The Craft: Shackleton Thomas keeps it old school
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Reader beware: The story of Charles Shackleton and Miranda Thomas, married artisans who work side by side in an old textile mill in Bridgewater, Vt., may inspire an existential crisis. Namely: What the heck have I been doing with my life, and why don’t I work in the woods, making beautiful things with my hands?
He makes wood furniture, she makes pottery that presidents Clinton and Obama have given to visiting dignitaries.
Their story sounds like a dream, but it hasn’t always been easy. It’s one thing to spend your life hand-crafting objects, it’s another to figure out how to make money doing it.
To learn more about this couple and their work, you can check out the Shackleton Thomas website and read Susan Salter Reynolds’ article.
--Deborah Netburn
Photos, from top: Miranda Thomas decorating a U.N. Peace Bowl for Kofi Annan; Thomas redecorating a Loomba vase; Charles Shackleton in his workshop. Credit: Shackleton Thomas.
