Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Made by Hand Series

There needs to be a human element in the making of these things.
~ Joel Bukiewicz

Joel Bukiewicz was a writer who became a knife-maker and ultimately found himself a purveyor of high-quality hand-made wares to the "food world" of Brooklyn, New York. Before "hitting the jackpot" that landed him in  the midst of that community, he had to learn what differentiates skill from fine craft; in the process, he discovered his life's purpose and meaning. In this 10:17-minute film from Made by Hand, Burkiewicz speaks frankly about what he discovered during his quest to fulfill his need to "make creative offerings" daily.


Made by Hand / No 2 The Knife Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

Bukiewicz's company is Cut Brooklyn, which holds "knife skills" classes and open workshops on Saturdays.

The Brooklyn-based Made by Hand series is a project of the Bureau of Common Goods, a film and digital content studio that "tell[s] stories and create[s] experiences (mostly with film) that both educate and inspire." According to its About description, Made by Hand was "created out of the belief that the things we collect, consume, use, and share are part of who we are as individuals. . . [and] aims to promote that which is made locally, sustainably, and with a love for craft. . . ." 

Currently, the locally made films in the series include, in addition to The Knife MakerThe Beekeeper, The Distiller (the first release in the series), and The Cigar Rollers.

Made by Hand on Twitter and Vimeo

Bureau of Common Goods on Twitter 

My thanks to Curator magazine from which I first learned about Made by Hand.

2 comments:

Louise Gallagher said...

I remember watching The distillery. This is equally as good and inspiring.

Thanks Maureen!

I love his comment on 'you sweat buckets of blood and sweat' and you f* things up...

Do I want this to work? -- nice.

Anonymous said...

watching the knife maker.
would like to watch the others.
agree with lg..."fuckin' work"...i like him.
and i like the photowork of the doc.
the black and white is just the ticket.