04/08/2026
This is Maria.
A couple of weeks ago, while traveling through a small Mediterranean island, we found ourselves sitting in the shade of a grapevine and a fig tree, in the courtyard of her family home.
Maria and her sister welcomed us with warmth, fresh juice, patience, and extraordinary skill.
For the next hour, they shared something far more valuable than a basket.
They shared knowledge that has been passed from one pair of hands to the next for generations.
Moments like these remind me that craft is about much more than making objects.
It is a language.
A culture.
A way of remembering.
People like Maria remind us why craft matters,
And why we do what we do.
Shoval
