Maplewoodshop: Saving Shop Class

...out of touch with the physical world that they design things impossible to build. Image: Maplewoodworking Maplewoodshop seeks to reverse this trend with an innovative woodworking program that trains teachers to integrate hand tool woodworking into their lessons plans. Teachers who graduate from Maplewoodshop’s training get a rolling box containing all the tools they need to teach woodworking classes in any room. Maplewoodshop is a great example of...

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Saturday Tweets: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

...blela) March 16, 2018 Happy belated birthday to the "plant wizard" Luther Burbank. See my tribute to his life love of plants here: https://t.co/rnPMhrszzj — Fruit Cornucopia (@ValenzuelaJohn) March 15, 2018 The Florida International Bridge Collapse Is About So Much More Than a Failed Structure https://t.co/6YiMCjEqjg via @StreetsblogUSA — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 17, 2018 How Can Vision Zero Work When L.A. Continues to Prioritize Speed? htt...

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The Architecture of Bernard Maybeck

...st of us are mollusks, after all, and are shaped and sized by the walls we build around us. The Simple Home is a book length ode to the work of Maybeck and, alas, a manifesto for an architectural road not taken. Somehow we ended up with a world full of parking garages and mini malls. Let me, at this point, note that Keeler has the best ever author photo: Maybeck also had a good publicity photo: Is it time to bring back the smock? But I digress. He...

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A Celebration of Craft

...formed, airy loaves with one deft flick of the wrist. He has the skill to build an empire the size of La Brea Bakery but is happy working at a smaller scale selling loaves at the Chico farmer’s market once a week. I think he’s the most talented baker in the U.S. I also ran into tomato farmer and breeder Fred Hempel who was a guest on episode 79 of our podcast. Like Miller, Hempel has a humility that goes along with a sincere engagement with the n...

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An All-Cement Chicken House

...ular coop, from a 1916 issue, I agree that, “Beauty certainly cannot be claimed.” And the production of concrete is an environmental nightmare so I, personally, would not build a concrete chicken coop. But the anonymous architect of this coop should get a few points for coop innovation....

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