The Craftsman's Journal

The Master's Tools (Part 1) Why I Work With Fou...

One burner is never enough. The first instalment of The Master's Tools — a behind-the-scenes look at why four completely different flames are needed to create a single hand-blown ornament.

The Master's Tools (Part 1) Why I Work With Fou...

One burner is never enough. The first instalment of The Master's Tools — a behind-the-scenes look at why four completely different flames are needed to create a single hand-blown ornament.

A Second Life for Antique Glass. A Preview of O...

Old ornaments, darkened inside by oxidised silver and a craftsman who can restore their brilliance without touching a single brushstroke of the original decoration. A demonstration is coming.

A Second Life for Antique Glass. A Preview of O...

Old ornaments, darkened inside by oxidised silver and a craftsman who can restore their brilliance without touching a single brushstroke of the original decoration. A demonstration is coming.

You Hand Over a Pattern, You Collect the Finish...

I left a pattern. I came back to something entirely different. A story about handmade craft, human creativity, and one decorator who had her own ideas about what "prettier" means.

You Hand Over a Pattern, You Collect the Finish...

I left a pattern. I came back to something entirely different. A story about handmade craft, human creativity, and one decorator who had her own ideas about what "prettier" means.

A Grill Outside the Workshop, a "Great Connoiss...

A self-declared expert, a lit grill, and one question that stopped the workshop dead. Some conversations about craft begin exactly where theory ends.

A Grill Outside the Workshop, a "Great Connoiss...

A self-declared expert, a lit grill, and one question that stopped the workshop dead. Some conversations about craft begin exactly where theory ends.

A Box on the Roof, Honking Drivers, and a Mosai...

A distracted craftsman, a box of hand-blown ornaments on a car roof, and a slow-motion disaster at a red light. Some lessons in this workshop come at a very high...

A Box on the Roof, Honking Drivers, and a Mosai...

A distracted craftsman, a box of hand-blown ornaments on a car roof, and a slow-motion disaster at a red light. Some lessons in this workshop come at a very high...

How I Really Learned to Paint Christmas Ornamen...

Four new decorators, one ultimatum, and two weeks of sixteen-hour days at the brush. The honest story of how a Polish craftsman learned hand-decorating the hard way.

How I Really Learned to Paint Christmas Ornamen...

Four new decorators, one ultimatum, and two weeks of sixteen-hour days at the brush. The honest story of how a Polish craftsman learned hand-decorating the hard way.