Ed Mancini of Mancini Woodworking and Jeff from Makers Way are two furniture builders, storytellers, and longtime pillars of the maker community whose friendship is built on equal parts craftsmanship, mutual support, and an absolutely relentless commitment to giving each other a hard time.

Ed Mancini of Mancini Woodworking spent twenty years as an Army tanker  -  driver, loader, gunner, commander  -  learning, in his words, how to destroy things. When he got out, he needed an outlet. Woodworking became that, and then it became something much bigger.

Jeff from Makers Way is a furniture builder, a self-described quasi YouTuber, and someone who is, despite all evidence to the contrary, pretty shy. That’s it. That’s his whole bio.

Beyond woodworking, this conversation turns to  rediscovery, friendship and what happens when people who’ve spent years building things finally find the community that helps them build themselves.

The four of us talk about the origin of their friendship, the early days of the Instagram maker community; and why Maker Camp isn’t really about the tools at all - it’s about the people, the relationships, and the feeling of finally finding where you belong.

Heads up: this one goes off the rails in some places, but rest assured there’s plenty of laughter, some swears, and at least one discussion about tanks and disco balls.

More Ed & Jeff

Ed Mancini  - Mancini Woodworking

Jeff Henke - Maker's Way

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

Dennis Forrester of 21Grams Leather Goods is a leather artist whose work carries both the precision of tattooing and the heart of recovery. What began as a creative outlet during the stillness of the pandemic has evolved into a partnership with Weaver Leather Supply and a life centered around teaching, collaboration, and storytelling through craft. His designs pull from American traditional tattoo imagery - bold lines, timeless symbols, a touch of rebellion - and he’s built a reputation not just for what he makes, but for the way he shares it, with humor, humility, and a real sense of gratitude.

We sit down with Dennis to talk about the long road from tattoo parlors and graffiti walls in Huntington Beach to the leather tent at Maker Camp. We dive into how addiction and art became intertwined, how turning creative energy into tangible craft helped rebuild a sense of purpose, and how a single experiment with tracing paper led to a patented process now in shops around the world. We talk about mentorship, friendship, and the kind of community that shows up for you when you least expect it: from fellow crafters like Ethan Carter and Jay Nielsen to the next generation of artists discovering leather for the first time. 

Just a heads up: there are some swears in this episode, and we do get into some conversations that deal with addiction, mental health struggles, and recovery.

All that said: this one’s raw, funny, and hopeful: a story about making, surviving, and choosing every day to turn experience into art.

More Dennis

Dennis Forrester - 21Grams Leather Goods

Website

Paul Jackman and John “Graz” Graziano are two of the most recognizable (and ridiculous) personalities in the maker world right now. You may know them from the Netflix show Making Fun, from their YouTube channels full of chaos, creativity, and power tools, and from the unmistakable blend of sarcasm and sincerity that follows them wherever they go. Between Jackman’s precision woodworking and Graz’s unfiltered comic energy, they’ve carved out a corner of the community that’s equal parts absurd, inspiring, and deeply human.

We sit down with the guys to talk about what really went on behind the scenes of Making Fun: the late nights, the camaraderie, and the fact that it somehow felt more like summer camp than television. They dig into the early days of the show, the chaotic chemistry that made it work, and the joy (and chaos) of creating something funny, heartfelt, and handmade in front of cameras. They talk about skate ramps, dumpster diving, wooden boots, and how AI is changing the creative process. It’s part reflection, part roast, and part maker therapy session, full of laughter, nostalgia, and a genuine love for the community that made it all possible.

And just as a heads up: there are some swears in this episode!

More Paul & John

Paul Jackman - Jackman Works

John Graziano - Graz Makes

Rich and Jenna Greenwalt of Forged Ingrain are the kind of makers who can build just about anything - and often do. From salvaged wood and concrete to metal, resin, and light, their work ranges from functional furniture to one-of-a-kind art pieces that carry the unmistakable fingerprint of collaboration. Together, they run a full-time creative business just outside of Cleveland, blending Rich’s background in the trades with Jenna’s eye for design and storytelling. Their projects feel industrial and organic at the same time, and their partnership (both in life and in the shop) has become central to their brand.

We sit down with Jenna and Rich to talk about the long, surprising path that led from a fish-food factory to a thriving studio in Perry, Ohio, and how a shared need to make things grew into a livelihood. They get into what it means to build side by side, the learning curves of new tools and materials, and why experimentation keeps their work fresh. They talk about the “creation station” apartment garage where it all began, the wild early commissions that came from saying yes to everything, and the deep joy of showing up at Maker Camp each year to reconnect, recharge, and play. From BMX roots to blacksmithing tents, from hats to plasma tables, this one’s about partnership, process, and the kind of creative restlessness that makes you fall in love with making all over again.

More Rich & Jenna

Rich & Jenna Greenwalt - Forged Ingrain

Website

Nick Berchtold of Berchtold Design Build has made a name for himself through jaw-dropping CNC creations that blur the line between architecture, sculpture, and satire. By day, he’s an architectural model maker helping design some of the tallest buildings in the world. By night, he’s creating axes, knives, and wild custom projects that mash up 3D modeling, fine woodworking, and an unmistakable sense of humor. Whether he’s carving intricate textures for skyscraper door handles or machining an anatomically hilarious push sticks and axe handles, Nick approaches every project with precision, curiosity, and a knack for seeing what’s possible when you let technology and art misbehave together.

We sit down with Nick to talk about that balance between architecture and absurdity: how a childhood spent scroll-sawing fish-tank art turned into a career of building models for the next world’s tallest tower, and how those same skills fuel his after-hours experiments in CNC texture, resin casting, and sculptural weaponry. They get into the story behind his viral mallet covered in 88 maker faces, the moment he realized he could merge professional modeling tools with creative chaos, and how a weekend axe-building challenge led him to gift a dozen custom handles just to help others feel that first spark of making. They talk about forging, 3D printing, fatherhood, Hannibal Lecter heads, and why the future of craftsmanship might depend on people like Nick: designers who aren’t afraid to bring a little irreverence, a little architecture, and a lot of heart into the shop.

More Nick

Nick Berchtold - Berchtold Design Build

Website

Ryan Smith is a woodworker and printmaker whose work has quietly become one of the defining visual signatures of Maker Camp. Every year, hundreds of people walk away with one of his letterpress posters tucked under their arm, each one pulled by hand on a nearly hundred-year-old Vandercook printing press that he’s restored, hauled to camp, and runs all weekend long. Between woodworking commissions, shop builds, and print runs for makers across the community, Ryan has built a practice that sits right at the intersection of craftsmanship, nostalgia, and pure hands-on joy.

Leigh, Mush, and Andrew sat down with Ryan to talk about the path that led him here: from early days in social work and woodworking to stumbling into the world of antique presses through a chance connection with Jimmy Diresta, to slowly resurrecting machines that had been locked up and forgotten for decades. We get into the magic of pulling that first crisp print off a freshly carved block, the odd and wonderful logistics of transporting a 500-pound press up a trailer ramp without losing it through the truck bed, and the way these old machines connect him to both tradition and community. We dig into the posters that have become Maker Camp collectibles, the crossover between music and printmaking, why he keeps rescuing presses off Facebook Marketplace, and the joy of making prints for fellow creators whose work he admires. And woven through it all is Ryan’s belief that keeping these old processes alive - in a world rushing toward digital everything - matters not out of resistance, but out of love for the tactile, the imperfect, and the deeply human side of making.

More Ryan

Ryan Smith - Smith Makes

Website

Tracey and Kathrina of Bastionhead Woodworks are power carvers and hand-tool makers who’ve built a reputation for turning raw, ordinary firewood into bold, sculptural forms that feel alive in your hands. They teach at major woodworking events around the country, introduce countless newcomers to carving through approachable tools and techniques, and somehow make every class feel like a mix of artistry, therapy, and joyful chaos. Their work blends precision and play, and their teaching has become a cornerstone of the carving community at Maker Camp and beyond.

Leigh and Mush sit down with them to talk about the story beneath all of that: the winding path from science labs and alternative classrooms to full-time carving, the early moments that lit the spark, and the quiet shift from “try this tool” to “this is our life now.” They get into the rhythm and flow of carving, why cracking open a log feels like discovering a geode, and the way grain, smell, and texture can pull you into a meditative state. They talk about teaching beginners, including the powerful experience of guiding a blind student’s hands on an angle grinder, and why safe, expressive tools can unlock creativity in people who didn’t know they had it. And of course, they dig into what they’re doing here at Maker Camp, how they help people read wood the way musicians read a score, and why sharing this craft with others has become the most meaningful part of their work.

More Tracey & Kathrina

Tracey Cheuvront - Bastionhead

Kathrina Nellis

Website

Leigh and Mush sit down to talk about the excitement involved in this year's Maker Camp! See you soon, East Durham!

We had some tremendously generous support in making this Chapter of The Storyteller's Tavern possible, and we'd like to thank The Maker Camp, Total Boat, and Kutzall for all that you do to support and uplift the Maker Community, as well as for helping make this chapter happen. Thanks also to Afton Tavern for hosting our preview episode!

The Storyteller's Tavern is made and hosted by @TheTinkerTeacher and @MakerMush. Please consider subscribing, reviewing, and rating. We welcome your support on Patreon.

This is it: the final episode from WorkbenchCon 2025. Beyond the tools, techniques, and business side of things, WORKBENCHCon is and has always been about friendship, support, and the community that makes it all possible. So what better way to wrap it up than with three makers who represent the soul of this event:

Jessie (@building_jessie), who began woodworking in 2018 by building things for her farm and home and has found a home in the maker community

Becca (@SouthernPineDesignCo and @aCarpentersCross), who's a woodworker and a mom with an obsession for creating with tools and sharing each one as she learns to use it.

Kimani ( from @Vanstraydesigns @Vanstraytech for all the IT people out there), a girl dad to a peaceful 6 and a fiery 3 year old… and if his wife is listening he definitely didn’t forget about that thing she wanted him to make.

Leigh sits down with Jessie, Becca, and Kimani to wrap up and send off the conference this year, talking about how meeting like-minded people on the internet turned into lifelong connections and a second family; why sitting front row in your friends’ classes is just as important as teaching one yourself; and what keeps them coming back - the small moments that remind us why this maker world is so special.

Connect with our Storytellers

• Jessie's Instagram and Website
• Becca's Instagram, A Carpenter’s Cross Instagram, and website
• Kimani's Instagram (and Tech Instagram)

We had some tremendously generous support in making this Chapter of The Storyteller's Tavern possible, and we'd like to thank Workbench Conference, Total Boat, and Kutzall for all that you do to support and uplift the Maker Community, as well as for helping make this chapter happen. 

The Storyteller's Tavern is made and hosted by @TheTinkerTeacher and @MakerMush. Please consider subscribing, reviewing, and rating. We welcome your support on Patreon.