Handwork - by Emily Zaiden (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Craft in America presents a compelling and essential portrait of American culture through an extraordinary range of handmade objects

Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America is a visually stunning, deeply inspiring celebration of America's spirit through ordinary, surprising, and overlooked handcrafted objects spanning more than 250 years. Edited by Emily Zaiden, director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center, with a foreword by Carol Sauvion, the visionary behind the Peabody Award-winning PBS series Craft in America, this book is part of a sweeping national initiative marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.

Grouping handmade objects into four curated sections--DWELL, FEED, FURNISH, ADORN--Handwork takes readers on a journey through time and across the multiplicity of cultures that have made America, uncovering the powerful stories behind objects that shaped American life. From a nineteenth-century Kiowa cradleboard and a silver bowl made by Paul Revere to celebrate a rebellion, to an antique Hawaiian papa heʻenalu--or surfboard--and a prototype for an iconic sneaker, these objects reflect innovation, resistance, artistry, and community--and were all crafted by hand.

Accessible yet authoritative, the book includes illuminating essays by experts nationwide and places a special focus on overlooked narratives and the underrepresented artists who helped define American life through their craft. Contemporary makers featured throughout show how craft traditions live on--reimagined, reinterpreted, and renewed.

The official book of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026--Craft in America's yearlong, nationwide initiative marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, featuring hundreds of museum exhibitions and events, a four-part PBS docuseries, and specially designed educational components--Handwork is essential reading for anyone curious about American history, design, material culture, or craft. With vibrant full-color photography; a fresh, engaging layout; and an inclusive approach, this book is as captivating and eye-opening as the objects and artists it celebrates.

About the Author

Emily Zaiden is director and curator of the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles where she has organized over eighty multidisciplinary contemporary art, craft, and design exhibitions for the center and partner museum venues. Zaiden oversees public programs, a K-12 education initiative, and digital projects, including the creation of the online Craft Video Dictionary. Her research focuses on craft processes, materiality, functional design, and cultural art, particularly from a historical lens. Zaiden has an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture.

Carol Sauvion is an American crafts scholar and creator of the Peabody Award-winning PBS series Craft in America. Sauvion was the founding director of Craft in America and for over forty-five years was the director of Freehand, her Los Angeles gallery specializing in functional craft.