The damp February air coated the valley in a thin mist, encapsulating the John C. Campbell Folk School in a cloud of vapor. The smell of freshly fallen rain emanated from the pavement as lunch dismissed. Amid the crowd pouring from the Dining Hall were Kate and Jack Lennie, mid-point on another trip highlighting craftspeople through the pages of their independent magazine, “We Are Makers.”  

Journeying from Scotland and all around the world, Kate and Jack are journalists, approaching content creation with a clear and steady purpose. Through image and story, they pursue a mission to share the talents and lives of artisans. The Folk School will be included in Edition No. 18, showcasing hand-built creativity housed within studio walls.  

“I feel like it’s a community thing we’re building,” Kate said.  

Jack and Kate met at university, where they both studied product design. Following graduation, Jack went into industry and leatherwork while Kate began her own furniture business.  

“Everything I had done, I realized people were asking the same questions like, ‘why is it so expensive?’ Or ‘I could get that cheaper.’ It wasn’t just me having those conversations, it was the wider craft community,” Kate said. “I thought, there is definitely something to be done here to get people to really understand and appreciate what goes into handmade products.” 

From that realization, an idea blossomed. In September of 2020, the couple released the first edition of “We Are Makers.” Since then, they’ve published 17 editions of the quarterly magazine along with a collection of podcasts, Substack posts, social posts, stories, and documentaries. What began as a printed response to a common question soon evolved into a multiplatform chronicle of contemporary craft.  

“I think it was over our dinner table one day, I said to Jack: ‘we need to do something, but I don’t want it to be another online blog or article. I want to do something physical because that’s what we do,” she said. “We like to make physical things.” 

Just prior to their arrival in Brasstown, the pair were in Haida Gwaii, Canada, conversing with locals, sowing the seeds of connection. Then they traveled to campus to discover the magic behind studio doors. From the wedge weaving to stained glass, students welcomed them with a smile, eager to share about their accomplishments and experience. 

“If you don’t tell the stories, none of it exists,” Jack said. “We have lost so much as people. No matter who you speak to in the world, as cultures, we’ve lost so much because we don’t continue to tell those stories. So, we tell maker stories.” 

To date, the couple has met and interviewed more than 600 makers across 17 states and 42 countries. The numbers are impressive, but for Jack, the significance lies elsewhere: in the hearts and minds of those they share space with.  

“It’s less about the places we’ve been but knowing we could go back to these places, and we’d have friends there. If it all went to pot and we moved anywhere in the world, we are not far from someone we’ve spoken to, and that’s quite cool,” he said.  

Each destination adds another thread to an ever-growing network of creativity and community. Now, as the pair sauntered across the grounds, the Folk School is added to the web of connections, so thoughtfully spun by the efforts of the two.  

“There are places in the world I just never thought we would end up, and more so than the places that we’ve been, the places I know we could go back to. We’ve been invited back to Haida in two years’ time for someone’s chieftainship,” said Jack.  

As March draws nearer, so does their departure from North Carolina, leading to the next journey to Greece. As they left for the archipelago, the mist over the valley lifted as artists settled into their studios, returning to the steady rhythm of focus and creation. For Kate and Jack, their work continues, one story at a time.