Handwritten signs are part of the visual memory of most any American road trip, each one a piece of artwork conveying the maker’s touch and earnest intention. Like most handmade […]
Home / Making
Inspiration for the crafty, projects for the practical, spaces for dreamers.
Browse all Home / Making stories below or dive into a topic:
HANDIWORK
Stitching Together a Sustainable Approach to Fashion
Repairing worn garments with style is Evelina Kirgan’s calling
PROVINCETOWN — There is one thing Evelina Kirgan cannot forget from her years as an assistant designer at Ralph Lauren. It’s the time she ordered 50,000 yards of the wrong […]
MEET THE MAKER
Behind Cape Cod’s Outermost Roast
John Simonian brews a career from love of a good cup of coffee
EASTHAM — John Simonian starts every day with a good cup of coffee. Then he goes to work making coffee for the rest of us. He’s not a barista. He’s […]
MEET THE MAKERS
Browsing With the Oyster Flats in View
A new weekly crafts market will benefit future aquaculturists
WELLFLEET — A new Makers Market appeared on the grassy strip in the middle of the Mayo Beach parking lot last Thursday, to the delight of people who happened upon […]
ARCHITECTURE
Marcel Breuer’s Wellfleet World
The Hungarian emigré and his friends were driven to make something beautiful
WELLFLEET — Marcel Lajos Breuer — Lajkó to most people — was born in Pécs, Hungary into a cultured, middle-class family during the glory days of the Austro Hungarian Empire […]
MEET THE MAKER
Building a Better Bat Box
In an Eastham barn and on Etsy, a fan base for a maligned mammal grows
EASTHAM — George FitzGibbons became interested in bat boxes out of frustration. Not with bats, but with bugs. “My wife hates mosquitos,” he says. They would drive her nuts during […]
IN STITCHES
Nauset Yarn Club Pulls Students Together
Seed-stitchers to sweater-makers find handwork eases the mind
EASTHAM — It’s an almost-balmy Monday in March, the kind of day that signals the end of sweater weather is nigh, but the students at the Yarn Club meeting at […]
MEET THE MAKER
A Cape Cod Stick Chair Takes Shape From Detritus
On walks in Wellfleet, John D’Aponte finds pallets and palettes for his craft
“I’ve had my eye on garbage for a long time,” says designer John D’Aponte. In Brooklyn, where he lived most of his life, he learned to pillage the detritus of […]
MEET THE MAKERS
Girl Scouts Learn a Jeweler’s Craft
Making rings to celebrate friendships and earn a badge
It was a quiet day in early March, but the Jewelry Studio of Wellfleet was buzzing with activity. Seven members of Girl Scout Troop 82548 were inside, soldering, hammering, and […]
DIY
In a Wellfleet Back Yard, One Family’s Maple Sugaring Tradition
What to do after the thaw, when daffodils push up, crows return, and the sap rises
The Outer Cape is known for many culinary delicacies: Eastham turnips, Wellfleet oysters, and Provincetown’s seafood-laden Portuguese stews. But maple syrup? That’s long been the pride of our neighbors to […]
ECO-FRIENDLY
How to Clean Up Your House Cleaning
Change your homemaking routine ‘one thing at a time’
Katie Scott started out helping people make their houses more beautiful. Now her mission is to make their surroundings healthier and greener, too. Growing up, Scott loved art. She felt […]
RECLAIMED
Board by Board, the Detritus of Old Provincetown Becomes a Home
A fisherman builds a house of driftwood, discards, and dredge finds
Daniil Zakharevich’s handcrafted house on a dirt road in Provincetown appears to grow out of the surrounding woods. Using found materials, he has designed, renovated, and built an eclectic space […]
MEET THE MAKERS
Facing the Winter, Naturally
Secret ingredients to slather on during the off season
There are artisans of all kinds among us. You may know one who is spending the winter holed up in a garage building a wooden boat or bent over a […]
HOME/MAKING
Wellfleet’s Other Chamber of Commerce
Though this old house is deteriorating, its purpose is priceless
Tucked in the magazine rack at the Wellfleet swap shop, a few reproductions of 17th-century Dutch paintings stand out among glossy periodicals. In one, a richly dressed figure commands the […]
MEET THE MAKER
Barbie and Ken Get Dolled Up for Christmas
Toys, tinsel, and fake fir
Celeste Hanlon sits in her Eastham studio surrounded by vintage Christmas ornaments and boxes of Barbies from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s — most missing those fabulous fashions Barbie collected […]