PRESS RELEASE:
A Craftsman’s Legacy returns to UNC-TV on Saturday, October 1 at 3:30 pm with a new season of 13, 30-minute episodes to inspire television audiences with the power of craft and American ingenuity. Season three of the popular series spotlights North Carolina makers in one third of the episodes, including Native American flute maker Geri Littlejohn (11/5) and married chocolatiers Dan and Jael Rattigan (11/12) of Asheville. A Craftsman’s Legacy airs nationwide on public television stations beginning September 2016 (check local listings) and will debut on public television’s Create ® TV channel in December. The series’ executive producer is Artemis Independent president Selena Lauterer (A Chef ’s Life), an Asheville native.
Host Eric Gorges, a renowned metal shaper and the motorcycle builder at the heart of Voodoo Choppers, continues his quest for America’s finest craftsmen, documenting what it means to be a modern day maker. Traveling across the country including stops in North Carolina, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, Nebraska and New York, Gorges visits with men and women who are carrying the tools, trade and traditions of fine craftsmanship into the 21st century.
From soap making to sand casting, creating a ventriloquist’s dummy or a piece of handmade chocolate and more, each inspiring episode spotlights a unique craft, delving into its history and the importance of that craft as it is practiced in America today. Interviews with the maker at the center of the episode explore why they chose their craft, where they learned their skills, how they live using their talents, and the challenges and importance of keeping that tradition alive in the face of mass production. Gorges then takes on the role of apprentice under the guidance of the master craftsmen, demonstrating the techniques behind America’s centuries- old legacy of handmade crafts.
“In a disposable world, craftsmanship is a lasting and loving legacy to future generations,” says A Craftsman’s Legacy host and producer Eric Gorges. “We’ve lost our ability to appreciate the quality and the fact that someone put part of themselves into that creation. As we introduce our viewers to the amazing work of these men and women, I hope we will also inspire them to learn to make something themselves.”
Other episodes this season showcase the work of North Carolina craftsman in Durham (duck decoy master carver Ben Heinemann; airs 10/22) and Bakersville (Seth Gould, a tool maker doing an artist’s residency at the famed Penland School of Crafts; airs 10/29). In addition to the local craftsmen featured in the new season, A Craftsman’s Legacy is itself crafted by a production team with strong ties to North Carolina including executive producer Selena Lauterer (A Chef ’s Life), an Asheville native now living in Boone. Director Kelly Davis (History Detectives) is associate professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, and earned his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Producer Rebecca Cerese (Landscapes of the Heart: The Elizabeth Spencer Story) lives in Chapel Hill. Editor Elisabeth Haviland James (The Loving Story) is based in Durham and assistant editor Alina Taalman lives in Carrboro. The series’ original score is by Chuck Johnson (A Chef ’s Life, Private Violence), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the season premiere, Gorges apprentices with master sand caster Scott Nelles as the two create a bronze and aluminum ray gun. Future episodes visit master ventriloquist puppet
maker Tim Selberg; alpaca farmer and yarn spinner Maple Smith; married chocolatiers Dan and Jael Rattigan; duck decoy master carver Ben Heinemann; Seth Gould, a tool maker doing an artist’s residency at the famed Penland School of Crafts; Native American flute maker Geri Littlejohn; master penman Jake Weidmann (one of only 12 in the world); master soap maker Deb Kraemer; master ceramist David MacDonald; master fly rod makers Jeff Wagner and Casimira Orlowski; and Jim Gaster, a master cooper whose buckets were used in The Revenant. In the season finale, host becomes guest as master blacksmith Lorelei Sims apprentices with Eric Gorges as he makes a motorcycle fender. Past seasons of the series covered a diverse range of makers, including hand crafted clocks, stained glass, cheese, bicycles, and more. For more information about the series and the Legacy Society, visit www.craftsmanslegacy.com.
A Craftsman’s Legacy is produced by Hammer in Hand Productions and is distributed nationally by American Public Television. Funding was made possible by support from the Ford Motor Company.
About Eric Gorges
Like his hometown of Detroit, Eric’s story is one of repurposing and rebuilding. After a devastating health crisis in the late 1990s, Eric, a self- confessed IT nerd, walked away from a lucrative corporate career for good. At that period in his life, he knew three very simple things; he loved bikes, he loved working with his hands and he needed a job. He sought an apprenticeship with one of the best metal shapers in the country and worked his way from the ground floor up, working on vintage cars and building “one of a kind” hot rods. In April of 1999, with years of building and design work under his belt, Eric decided to strike out on his own and created the custom motorcycle shop Voodoo Choppers (www.voodoochoppers.com). Inspired by the experience of going back to his familial legacy, Eric developed the series A Craftsman’s Legacy in 2014 to showcase today’s master craftsmen and the value of working with your hands in the digital age.
About APT
American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations since 1961. In 2014, APT distributed one-third of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the U. S. Among its 300 new program titles per year, APT programs include prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramas, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies. America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Rick Steves’ Europe, Live from the Artists Den, Doc Martin, Nightly Business Report, Midsomer Murders, NHK Newsline, Lidia’s Kitchen, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, BBC World News and P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home join numerous documentaries and performance programs popular with public television viewers. APT licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. Entering its 10 th year, Create® TV — featuring the best of public television’s lifestyle programming — is distributed by APT. APT also distributes WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org
Maple Smith, Alpacas and making yarn: This is the first time that I’ve watched this show and I found it both informative and enjoyable. Eric makes an excellent host and Maple Smith made me wish that she and her alpacas could be my neighbors. Very well done and now that I know when and where you are, I’ll definitely be back