Pod-Craft English version
Stories and Skills from the world of craft-making
Craft-making is more than a profession – it’s a way of life. But what does it really mean to be a craft-maker today?
We hear about craft-making more and more often: from stories of people rediscovering meaning through manual work to the pride of creating with one’s own hands. From the challenges of integrating innovation into tradition to the importance of environmental and social sustainability. From tales of work organized differently from capitalism to EU-funded initiatives supporting the craft sector. From digitization to the issue of generational transition. But what exactly do we talk about when we talk about craft?
We’ll dive into the lives and tools of craft-makers and uncover why people choose the craft life—and what it really takes to be a great artisan.
The Hephaestus Project, through the Pod-Craft podcast, offers artisans, scholars, and citizens a collection of practical experiences and first-hand accounts, primarily told by those who live and practice craft-making daily. These are complemented by insights from researchers studying the craft world, as well as experiences from organizations supporting craft communities.
Pod-Craft has multiple goals: first and foremost, to highlight what we can learn from craft-making and why it matters. Most importantly, it aims to provide artisans with training tools based on the experiences of fellow artisans—people facing similar challenges in their daily work, who have found ways to overcome them and are willing to share their solutions.
For this reason, Pod-Craft features interviews and conversations with craft-makers, academics, and artists, exploring the essence of craftsmanship while offering training for both practitioners and aspiring craft-makers.
Whether you’re an experienced craft-maker, an aspiring artisan, or simply curious about the world of handmade creations, Pod-Craft offers insights, training, and inspiration to help you thrive in the craft world.
Pod-Craft series
Together, these themes weave a comprehensive narrative, blending technical skills, practical advice, personal stories, and academic insights to create an enriching resource for craft-makers and enthusiasts alike.
No subtitles! Just authentic voices, so you can listen while crafting with your favorite tools!
1st POD-CRAFT
Craft resurgance and introducion to the HEPHAESTUS project
In this first episode of Pod-Craft, we’re joined by Associate Professor Marta Gasparin from Copenhagen Business School, who is the project coordinator of the Horizon Europe project HEPHAESTUS, funded by the European Union.
Together, we delve into the relevance of craft in today’s world, exploring the key challenges faced by craft makers across Europe. We’ll also discuss whether certain places or communities are more conducive to craft-based work. Finally, we’ll touch on the importance of developing sustainable business models in the craft sector, highlighting the need for innovation and growth in this field.
2nd POD-CRAFT
Craft-Tools: IP law in craft making; legal tools to protect craft creations
Welcome to the second episode of Pod-Craft and the first ever episode of our Craft-Tool series! In this episode, we sit down with Vishv Priya Kohli, Associate Professor of Law and Management at Copenhagen Business School, to explore the crucial role of intellectual property (IP) protection for craft makers. Priya explains how artisans can safeguard their unique creations through trademarks, copyrights, design rights, and geographical indications (GIs).
We dive into practical tools and strategies, including how to prevent imitation, leverage IP for financial benefits, and navigate the new EU regulation (effective December 2025) on geographical indications for crafts. Plus, Priya shares real-life examples of artisans who have successfully protected their work.
3rd POD-CRAFT
Exploring craft, innovation and aesthetic value with Daniel Hjorth and Roberto Verganti
In this episode, we explore the intersection of innovation, aesthetics, and craftsmanship with two leading voices in the field: Daniel Hjorth is the Ulf G. Lindén Professor of Aesthetics and Business Creativity at Lund University School of Economics and Management, and a professor at Copenhagen Business School. Roberto Verganti is a professor, Joseffson Family Chair in Art and Innovation, Director at the Center for Art and Innovation at Stockholm School of Economics, and a visiting lecturer at Harvard Business School.
Drawing on their extensive research, Verganti and Hjorth unpack the nuanced relationship between craft and innovation—not as opposites, but as deeply interconnected practices. They reflect on the role of receptivity, material affordances, and the dialogical nature of making, as well as how leadership itself can be understood as a craft grounded in care and responsiveness. From Japanese cuisine to design theory, from AI parody to Taylor Swift, this conversation is a wide-ranging yet grounded discussion on how meaning emerges in the creative process.
For scholars, practitioners, and anyone interested in the future of innovation beyond market logic, this is an invitation to rethink what it means to (re)create.
4th POD-CRAFT
Steam bending wood with Rob Curran
In this episode, we sit down with Rob Curran, a wood artisan based in Sweden to discover the secrets of wood steam bending. From building his first guitar to developing a series of organic sculptures, our guest walks us through choosing the right wood species, hands-on experimentation, and the delicate dialogue between maker and material. They also explore how tradition and innovation collide – whether in a quiet village workshop or a Venice residency – and discuss the potential (and limits) of digital tools in handcrafted practice. Join us for an intimate look at what it takes to be a modern artisan, where research, creativity, and craftsmanship come together.
5th POD-CRAFT
Molding Stories: Nynne Rosenkrantz Christiansen journey across art forms
In this episode, Francesca Leonardi and Luca Pareschi sit down with ceramic artist Nynne Rosenkrantz Christiansen, a craft maker based in Bornholm, Denmark, whose path has taken her around the world and led her from piano and painting to modelling, acting, and photography before finding her medium in clay. Nynne’s work is characterised by expansive forms and a masterful use of glaze that emphasises spatial presence and luminosity. Nynne shares how experimenting with crystal glazes, embracing slow making and imperfection, and drawing on her diverse artistic background have shaped her tactile, immersive sculptures. She also reflects on how a quiet island life supports her craft – and her role as a mother – after years in big, busy cities like New York. Join us for an inspiring story about creativity, resilience, and following an artistic calling.
6th POD-CRAFT
Crushed waste and experimental glazes with Christina Schou
In this episode, we sit down with ceramist and entrepreneur Christina Schou Christensen, based in Bornholm, Denmark, to uncover her bold approach to ceramic glaze and sustainability.
From thick, voluminous drip glazes that form their own sculptural strands to the micro‑crushing machine she uses to turn discarded sinks, toilets and medical glass into new clay and glaze ingredients, Christina shows us how hands‑on experimentation can spark radical circular‑economy solutions.
She takes us inside her Ødeland project, where community collaboration and the spirit of curiosity are reshaping what it means to make sustainable glazes today. Tune in for an eye‑opening look at sustainable ceramics and glazes!
7th POD-CRAFT
Circular Ceramics with Anna Maria Sand Jensen
Anna Maria walks us through how island life in Bornholm, heritage craft traditions, and unexpected collaborations have shaped her material research. Now pursuing a master’s in Strategic Design in Copenhagen, she’s reframing how she approaches her practice.
Join us for a conversation on curiosity, failure, and the choices that make circular craft possible.
8th POD-CRAFT
Rethinking Craft: From Guilds to Modern Makers with Julie and Bert
Drawing on their research into guilds, apprenticeships, and early modern labor systems, our guests unpack how craftsmanship was learned, valued, and organized before industrialization. They reflect on what this past can teach us today, questioning modern hierarchies between mind and hand, theory and practice.
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation where history, policy, and making intersect to rethink the future of craft.
9th POD-CRAFT
Craft, code and technology with Xenophon Zabulis
We sit down with Xenophon Zabulis, research director at the Institute of Computer Science – Foundation for Research and Technology in Greece and part of the European Horizon CRAEFT project, to explore the relationship between craft and technology.
Xenophon walks us through how robotics, computer vision, and other intelligences can help document, help, and even teach craft practices – while raising deeper questions about what it really means to make something by hand. From ancient looms to modern algorithms, we trace how craft and technology have always evolved together.
Join us for a conversation on perception, risk, and why – despite all our tools – the human mind remains the most essential instrument of all.
10th POD-CRAFT
On Sculpting, with Lukas Arons:
Knowledge, Physicality, and Patience
Lukas reflects on his journey from the Netherlands to Scandinavia, sharing how decades of working with stone have shaped his understanding of craft, freedom, and artistic practice. From the “physical fight” between sculptor and material to the patience required to work with stones billions of years old, he offers a personal perspective on learning through experience rather than tradition.
Join us for a conversation on technique, risk, and the ongoing dialogue between the human hand and the natural world.
11th POD-CRAFT
Craft Collaboration & Everyday Resistance with Otto von Busch
We sit down with Otto von Busch, Professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design in New York, to explore how craft can become a tool for collective action and everyday empowerment.
Drawing from his work on hacking and collaborative DIY culture, Otto reflects on how craft can move beyond the studio and into public life — helping communities build alternative ways of living together. From hacked Barbie dolls and fashion activism to communal woodworking workshops and spoon-carving clubs, he shares how making things together can teach collaborative agency and resistance.
Join us for a conversation on craft as a social practice, the politics of making, and why even a handmade coat rack can become an act of transformation.
12th POD-CRAFT
Willow Weaving and Slowing Down with Alice Kettle
Alice reflects on her journey from product design to creating her current large-scale woven installations that encourage people to pause, look up, and admire more closely the landscapes around them. As she puts it, “Maybe my work is about creating time to be.”
Join us for a conversation on the seasonality of willow, the influence of posthumanism and environmental psychology on craft practice, and how Alice’s attentiveness to more-than-human worlds hope to help deepen our connections with the natural environment.
Podcast structure and themes
Pod-Craft’s episodes are structured around seven key themes, each designed to address important aspects of craft-making while providing an engaging and diverse learning experience.
01
Craft-making skills and
technical expertise
This theme delves into both the practical and artistic dimensions of craftsmanship. We will discuss how artisans refine their technical mastery, explore the value of art-based research in enhancing craft-making practices, and feature firsthand accounts from artisans sharing the outcomes of their experimental work.
02
Technological
skills
This theme explores how innovative tools and methods can enrich craftsmanship. Topics range from 3D printing, AI, and digitization in FabLabs to specialized techniques like micro-crushing for glass and ceramics and machinery designed to complement traditional tools, always with an emphasis on sustainability.
03
Effective
communication
Many craft-makers struggle to showcase their work in the digital age. These episodes will explore strategies for building websites, managing social media accounts like Instagram, and leveraging e-commerce platforms to increase visibility and sales.
04
Business and
soft skills
A crucial theme for craft-makers, approached through a series of academic talks. These episodes will cover topics such as intellectual property for artisans, the resurgence of craft in modern economies, leadership, authenticity, training and education—all aimed at equipping artisans with essential tools to navigate their professional landscape. Sessions will also explore the interplay between craft and tourism, the role of artisan districts, sustainability, and project management skills.
05
Business models and craft ecosystems
These episodes will explore how different craft ecosystems function and shape the craft landscape. Topics include case studies such as Nove, the balance between craft and tourism in Venice, and the craft community in Not Quite. Other episodes will discuss the relationship between craft and the circular economy on Bornholm, including collaborations with BOFA.
06
Making a living
from craft
This part of the podcast will focus on real-life stories and strategies from artisans who have successfully turned their passion into a sustainable livelihood.
07
Craft-related European projects
This section will highlight various EU-funded initiatives focused on craft, drawing attention to tools and methodologies developed in other projects.
Pod-Craft is rooted in the experiences of craft communities across four European ecosystems
Venice (IT), Bassano del Grappa (IT), Bornholm (DK), and Dals Långed (SE). To stay true to the spirit of craftsmanship, Pod-Craft is available in Italian, Swedish, Danish, or English. Since many listeners work with their hands—at the potter’s wheel, the handloom, or with a hammer—Pod-Craft does not provide subtitles. Instead, episodes are gradually translated and re-recorded in multiple project languages.
Credits
- Scientific Supervision: Marta Gasparin
- Editorial direction and texts: Luca Pareschi, Francesca Leonardi
- Production: Lea Janna Jacobsen
- Editing and graphics: Margot Bustamante
- Music: Sergio Marchesini
- Communication and graphics: WIT Berry
Episode-specific credits can be found in each episode’s description.