This Craft Nation

Fred and Kyle kickoff season two with a talk about what's been happening and what's on deck. Michigan Brewers Guild, Farm Aid, Harvest Gathering and more...

Victor Vague is a wet plate photographer in Kalamazoo, MI. This episode takes us back to Day one, and interview number two. Kyle and I met Victor at Earthwork Harvest Gathering 2016. Within seconds of talking to Victor, we could feel that he was the real deal; this was something genuine and something we should experience.

Victor's knowledge and passion for his craft showed through so clearly that it was natural to think of him when we started to put our short list of makers together. We had just left Food Dance after a lovely talk and lunch with Julie, and met Victor in his basement studio on the East side of town.

Day 20 at Wanderlust Ironworks in San Antonio, Texas with Autumn and Simon. We were inspired and energized by the enthusiasm and passion this creative and hardworking pair put into their work.

www.wanderlustironworks.com

Joe's first assignment as a film maker for Southern Foodways Alliance sounds like it was pretty much a dare from founder John T. Edge. Armed with not much more than a camera, a background in anthropology and a genuinely curious storyteller's heart, Joe made Saving Seeds, which started an SFA tradition. He's since made dozens of films, sharing the traditions and character of the region with honesty and grace.

Kyle and I dropped in on Joe on Day 16 in Water Valley, Mississippi.

Check out Joe's work at www.joeyork.com and watch his inspiring films with the SFA at www.southernfoodways.org

Fred, Kyle and Emily kick off the new year with an update from their holiday retreat at Red Horse Ranch. Hear some beverage-fueled travel stories and learn about Emily's Mitten Beer Girl quest.

www.mittenbeergirl.com

www.kylebice.com

Links for this episode's featured makers

Food Dance @food_dance

Wanderlust Ironworks @wanderlust_ironworks @wanderlustiron

Gravitas Drift Boats @gravitasdriftboats

Meegan Czop runs Great Lakes Yard, which she founded to redirect lumber away from landfills by reclaiming and repurposing it for the building trades. We talked to Meegan on Day 35, the final day of our trip. There's a lot for you to hear from everywhere in-between, as this is our 56th interview. Her enthusiasm and determination are infectious - so despite our travel patina and road fatigue, we were inspired and curious to dig into her story.

TCN14 is from day six of our trip, featuring Dale Degroff and Adam Seger. We'd been adapting to the pace of New York City, which had us hustling through public transportation and urban navigation. We arrived to the IPic theater, and followed the signs up the escalators to The Tuck Room. Adam pulled a book, pivoting it from its bottom corner, and the entire bookshelf revealed itself to be a door, opening to an expansive, magical "green room."

If you've had a cocktail, you have benefited from the influence of Dale DeGroff. He goes by the well-deserved moniker of King Cocktail, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that his work and his writings have directly or indirectly influenced every working bartender out there today. Adam Seger is a remarkable barman, connector and educator with a knack for bringing elegant and sophisticated presentations forward in an adventurous and comfortable way. It was a pleasure to talk to them both about cocktails, over cocktails.

This is a second act, continuing from TCN10. These two conversations are from Sunday afternoon at Harvest. We had a little extra time on our hands, so Kyle and I caught up for the first half and welcomed E-Minor for the second half of this episode.

Kyle and I got together with Kristen and Brian for lunch during our stop in Los Angeles. We were mere hours off of our 28 hour overnight train ride from San Antonio to LA on the Texas Eagle. We were a little blinky-eyed, but well-coffeed as we got to the restaurant, ordered food and scouted tables. I setup the wireless microphones, anxiously hoping the hustling restaurant setting would provide some cool, contextual din of ambience to complement our conversation. What can I say, I'm an optimist. That didn't happen. There was no way were going to make it work. The table's were packed in tight, the restaurant was full, with a line snaking towards the door, and my headphones revealed the chaos as anything but productive. Thankfully, we realized that Brian and Kristen were coming to Michigan to visit Red Horse Ranch in June, adjacent to a secret awards ceremony in Chicago, that Kristen was not yet allowed to reveal. We made the call to postpone, and I let out semi-exhausted sigh of relief. We enjoyed our lunch and time with Kristen, Brian and their son Max. This conversation took place in my dining room, a couple of months later.

Act 1 from Harvest Gathering 2017 at Earthwork Farm in Lake City, Michigan. Kyle and I took a detour this September and attended our fourth Harvest Gathering. The Harvest Gathering is a pretty remarkable experience - there are thousands of people camping across a couple hundred acres, and the farm includes four stage that welcome more than 125 acts over the course of three days. It is a very unique village for a short period of time, filled with artists, craftspeople, and enthusiasts of all kinds.