Savor. Craft can help us slow down and create a life filled with more gratitude and connectedness. Simply spending time appreciating the materials, labor, and creative vision that go into making handcrafted objects can usher in a sense of wonder. We hope this issue, and the work featured within, will inspire you to find new ways to savor the world around you, the season of summer, and the elements of your daily life.

Take a moment to pause. Our roundup of handcrafted benches—in comforting ceramics, steam-bent wood, aluminum,  and bronze—is designed to inspire you to create moments to ponder what’s good.

Enjoy being together. When you gather with family and friends, make the moment special. Enjoy a mocktail or cocktail happy hour with handcrafted glassware—like the glasses and decanter featured in our Market section. Or have fun playing a game of backgammon on a handmade wood, leather, or cork board.

Take pleasure in the bounty. Craft and food are intimately connected. In this issue, we highlight knives by Everett Noel, who was inspired as a teenager by sculptor JB Blunk, along with tableware, jewelry, and sculpture that hold deep meaning by Kristina Batiste. We also revisit The Craftsman’s Cookbook, which was published by ACC in 1972 (recipe included!).

Delight in discovering local craft. We hope you’ll spend time this summer exploring the craft scene in your community. Following our in-depth looks at Detroit (Summer 2023) and New Orleans (Winter 2024), we now take you to the Twin Cities, the American Craft Council’s home base since 2010. We asked a diverse array of makers to share their insights about craft in Minneapolis and Saint Paul—and wish we had room to include the voices of so many other talented Twin Cities–based artists. We are grateful to all the artists who’ve shared their knowledge and love of local craft with us.

Thank you for spending your precious time exploring this issue, and learning and discovering more about craft.

KAREN OLSON / Editor in Chief
 

American Craft Council publishes American Craft on a quarterly basis but reserves the right to change the number of issues in an annual term, including discontinuing any format and substituting and/or modifying the manner in which the subscription is distributed.