Hello. My name is Andrew Wagner and I’m the editor-in-chief of American Craft magazine, a bi-monthly published by the American Craft Council. I migrated to New York from San Francisco in late 2006 and ever since one of the things I hear most frequently is ‘ughh, summer in New York City is terrible.’ I always have to politely disagree. There are obviously a ton of things that make a summer in New York great: the (relatively) empty streets; the (relatively) empty museums; free concerts in Battery Park; free concerts at the McCarren Park pool in Brooklyn; baseball (playing and watching); and of course, American Craft’s “Summer in the City Salon Series.” [image above: Bruce Metcalf- "Clawtwo" (brooch) 2008. 5 inches high. Boxwood, gold, Micarta. brass]

Each summer the American Craft Council puts on a series of lectures in our library in SoHo (this year sponsored by Leatrice Eagle with support from Etsy) aimed at exploring the current conversations in craft and beyond. This year, we started off with a fantastic talk by Tyler Hays, the owner and founder of furniture company BDDW. Our second installment in the series is scheduled for next Thursday, July 24th and it should be electric. [images above: Bruce Metcalf-"Bubble Necklace" 2007. 14 inches high. Painted wood, gold, brass. Bruce Metcalf- "Featherhead Necklace" 2008. 12 1/2 inches high. Painted wood, gold, brass. Of his work Bruce Metcalf says, "I think of these as floral jewelry: images of fecundity and ripeness, with erotic undertones. They are also closely related to decorative arts conventions, to emphasize their place in the historical continuum. And, for the most part, they are nicely crafted."]

This time around, we’re lucky enough to have jeweler and writer Bruce Metcalf join us for a conversation with Etsy seller, proprietor of Junks Prints and “indie” artist Chanel Kennebrew. In “Connect/Disconnect” we’re aiming to explore the complicated relationships between the broad spectrums of craft makers. Our interest in the relationship between the new wave of craft artists and the old-guard of the mid-century studio craft artists really started to take hold after Bruce Metcalf and I gave a talk at the Society of North American Goldsmiths conference that ignited a maelstrom of emotion that has carried over into the summer.

It should prove to be quite an interesting evening. Both Metcalf and Kennebrew are outstanding artists in their own right and exceedingly interesting people. Our Salons always provide plenty of fodder for conversation and are a great way to meet old and new friends over a glass of wine and some food and, as always, an opportunity to explore our most excellent library—one of the largest collections of art, craft and design books in the country. So, please come on by next Thursday. Just be sure to RSVP to David Shuford (dshuford@craftcouncil.org) – the events always fill up very, very quickly!

[three images above: Chanel Kennebrew- Junk Prints, Afro Bag. Chanel Kennebrew- Junk Prints, "Colored" T-shirt. Chanel Kennebrew-Junk Prints, "Wakeup" Hoodie]