Leigh and Mush sit down with Kerges Nimen and Tamara Robertson, two people whose paths into making couldn’t look more different on the surface, but who are connected by something deeper. Kergis is a silversmith whose work captures both delicacy and strength, fusing fire, metal, and meaning into jewelry that shines with unmistakable personality. Tamara - part engineer, part MythBuster, part author, part educator - is back on the pod and back at Maker Camp to lead Tinkering T-Rex workshops, build stomp rockets with kids, and spread her lifelong passion for curiosity in motion. Together, they represent two sides of the same spark: one grounded in patient craft, the other fueled by scientific wonder, both rooted in teaching and community.

We get into Tamara’s work restoring and operating steam locomotives, and what it means to care for machines that were built generations before us - ones that don’t forgive shortcuts, but teach you to listen, to feel, and to earn your understanding one mistake at a time.

We also talk about how learning used to happen through proximity - by standing next to someone who knew more than you, watching, trying and failing - and how that kind of learning still exists today, if you’re willing to seek it out.

And we get into a familiar truth about making: it’s not just about the object. It’s about the people, the mentors, the friendships, and the communities that form when curious humans gather around shared obsession.

More Kerges & Tamara

Kerges Nimen Silversmithing

The Real Tamara Robertson