Podcast & Site

Folk Craft Revival grew out of a desire to learn and share the crafts and skills that got us to the modern age, the ones that the human race depended on for millennia, the ones that fed and clothed and sheltered us from the stone age through the pre-modern era of artisan craftsmanship. Crafts like that of the smith, weaver, potter, tracker or tanner… Or the knowledge based skills like what the plants around you can be used for and how to navigate without a compass (or GPS for that matter). My goal is more than to just share how things used to be done or can be done though, the goal is to get people LEARNING, TRYING and MAKING. I am a firm believer in hands-on learning. As such, I try to organize most of the articles and interviews into a “how-to” or “DIY” style to show specific steps and encourage you to follow along. While I strive to focus on traditional skills here, I’m admittedly not a purist: yes, knowing how to make soap using your own wood ash lye is valuable, but I also think that more people will actually make soap if I discuss doing it with commercially available lye. Same with power tools in some instances, though I do strive to keep all projects to a minimum of common hand tools to make them more accessible to people. Heck, I espouse making things whether it’s traditional or not. Your kids want squirt guns? Make them! Better yet, make them make them — they’ll appreciate them more. The goal is not to pretend living in a previous age, it is to begin creating the things you use in your daily life and to acquire the skills and knowledge to take care of your needs. Knowledge is power.

Plus, as a byproduct, you’ll end up with some beautiful things (at least to you!) to use and a tremendous sense of accomplishment!

Folk Craft Revival is focused on exploring traditional and folk skills as well as promoting the ethos of self-reliance, making what you use (or at least knowing how), and spending hands on time creating useful things. Hopefully I can inspire you to become a doer, a maker, a creator . . . a craftsman. We need a few more in the world. Welcome to the site, I hope you learn something here. . . Better yet, I hope you try something new after visiting!

About Me

My name is Daniel Howell, I’m the host of the Folk Craft Revival podcast and website. By education I’m a biologist, by trade I’m a woodworker, and by inclination I’m an experimenter and chaser of knowledge. I’m a primitive technologist (survivalist/bushcrafter), soapmaker, bowyer, cheesemaker and blacksmith. I bake artisan breads, build with wood, forage for food and overall dabble in any homesteading, artisan, primitive or traditional skill I come across. I am a self-proclaimed tinkerer and advocate for “learning how” and creating a more self-sufficient lifestyle. I love working with my hands, creating useful things, and sharing that feeling of resourcefulness with others. . . Enough about me, lets go learn something!