American Craft

Rhiannon Griego of Santa Fe at the loom. Learn more about her and other textile artists and clothing designers on page 46. Fashion. Many magazines publish their version of “the fashion issue.” Welcome to ours, which covers so much more than what’s stylish now. We explore fashion-forward craft and the materials of sustainable, slow fashion, such as you find in a handwoven jacket or a leather bag cut and sewn by an artist. We also consider how “to fashion” is to shape or give form to an artwork or object. When planning this issue, we knew we had to include Fabiola Jean-Louis’ dresses, which she sculpts from paper and ornaments with images from the impacts of the transatlantic slave trade—images that can be quite difficult to look at (page 38). We also…

We’re delighted to welcome Bimbola Akinbola to the pages of American Craft. An interdisciplinary scholar and artist based in Chicago, Akinbola has written about the museum space as a site of dissent. Here she takes on the brilliant and farreaching collaborative work of Sonya Clark. page 54 Shae Bishop is a ceramist, fiber artist, and lover of reptiles. He assembles ceramic pieces and fashions them into garments—some of which are to be worn when looking for salamanders. When we asked him to write about what fashion means in his work and for craft, he said this was his “dream assignment.” page 68 Cofounder of San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design, JoAnn Edwards worked for many years with renowned exhibition designer Ted Cohen. He was putting together a personally significant exhibition about…

On the Winter 2022 Issue I thought the Winter 2022 issue was spectacular. The articles about the artists were varied and just the right length, with good discussion about the person and the craft. There was some education; I learned about tufting, and everybody needs to know the history of indigo and the slave trade. It seemed very much about what is happening in craft now. And the holiday gift guide was a shopper’s paradise. Thank you for this beautiful magazine. —Paige Slade, Jacksonville, Florida I am quite taken with the American Craft Winter 2022 issue and plan to read it cover to cover. So nice to see the stories and get to the heart of what makes ACC really work—not just the rock-star makers of craft, but the ordinary, hardworking craft artists…

Aspen Golann. Near Boston one afternoon, Aspen Golann is hunting for a log. “You have me on a log day,” she says, explaining that she will carve the felled specimen into a replica of a 1770s settee, at Colonial Williamsburg’s annual Working Wood in the 18th Century conference. “It’s about as nerdy as it gets.” Five years ago, Golann didn’t know how to cut dovetails, much less build a historically accurate chair from scratch. Then she enrolled at Boston’s North Bennet Street School for 17th- and 18th-century-style American furniture-making. For Golann, whose previous fascinations include sailing, bookbinding, and sheep shearing (for weaving), woodworking was a natural jump. “I could take or leave American period furniture,” she says. “I was looking at it like a series of skills represented by objects. I…

The Museum of Craft and Design is especially proud to present a distinctive, celebratory exhibition honoring the extraordinary exhibition designer Ted Cohen (1928–2021). Brimming with artwork from a selection of collectors and artists spaced as vignettes, in addition to a special feature on Ted himself, The Object in Its Place: As Designed by Ted Cohen is a glimpse into his process, his passion, and his discipline. For 60 years, Ted Cohen created inspired art spaces for museums, galleries, hospitals, and private residences. He reimagined the in-home collections of many and was often called back to tweak this or that as collections expanded, tastes changed, or collectors simply wanted to share tea, lunch, or chocolate. He brought life to objects and installations, transformed spaces, made exhibit marquees sizzle, and nourished our creative…

Creative Carryalls. What’s in a bag? Objects you need to carry, of course. But whether it carries the usual necessities, a laptop, recent purchases, or a change of clothes, a finely crafted personal bag is also a bearer of values: sturdiness, stylishness, beauty, maybe even whimsy. Here are four the American Craft editors admire. This Special Project Tote is in a beautiful state of transition. The vegetable-tanned leather that Twin Cities artisan Beth Dow uses turns darker and richer with age. Her Fieldwork Goods are made using traditional saddlery techniques and in line with a company motto: “We make it like we mean it.” /$550 fieldworkgoods.com | @fieldworkgoods This messenger bag is from Charlotte Friese’s Wool and Ridge collection, which she calls “earth-inspired.” Virginia-based Friese’s love of the planet finds expression in decorative…