fabric store to working for Wetterlings. We get into all of the the details of the inception and production of the axes she makes--from the long process of refining each aspect of the design and production, to the rigorous refinement of the metallurgical alchemy of tool making, to some of the finer points of grind geometry, fitting the handles and more. We also touch on the subject of preserving a strong and healthy body whilst pursuing handcraft beyond the hobby scale. And she offers a refreshing to our famous last question... We really enjoyed speaking with Julia, she is a wealth of knowledge and experience!
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FOLLOW JULIA
https://www.instagram.com/kalthoffaxes/
Mentions from the episode:
Join us for this lively conversation with none other than Zed Shah. We get into a wide range of topics, learning about Zed's inroad to bushcraft, spooncarving and the broader sloyd world from his background in social work and marketing. We explore how the geographical & cultural distinctions influence craft in different parts of the world, and in particular why the UK is such a hub. We learn about Zed's journey as a film maker and the evolution of his approach to documenting the craftspeople and skills he documents and shares, the influence of social media on craft, the importance of photography and marketing for craftspeople, the value of developing skills vs buying expensive tools, and a bunch of other little side discussions along the way. Towards the end, Zed shares nuggets of marketing wisdom, which leads to a future episode concept! All around, a really fun and engaging chat with a little bit of something for everyone.
Future Episode Concept
Have any burning marketing or media questions? Want to hear from Zed on them? Send your questions to us and we'll compile them for a topic-focused Q&A episode with Zed in the near future. Send questions to contact@sloydcast.com
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FOLLOW ZED
https://www.youtube.com/c/Zedoutdoors
Keep an eye on: www.spoontemplates.com
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Join us for this engaging chat with Mark Krawczyk—Renaissance man of permaculture, wood craft, and agroforestry. We delve into his journey from college to study permaculture with Bill Mollison in the early 2000’s which eventually lead him to the UK to learn from the likes of Ben Law, Mike Abbott, and back to the states to intern with Drew Langsner. We explore the finer points of greenwood working in the tradition of chair-making, hickory bark harvesting, and seat weaving—then into the principles and practices of coppice agroforestry and his upcoming book Coppice Agroforestry: Tending Trees for Product, Profit, and Woodland Ecology. We finish it off with an insightful discussion on the tenets of managing a woodland from a holistic perspective. All in all, a wonderful chat! Mark is an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience. Enjoy!
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FOLLOW MARK
https://www.valleyclayplain.com/
https://www.keylinevermont.com/
http://www.rivenwoodcrafts.com/
Pre-order his book: http://www.coppiceagroforestry.com/
Mentions from the episode:
Join us for this chat with the amazingly talented coppice and green woodworker Rosie Rendell. We learn about her journey from gardener to coppice woodworker and the burgeoning businesses she has built since. She gives us a lesson in what coppicing is, what hedgelaying is, and some of the basic principles and practices that define these crafts. We learn about the seasonal flow of her work and get a sense of how deeply connect her work is to the ecosystem, her raw material, and the ancient crafts she is carrying into the future. We top it off discussing her new endeavor producing charcoal and how important this process and product is for closing the loop of a coppice woodworking profession. Last but not least, we flesh out how important it is to remember that these crafts are as much a part of the constellation of sloyd practices as spoon carving or bowl turning. We hope you enjoy this chat!
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Join us for this chat with the multi-talented craftsman Lee Stoffer. We get into Lee’s first introduction to green woodworking and sloyd via the illustrious Mike Abbott, how he went from the pole lathe to spoon carving to tool making and leather work. We learn about how he came to develop his now celebrated spoon scorp. And we also get into the weeds on some of the finer points of being a self employed crafts person, marketing our craft, how social media fits into the life and business of craft, and much more. Lee is passionate about his craft and lifestyle that surrounds it, and shares his knowledge with humility. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did chatting!
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https://www.instagram.com/stoffercraft
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Join us for this wonderful chat with the one and only, Magnus Sundelin aka Sloyd Magnus. We get into the lifelong journey of sloyd for Magnus, starting with whittling in the woods alongside his grandfather, and the long circuitous path that lead him to where he is today as part crafts teacher, green woodworker and tool maker. We get deep into the philosophy of what sloyd means to Magnus, to culture, and to humanity at large. We get into the weeds with his passion for blacksmithing and tool making and his approach to designing and making the best tools he can. We also learn about Magnus' favorite type of music and how that has imprinted his work in an iconic way. Magnus is a humble and talented craftsman with a deep connection to the craft, it's lineage, nature, and the future of it going forward. We hope you enjoy this chat!
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FOLLOW MAGNUS
https://www.instagram.com/sloydmagnus/
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Join us for a lovely chat with the savvy sloyder, Fred Livesay. We learn about his journey through the realms of handcraft starting from the ripe young age of 7, and the decades of exploration and experience he's embarked on since. We chat about the deep influence of Scandinavian wood working tradition in his work, the philosophy of handcraft and handmade utilitarian objects, immigrant culture and mindsets regarding materials, and some of the finer points of what it means to be a craftsperson beyond the realms of social media and internet algorithms. We also get some history on the beginning of folk schools and the history of North House Folk School. It's a sneak peek into Fred's mind, with heaps of subtle wisdom from a skilled craftsman who has spent most of his life immersed in the realms of working wood by hand.
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https://www.instagram.com/hand2mouthcrafts/
Mentions from the episode:
Frederick Grundvig and the beginning of folk schools
Video about Danebod Folk School
Oak: The Frame of Civilization
Martin Hazell on St. Peter Damian
Fred's class at Vesterheim later this summer: Unraveling the Knot Basket: Investigating the Scandinavian Knutkorg
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.