We Are Makers

A magazine for those who want to learn from the stories of the world best makers, craftspeople, and artists.

We Are Makers

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Founders' note • Our world is constantly shifting, yet making remains one of the most human things we do.

Keeping it sweet • A young cooper in North Yorkshire, Euan Findlay is one of fewer than a handful of craftspeople still practising this centuries-old trade. He’s doing so in a new way, engaging the public and, maybe, even the next generation of coopers.

Push and pull • From an experiment with an “old lady technique”, Micah Clasper-Torch has found, not just a craft that could hold her attention, but a way of making and being. Later this year, that craft will move her halfway round the world. Even so, she explains, the work of her hands keeps her grounded and present.

Carved in time • In a humble apartment in a neighbourhood just outside Naples, we met Pasquale Ottaviano and his son Fabio, cameo engravers working side by side. Aged 88, Pasquale still makes work every day, as he has for decades, while Fabio continues the practice alongside him. Pasquale began working at the age of nine, making him almost certainly the longest-serving maker we’ve featured.

Against the grain • Scott Horn inherited the tools of his craft, but the desire to make with them came later. His story is one of how he’s creating his own lineage of making, creating a pathway for himself that leads from heritage to modernity.

Panned out • Meet Bill and Tristan Godwin, the father-and-son team behind Copper State Forge. They’ve been based in an industrial unit in the middle of what was the old WWII Lockheed-Martin aircraft factory just west of Phoenix, for years. But their work as blacksmiths – specifically, panmakers – took off thanks to a pivot they made after Covid. We dropped by to find out more.

Mad(e) as hatters • For Myrte and Javier of Maleza hats, an interest grew into a livelihood. They built their craft by focusing on the skill and workmanship no one could teach them, rather than following traditional routes and fashion trends. The respect for the past in the hats they make is plain to see. In a quiet street in the centre of Madrid, we uncovered their story.

The careful path • On a road trip through New Mexico last autumn, we met Milford Calamity, Navajo (Diné) metalsmith. We visited his studio, where he spoke openly about how he found his way into making and the stories carried through his work.

New school • Jay and his son Alf build furniture and carry out bespoke joinery, but craft is only half the story when it comes to their business, Sexton & Son. Founded as a way to give hope to Alf through a difficult period of his life, it’s a lesson in what making can do and how the right environment can help someone find their way.

Bound to work • Coming from a working class background and discovering a vocation in craft, Gillian Stewart didn’t always understand the value of the skill in her hand. But, through trial and error – and a lot of determination – she’s made a living from her life’s work.

Making home • Standing in Paboy’s workshop in Naples, the colour of his work is what you notice first. In Casa by Paboy is all about bold combinations, confident patterns and pieces that feel upbeat and full of life. But it’s been a long road to get here. From growing up in The Gambia to seeking asylum and then finding success in Naples, this is his story.

It’s all upstream • Steadfast commitment. That’s what stood out to us when we visited Greg at his workshop. He makes paddles. But his story is about so much more. It’s about how a young person can be the key to a craft’s survival, how the simplest objects are the hardest to perfect and the long impact respect for others can have on the future of making. He didn’t step...