Made With Love

Narrator: All across America... from its bustling cities... to its quiet towns... a diverse group of artisans share their unique visions with the world.

Man: Whatever comes to me, whatever comes to us, we will place that and infuse that into our work.

Narrator: It's a melting pot of tradecraft, marvels, and masterpieces.

Man: We take something old and familiar and make it new.

Woman: It's exhilarating, it's fun.

Narrator: These pioneers are exploring new frontiers... bringing history to life with stone, metal, fire, and passion.

Man: The best thing about this job is... Mmm!

I get to get up and do something I love.

Different man: It's not really a job.

It's just kind of my life.

Woman: I could not see myself doing anything else.

Narrator: This is America.

[Insects chirping] The Southwest.

Its open landscape ranges from flat plains to soaring mountains, and if you squint a little... it's easy to picture America's most iconic figures coming through on horseback... cowboys.

These folk heroes have been imprinted in our cultural imagination... especially here in Texas.

Steve: I'm Steve Parker.

I make cowboy boots right here in Texas.

Narrator: Steve first learned to make boots as a teenager when an old cowboy roped him into the trade.

Steve: He said, "Man, you're good with your hands.

Have you ever thought about making boots?"

And I haven't looked back.

I've been doing this since 1978, and I'm still like a little kid going to the candy store.

Every morning, I get to come and play, and I get paid for it.

Narrator: Every single pair of his handmade boots is one-of-a-kind.

So are his customers.

Steve: You meet so many unique people doing this.

They all come right in here and get their boots made.

You can't build a boot unless you get to know the person, what they're gonna use it for, how they're gonna wear it, and are they comfortable?

Narrator: Cowboy boots were inspired by the Mexican vaquero, a style imported from Spain in the 17th century.

The cowboy boot as we know it today was designed after the Civil War.

Ranchers and their crews wanted boots to protect their feet from brush and snakes but ones that could sit easily in their stirrups on long cattle drives, and the cowboy boot was born.

Some of Steve's boots are just made for walkin', but this is a cowboy town.

Steve: Probably half of my boots go to real cowboys.

Of course, we're here in Fort Worth, Texas, where 90% of people that live here are cowboys, working cowboys, so it works pretty good.

Stand for me.

OK. Narrator: When making a new pair of boots, Steve takes 11 measurements on the foot and two more on the calf.

Steve: So I've learned through the years how to measure, you know, Just picking up a little here and a little there, changing this and changing that.

I've gotten pretty good at my fit.

Fit's more important than anything else.

You can have a beautiful pair of boots.

If they don't fit you right, they ain't worth a toot.

They're gonna wind up in the closet somewhere.

OK. That's it.

Yes, sir.

Steve: So it's just kind of like connecting the dots now.

Narrator: After choosing the right type of material, he cuts out the different parts of the boot.

Steve: You just got to make sure that you get it the right size.

If you miss your marks.

cut it too small or too big, the boot won't fit.

I used to do this with a knife, and I figured out it's a lot faster with the scissors.

Narrator: The upper begins to take its shape when nailed to what's known as the last.

Steve: So you have to kind of walk it down one side, then the other side back and forth.

If you don't, it'll go crooked on you.

[Tapping] It's really amazing to see it take shape.

Narrator: A metal shank keeps the boot from sagging.

Steve: This is the way they used to do it back when they very first started making boots.

The sole is smooth by design to keep the mud off.

Steve: You got to make sure that you get it down on there good and smooth.

You can see it's molded pretty good.

Voila!

Every boot I do, I go over it meticulously, try to make sure that there ain't no flaws in it, but there's flaws.

She's ready.

It's how good you hide them flaws is how good of a bootmaker you are.

Narrator: After more than 40 years of making boots, Steve's got no plans to hang up his spurs.

Steve: I love this job.

I couldn't see doing anything else ever.

If they took this job away from me, I'll probably lay down somewhere and cry.

Heh heh.

Narrator: It's said that everything is bigger here in Texas, including the flavors.

When it comes to barbecue, Texans are known for their seasonings and delicious rubs used largely on cuts of beef like brisket.

That meat is cooked low and slow... Man: Oh, man!

Narrator: until it becomes melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Mmm!

I'm Brent.

And I'm Juan.

Both: And we're pitmasters from Dallas, Texas.

Narrator: Juan and Brent Reaves run a barbecue restaurant known as Smokey John's.

Brent: So Smokey John's is a place where you can feel welcomed, you can feel seen, and you can get your eat on.

Juan: We like to feel like if you come in, you might come in as a customer, but you're gonna leave like family.

Narrator: Family is everything to these brothers, whose father first started Smokey John's.

Their dad ran several businesses and would bring his clients hickory-smoked holiday meals every Thanksgiving.

Brent: Well, what happened was he was starting to get so many calls for turkeys and hams, and so he decided to open up a restaurant.

Narrator: Juan and Brent started helping out here at their dad's restaurant when they were just kids.

Juan: The first time I worked "officially" at the restaurant, I was in fourth grade.

It was the summertime, and I wanted to make money for-- I had a bicycle, but I wanted a 10-speed.

I started at the age of 6.

Narrator: Today, Juan and Brent carry on their father's legacy, serving dishes made from old family recipes.

Brent: All right.

So today we are gonna prepare our famous smoked brisket.

That knife is super sharp now.

You're so smooth.

Ha ha ha!

And what we're gonna do is we're gonna trim the brisket, get it ready to go.

Narrator: Trimming the fat helps the meat cook through evenly and adds flavor.

Brent: And the whole key to our barbecue is full flavor.

Full flavor.

We want you to have that impact in every single bite.

Narrator: They season the meat, using their dad's secret recipe, a mix of cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, and more.

Juan: A rub has two parts, right?

One is obvious.

It's flavor, but it's also part of tenderizing the product, so that's why we use that coarse salt, and then you're gonna get the Smokey John's barbecue rub, and that's gonna just finish it off and give you this really bold Texas flavor.

Brent: We're gonna be generous.

We're gonna put season all over this bad boy.

Don't be stingy with the rub, bro.

And we want to hit every area.

We don't want to miss any area for this seasoning.

It looks so pretty.

Now it's time to go straight on the smoker.

Let's go to the big boy.

Let's do it.

Narrator: After they smoke their brisket at low heat for about 10 hours, they wrap it in paper and cook it some more.

Wrapping the brisket actually allows this brisket to steam up, get tender, get juicy.

We're gonna get this brisket tucked in like It's getting ready to go to bed tonight.

We're gonna swaddle it.

We're gonna swaddle it.

That's a perfect word.

Swaddle it like a baby.

We're gonna swaddle it.

All right.

Narrator: The brisket goes back in the smoker for another 4 to 6 hours.

Let's see how it looks.

All right.

Oh, man!

Oh, boy.

So that's the color that you're looking for.

Narrator: Of course, there's only one way to know for sure if the brisket is ready.

You want to eat some of that.

I'm willing to take one for the team because that is just nothing but deliciousness.

Yeah, man.

Mmm!

It's just really flavorful.

You do get that peppery flavor.

Mm-hmm.

That subtle hint of cumin.

My goodness.

Well done, sir.

Hey.

You did a great job.

Yeah.

Narrator: From silversmithing to sculpting, Native Americans have made art in New Mexico for centuries.

It's a tradition that continues to this day.

I am Althea.

And I am Joe.

We are artists.

From the Pueblos of New Mexico.

Joe: But I'm questioning this side.

Narrator: Artists Joe and Althea Cajero draw inspiration from each other and from their native roots.

One movement down.

I like that, I like that idea.

In the Native American culture, it's said that, you know, you acknowledge the sun rising and ask for your blessings, and a lot of our blessings is our art.

Joe: The key ingredient for both of us is imagination.

That I feel that's the life source energy from the realm of spirit is imagination.

Narrator: Joe started as a painter but quickly discovered his true passion, being a sculptor.

Joe: Sculpting has really been a driving force in my career.

and I've done monumental work for several tribes, and typically I do tabletop-size sculptures.

The funnest part of creating sculptures is steps one and two, where you're engaging and you're building and you're beginning a conversation within yourself.

Narrator: Joe is descended from a long line of pueblo artists, including his parents.

Joe: My father is a two-dimensional artist, as well, and my mother did not pick up clay work until probably into her 40s, and she turned to art as just a form of creation and expression and really found a knack for it.

Narrator: Althea's parents are also artists, but she never thought of herself as one until Joe came along.

Althea: He's the one that asked me what I wanted to do if I were to decide to do something in art.

I told him "I think jewelry."

Narrator: Now Althea and Joe make jewelry together, using stones from all over the world.

So I'm kind of thinking about this one.

This is strong, but I like the size of this.

I like the size.

It could go for female or a male I think.

Narrator: Joe envisions the designs, which he and Althea refine together.

In my design, I put this line right here.

Joe, voice-over: There's nothing other than just really going back and forth and really negotiating and compromising on what we feel both brings out the best in whatever stone setting that we're working with or stones that we're choosing.

Narrator: From there, Althea takes over.

She casts a mold shaped from the bone of a cuttlefish, a cousin of the squid.

I love the texture.

I fell in love with it, and it's one of the oldest forms of casting around.

It's been done since the 1500s.

Narrator: She fills the cuttlefish mold with molten silver... then creates a custom bezel to hold the stones.

Althea: It gives it a beautiful finished look, a refined look.

Narrator: She cuts the silver to its final shape... solders on some tiny pieces... and polishes her work.

All she has to do now is set the stones, but if one chips, she'll have to start over again.

Althea: Just got to be real careful.

Push hard but careful, as well.

Althea: It turned out beautiful.

Joe: It really turned out better than what I thought it would.

It is really fantastic, and I couldn't be more proud of the piece.

It's made with love.

It really is.

It's made with love.

Whether it's red or white, most great wine has the same ingredients-- bunches of grapes, a dash of yeast, and of course lots of love.

Man: Wine's not a beverage.

Wine's an experience, and it's your experience, so whatever you think at the time is a great wine, that's the best wine in the world.

Narrator: Phil's own search for the ultimate wine began soon after he and his wife Debra moved here to Northern California.

Phil: So inevitably as we got out and explored our new surroundings, we ended up in wine country every single weekend, and the process was really intriguing, so we started making wine in the garage for fun.

Narrator: Over time, their hobby led them to open their own winery.

All they needed was a name.

Phil: Our last name is Long.

I thought about Long Family Sellers, but she said, "Come on.

We got to do better than that," and she came up with the name Longevity.

Narrator: About a decade after Longevity opened, Debra was diagnosed with cancer.

Phil's son Philip stepped up.

Philip: Obviously, that was a huge hit on the family, and I just really wanted to be here helping them as much as I could.

Phil: He wanted nothing to do with wine, but he knew the family was important and valued family, and he's been here ever since.

Narrator: Phil's wife Debra passed away in 2019, but as long as he's making wine, Phil still feels connected to her.

Phil: I do love this industry.

I get to talk about Philip, I get to talk about Debra.

I get to see new places, meet new people, and share my wine with new people, and that's a lot of fun.

It's very, very gratifying.

Narrator: Europeans brought grapevines to North America for winemaking in the 1600s.

American wine came into its own in the early 19th century as vineyards began to spring up in New York, Ohio, and of course California.

Phil: We're one of the few valleys that are oriented east to west, so we get that cooling every night of the breezes coming in the valley, which is what grapes love, and that's what really makes it a great region to grow.

Philip: I think it'll be a good vintage this year.

Narrator: Phil knows that the key to a good bottle of wine is a good harvest.

Phil, voice-over: Well, you're looking for full ripeness, looking for plump grapes, not a lot of raisining.

Really good.

Really ripe.

Phil: Not a lot of green grapes left.

Narrator: These grapes are collected and prepped to make wine-- in this case, a Zinfandel dessert wine.

These are Zinfandel grapes.

Originally planted in the foothills by the gold settlers.

Makes a really wonderful wine.

They look good.

There's A little bit of raisining, but that's OK. Narrator: Stems and other debris are removed from the grapes.

Because this is all we want to make the wine is just the berries, which consists of the skin, the meat, and the seeds.

Narrator: What remains is mashed, and an enzyme is added to help break down the skins.

Phil: This is the magic.

This is what turns into wine.

Narrator: Phil and his team, including director Elizabeth Dougherty, taste the grape juice to see how the wine might turn out.

Certainly a very, very sweet but rich grape flavor.

Narrator: They measure the amount of sugar in the juice to ensure they'll get an alcohol content of around 14%.

They also test the pH level for acidity.

Phil: And without the proper amount of acid, wines can taste very, very flat.

It brings that brightness to the wine.

Narrator: The grapes are left to soak overnight.

They'll be tested again in the morning before yeast is added to ferment them.

I'm just really passionate about the process.

It's taking something from the ground, you know, all the way to the end result in a bottle, and it's not just something you're doing for yourself.

You're doing for society, you're doing for everyone else.

Narrator: Phil is not just making wine.

He's empowering the next generation of winemakers as president of the Association of African American Vintners.

Phil: It's really about diversity in the industry.

Scholarships, mentorships, awareness.

There's a lot of work ahead, but we're in it for the long haul.

I think wine has a phenomenal history.

I think it's important for the human race's heritage to hold onto this because, yeah, I can't imagine a world without wine.

Cheers!

Narrator: In the upper reaches of America's Northeast, where the land meets the ocean, modern day mariners brave the elements in search of a bounty.

For centuries, fishermen have plied Maine's waters to catch oysters, crabs, and of course this state's most iconic seafood dish--lobster.

I'm Heather Strout-Thompson.

I'm a lobsterman from Maine.

Narrator: Heather is the captain of her own boat, a job she feels she was born into.

Heather: I started lobstering when I was 10 with my dad.

He needed a stern man, so I started out just baiting bait bags and then gradually progressed into more and more responsibility.

Being my own boss is my favorite part of being a lobsterman.

I never thought of being or doing anything different.

Narrator: Following her father's example, she took her own children out lobstering when they were very young.

Heather: The boys would be on the boat at 5 and 6 years old, you know, so they started earlier than I did, and it's probably one of the best ways to grow up, you know, here.

It's a hairy one.

Man: My mom, she's been a great supporter all through, you know, childhood, adult life.

She's taught me a lot on and off the boat.

Narrator: Like his mother, Spencer makes his living hauling in lobster, a prized delicacy that gets shipped all over the world.

Spencer: This is a American lobster caught off the coast of Maine.

Where's this gonna end up?

You know, it's kind of cool to think about.

Narrator: The first recorded lobster catch was made by a British explorer in Maine in 1605.

At the time, lobster was so plentiful that only the working class ate this poor man's protein.

That started to change by the early 20th century.

Ultra-wealthy families like the Rockefellers built vacation homes in Maine and served lobster to their guests.

Improvements in transportation and refrigeration meant lobster could be shipped far and wide.

Today, lobster harvesting in Maine is a billion-dollar industry with more than 80% of America's lobsters caught right here.

Over the years, high demand and heavy fishing have had a big impact on the local lobster supply, so rules have been put in place to help keep lobster fishing sustainable.

Lobsters that are too small are thrown back.

The hope is that these shorts will have a chance to grow and breed before getting caught again.

This one is a keeper.

Narrator: Jumbos of more than 5 inches are also thrown back to help breed more lobsters.

So are females with eggs, which get marked with a notch on their tails.

Heather: It just protects this female when it's caught again.

It just protects the future.

Narrator: Protecting the future is something Heather thinks about a lot both for the lobsters and for her family.

Heather: So how many do we have?

Two hard ones?

Narrator: As the lobster population has gone down, so has the number of lobster fishermen.

Heather, voice-over: So what's hard is when we're not doing so well or we're having a lull in our season it makes it hard to pay for what we have.

Narrator: For Heather, the only thing better than catching some good lobsters is being out on the water with her sons.

Heather: I can still picture those boys laying on my bow as little kids, but to have them both here and experience this is memorable, and I'm very proud of them.

So I'm a fourth-generation lobsterman.

The boys are fifth-generation lobsterman, and I'm hoping my grandson maybe he can be sixth generation.

Narrator: Maine lobsters are prized for their sweet and tender meat, and as locals know, there are many ways to serve them.

Cara: I am Cara Stadler.

I'm a chef from Maine.

The inspiration of most of my food comes from sort of very traditional dishes that come from different countries but made with what's around.

Whatever you can source locally is going to be better than anything that's away.

So today we're making a riff on Singapore chili crab, so this is sort of my version of it with lobster because we are in Maine, and you can't really not enjoy the lobster when you're here.

Narrator: Cara starts by cutting up chili peppers.

Cara: I love to cook with chili.

I think adding chilies to a dish is like adding flavor and sugar at the same time, and it rounds everything out.

Narrator: She also adds garlic... ginger, tomatoes, and shallots.

Cara: The smaller you cut it on the first go, the easier it is to get it to where you want to go, where you want it to be.

Narrator: With the prep done, she turns to the lobster.

Cara: There we go.

Right down the middle.

This is the tail meat here in half.

That's the body meat.

Narrator: To enhance flavor, the lobster is seared in coconut fat.

Cara: I like to get the flavor of the shell into the dish, and you're gonna get the most out of it by getting it into the oil itself.

So.

OK.

It's almost there.

Narrator: Tomato paste adds flavor and thickness.

Cara: then we'll add the coconut milk in, and then the lobsters get rolled in it and stewed in the sauce and then adjusted with fish sauce for salt and served.

It's salty, it's sweet, it's creamy, it's everything.

It's delicious.

It's really delicious.

Narrator: Lobster pairs perfectly with another Maine specialty, a blueberry mojito.

It's sourced with our Maine famous blueberries.

I'm gonna go ahead and put in some mint leaves and some lime.

Narrator: A little sugar to sweeten things up, and everything is mashed together.

We're gonna add in some lime juice, just a little bit.

This is Maine blueberry puree.

We're gonna top this off with some club soda.

And there we go.

Narrator: Wisconsin, it's known as the Badger State, named for the settlers who came in the 1850s while mining for lead... [Moo] but those badgers soon found another valuable metal here-- copper.

It's as stunning to look at as it is versatile.

Working with copper is a specialty trade, but skilled artisans are working hard to keep it alive.

I'm Sara Dahmen, and I'm a coppersmith from Wisconsin.

I fell into coppersmithing completely by accident.

Narrator: Sara was researching a novel when she met a master metalworker and soon became his apprentice.

Sara: I started to call myself not only a writer, but I started to call myself a coppersmith.

It's sort of a calling and a vocation at the same time, and so someone has to be willing to put in the time to learn, to feel confident enough to build things for other people.

Narrator: She is one of the only female coppersmiths in America.

Sara: There's not a lot of women in the metal trades, whether that's in tool and die making, whether that's coppersmithing or tinsmithing.

That goes back to, you know, several hundred years ago.

Narrator: The use of copper in the United States took off soon after the American Revolution.

In 1792, the U.S. mint issued its first official coin, a copper penny.

Copper was also commonly used to make cookware, and some of those pots and pans are still in use.

Sara: If I get a pot from the 1600s or 1700s with cracks, I can fix them.

I can make them usable again.

I can put them back on modern stoves, even if they're 300 years old.

Today, Sara is going to make her own old-time style coffeepot using vintage tools.

Sara: I use these old tools in the copper shop because, A, they're the best, but also because they actually still work, and they make everything I build that much more authentic.

This is a 1800s tool, and it is called a stomp shears or a treadle shears because it's got a treadle like the old treadle sewing machines.

Narrator: She starts by fashioning the spout and cutting the body.

Sara: Anything on a curve has to always be done by hand.

It's just the nature of the process and the build.

The inner lining of the pot is coated with tin.

Sara: It makes it food safe and non-stick.

Then she starts shaping the copper.

Sara: What I'm trying to do is actually make the body 3D from 2D at this point, so you'll start to see how it'll look eventually like a coffeepot body.

She adds a wire around the body to make it smooth before hammering out the shape of the spout.

She attaches the handle using rivets.

All that's left is to polish the copper... and the coffeepot is done.

Sara: It's a pot.

My favorite part about coppersmithing is knowing I'm building something that's going to last a long time after I'm gone, and the idea that someday somebody might find something I built in an archeological dig 6,000 years from now is so exciting.

Narrator: Cheese--it comes in many flavors and textures, and whether it's eaten on its own or mixed into a recipe, it's become a staple of the American diet.

I'm Sid Cook.

I'm a master cheesemaker from Wisconsin.

[Cows mooing] Narrator: More than a quarter of the cheese in the United States is made here in Wisconsin.

It's a culinary craft with roots going all the way back to the early 1800s.

Sid: We had a very, very high quality of milk, which really started things off.

Narrator: Wisconsin turns out more than 600 varieties of cheese, everything from Muenster to mozzarella.

Sid: So cheesemaking is both a science and an art, so we're constantly trying to improve the products that we produce here, so we do cave aging, we do dry cure, of course vat salting, brine salting, dry salting.

So we use a lot of different techniques to produce the different flavors and different cheeses that we do.

Narrator: Sid is a fourth-generation cheesemaker.

Today, he and his team are making a classic cheddar.

They start with a mixture of milk and an enzyme, cutting it into small cubes as the solid curd separates from the liquid whey.

This vat of curds and whey is heated and then drained of moisture.

The long slabs that remain are cut, stacked, and turned.

Sid: Well, we want it to have a more finished surface, and when we flip it like this, it helps the cheese to mat together.

We want it to mat together.

Narrator: The slabs are milled, chopping them into tiny curds.

Sid: We've got a good curd.

It's expelling moisture.

Narrator: A dash of salt is added to help draw out more moisture, and the curds are pressed into block molds, where in time they'll become cheddar cheese.

When you make great product, people really do love it and appreciate it.

and if you're going to consume calories, you might as well consume something that is really, really good and has a great flavor.

For Sid, there is one more special ingredient--love.

Sid: If you love what you do, it's not really a job.

It's just what you do every day and what you enjoy doing... and somehow, it's very rewarding.

Narrator: Next to Wisconsin lies Minnesota.

The land of 10,000 lakes first became a state in 1858.

Around that time, locals started to take part in a new sport that was sweeping across the growing nation-- baseball.

All you need to play is a ball, a glove and of course... [Crack] a bat.

I'm Zak Fellman.

I'm Dan Watson, and we are bat makers.

From Winona, Minnesota.

Narrator: Childhood best friends Zak and Dan created their own bat-making company.

When we started, I really just wanted to make baseball bats, you know, paint them for the fun of it.

Narrator: Zak is the artist, and bats are his canvas, while Dan handles the business side of things.

Dan: For me, selling what he does is probably one of the easiest things I've done.

so, yeah, it's great.

We don't have the same skillset, so it's kind of nice.

We don't step on each other's toes too much.

Narrator: Their passion for baseball and for making bats goes all the way back to when they were kids.

Dan: So these are bats that we made when we were 12 years old, made them out of tree branches and whatever wood we can find, and we'd use them for home run derbies in the backyard, and 30 years later, we do it professionally, and we make much better versions of these little guys, so...

I hope so.

Narrator: Even when they launched their company in 2015, making bats was mostly just a hobby, but now they're literally in the major leagues.

Zak: We've signed deals with MLB and MLBPA for licensing and being able to do bats that go into, you know, the Twins stadium, you know, Target Field.

It's kind of crazy.

Heh heh.

Narrator: With their childhood dream a reality, they feel like they've won the World Series.

Zak: We make bats for the same kind of people we are, you know, just big baseball fans, and to see someone else, you know, get enjoyment out of it is great.

Oh, that's fair!

I love my job.

I tell people all the time if the 12-year-old Dan could see me now, he would be pretty stoked.

Narrator: It's officially one of the Southern states of America but has strong ties to the Midwest.

Kentucky is legendary for its bourbon and bluegrass... and one day of the year... host to a global audience.

The Kentucky Derby-- it's the biggest horse race in the United States and a great place for people to show off their hats.

Woman: It's kind of like the Miss America pageant for hats.

I'm Jenny Pfanenstiel, master milliner from Louisville, Kentucky.

Narrator: Derby hats come in all shapes and sizes, and they've always got plenty of style, too, thanks in part to the event's official milliner.

Woman: So I want something vibrant... OK. just to, you know, go along with this.

OK. You can always trust Jenny to know exactly what's gonna look good on you.

Some blue sinamay, some red sinamay.

That's really pretty.

Hats have been part of the tradition of the Kentucky Derby since day one... Announcer: $65,000 that goes to the winner.

Jenny: and I think it's just been one of those accessories that has stuck throughout the generations and centuries.

Narrator: Jenny began her career as a costume designer for stage shows and movies.

Jenny: I never thought I would be making hats, to be honest with you.

I always thought I would make costumes forever.

Narrator: Over time, she began to feel unfulfilled in her work.

Jenny: I knew something was missing, and I always loved hats.

It wasn't until I went to Australia and just started dabbling in the basics of it, where a light bulb went off, and I thought, "This is what I was meant to do."

Narrator: Since then, Jenny has designed hundreds of hats.

Making a new hat can take up to 4 days.

Jenny starts by blocking it out.

Jenny: So blocking is molding the material, whether it's straw or felt, over a form like this.

Narrator: The hat is made from sinamay, a type of fiber native to the Philippines.

Jenny: So it's a really nice spring-summer material.

[Iron hissing] Narrator: Jenny steams and then shapes the material over wooden forms used by hatmakers for more than a hundred years.

Jenny: I love thinking about who made a hat on these hat molds, you know, how many people molded the material over them, what collections was it for, what customers was it for, where in the world has this traveled?

Narrator: She applies an alcohol-based solution to bind the fibers together and cuts out a space for the hat's crown.

Jenny: And this is an important step because when I'm making a hat to someone's head size, you don't want to make the head size too big or too small by not following the block that it's made on.

Once you cut the straw, it cannot be undone.

Narrator: Jenny hand stitches the crown to the brim... and adds the decorative details like flowers made of ethically sourced goose feathers.

Jenny: So these are the little petals for the flower.

They all don't need to be the same.

It makes your flower unique that way.

I love it.

Narrator: Jenny's work is finished for now, but a hat is never really done until the customer wears it.

[Bells jingle] Hi, Jenny.

Hi!

Jenny, voice-over: It's really a collaboration of myself and the other person.

For them to put on the final hat and to see them put it on... Oh, it's beautiful.

Jenny, voice-over: it really warms my heart.

I love it.

Ha ha!

I love what I do.

I love it!

Ha ha!

I could not see myself doing anything else.

This is what I was born to do, and I think that it's just gonna continue from here.

Narrator: Just up the road from Kentucky to the northeast is the Mountain State of West Virginia.

Charleston sits at the confluence of two rivers.

Here, an influx of artisans are writing a new chapter in this capital city's history.

I'm Emily.

And I'm Betsy.

We're letterpress printers.

From West Virginia.

Narrator: Letterpress is a style of printing where an image can be produced again and again by pressing an inked surface to paper.

It was invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg, father of the printing press, whose tools have been used for centuries.

While modern technology has made printing faster and easier than ever, these two sisters still like the old ways best.

Emily: We print posters, stationary, greeting cards, pretty much anything on paper on old-fashioned letterpress equipment.

We try to stay true to the way things were made back when letterpress printing was the most advanced technology.

Narrator: Emily launched this printing company, Base Camp, in 2016.

Emily: I love to draw, so I went into graphic design but missed that manual process, and so I found letterpress, and it was a perfect marriage between graphic design and printmaking.

Narrator: Then her sister Betsy came on board.

Betsy: I started helping her when I was in between jobs, and I just never stopped.

Narrator: The letterpress process starts with a reverse design drawn on blocks, one for each color.

The sisters carve out the image and add moveable type letters.

Betsy: It's very time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the results are always really worth it.

Narrator: Next, they mix their first ink color and run a test.

I think the color and the coverage looks really good.

I like the little bit of cloudiness.

Yeah, I really like that.

Narrator: They use letterpress machines that are nearly a hundred years old, which they've named Ida Mae and Ariel.

Emily: So these machines were built to last.

They're very durable, and...

Very heavy.

they will outlast us.

Yeah.

Narrator: They change the block, rolling a second color onto the same page... and then a third.

Emily: Yeah.

Betsy: Wow!

I love it.

I think it's perfect.

It's perfect.

Don't change a thing.

Narrator: For these sisters, the best part of their job is doing work they love with someone they love.

We get to make art for a living with our family, with our best friend.

And when we support each other and work together, you know, the sky's the limit.

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

Narrator: West Virginia is known as coal country, but before the Civil War, another big industry boomed here--salt.

I'm Nancy Bruns, and I'm a salt producer from West Virginia.

Narrator: Nancy's family has harvested salt here for more than 200 years thanks to an ancient underground ocean.

Nancy, voice-over: So it runs under us like a salty river, and it's between 300 and 1,700 feet deep.

Narrator: This briny water is pumped up into 2,500-gallon tanks.

Unwanted heavy minerals are removed, and the water is fed into a sunhouse.

As the liquid evaporates, salt crystals form.

Nancy: This is today's salt that's ready to be harvested.

Narrator: This salt has a bright, bold flavor, one that's prized by local restaurant owners like executive chef Paul Smith.

A West Virginia native, Paul makes award-winning cuisine with a focus on local ingredients.

Paul: So right now, we are gonna start with our hash.

Get that rolling just a little bit.

With some red and green bell peppers and also some fresh corn.

Narrator: On today's menu grilled rainbow trout.

Paul: We'll stuff it with our fresh lemons... and we'll let that go on the fire.

Narrator: For Chef Paul, cooking is a kind of magic.

Paul: I love the creativity of it.

I love being in the kitchen.

I love the heat.

I love the pressure of it and the stress.

He mixes the filling for a tart, which includes fresh ricotta and a dash of salt.

Paul: Salt's a flavor carrier.

so it actually makes sweet things taste more sweet.

The filling goes into a prepared shell along with apples and caramel drizzle.

Paul: And then of course... finish it with a little bit of salt.

At last, dinner is served.

Paul: Here we go.

Mmm.

Wonderful.

Narrator: Washington, D.C., created by an act of Congress and designed in the late 18th century as a great modern capital for a bold new nation.

It's less than 10 miles long on any side, but it's a legendary power center and features some amazing monuments, soaring stone landmarks that reflect the nation's history.

These artistic touchstones are part of a grand tradition, built and cared for by some highly skilled artisans.

I'm Joe Alonso, and I'm a stone mason in Washington, D.C.

It's just a great stone town.

There's stone everywhere.

The mason community is very tight, and it's a great place to practice your trade of stone masonry.

Narrator: Joe Alonso has worked on monuments across the Capital Region, and is now the head stone mason at the Washington National Cathedral.

Joe: Washington Cathedral is built of Indiana limestone.

It's the best material in my opinion that there is for building a big monumental building like this.

Narrator: It took about 300 tons of limestone to make this dazzling house of prayer, first proposed by Pierre L'Enfant, who designed Washington, D.C. Joe: He called for, you know, a great church for national purposes.

Some are here for the religious experience, others are here for the architectural, the historical, but, you know, it's still an experience for people when they come here.

Narrator: The first piece of stone was set down in 1907 by President Teddy Roosevelt.

The very last stone was laid in 1990 by none other than Joe himself.

Joe: There is no place like this for a mason.

The level of workmanship, craftsmanship, the stone carving, the masonry is, in my opinion, the highest expression of the trade.

Narrator: Back in August 2011, this sturdy cathedral was shaken by an earthquake.

Joe: Hundreds of elements on the building suffered damage.

The quake lasted 58 seconds.

Had it lasted another 2 or 3 seconds, it would've been catastrophic.

Narrator: The quake caused $38 million worth of damage.

More than a decade later, Joe and his crew are still patching it up.

Joe: We've got several flying buttresses to repair on the north side, and then what awaits us is the top, top of the cathedral belltower, which is almost 300 feet up.

We're going to end the work up there, but that's going to take probably 4 or 5 years to repair.

Narrator: The newest member of Joe's team is Brianna Castelli, who just finished her masonry apprenticeship.

Brianna: It's neat to be in a trade that knowing what you do is gonna last a long time and just doing the best you can to put yourself into the work and to put it up on the building and give it your all.

Yeah, it's really special.

So this is one of the finishes that you would do.

It just kind of helps get the jags out from the chisels, and then once you do this, you can sand it, and then you'll see no marks of any tools.

It is a very unique style of work that we do here, and, you know, Brianna is really picking it up, and, you know, she has that passion, wanting to learn this and wanting to take it to the next level.

Narrator: Today, Joe and Brianna head to the roof to inspect the work they've been doing for the last 6 months.

Joe: So we're giving it the once over and making sure that we didn't leave anything unfinished... and we're just giving it one final pat goodbye.

Narrator: For Brianna, these repairs made for intensive on-the-job training.

Brianna: Basically, this whole area was damaged, and I had to cut back to sandstone and figure out a way to get a nice new piece of stone in there.

but it worked out, and it was a good challenge.

Narrator: For Joe, restoring the pinnacle reflects a lifetime of training and dedication.

Joe: I would say this looks like the day it was put together almost 70 years ago, and that's what you want.

I'm very proud of the crew and of everyone that was involved in this.

We are rock solid literally on this thing, and, yeah, that's a good feeling.

Brianna: You think you'll be up here again before it's all... No, you and I are not going to be up here anytime soon.

Our future generations might but not us.

Oh, good.

That's the way it should be.

Oh, goody.

Joe, voice-over: I love coming here every day, yes.

I still cannot believe I'm here after almost 40 years.

The passion, just the incredible architecture, the workmanship, never get tired of it.

Narrator: America's artisans... the voices of a nation... modern day pioneers... harnessing the spirit of exploration and innovation of their ancestors... handcrafting a new history... shaping a future... born of the past... harvesting a bounty of designs and delicacies... all made with love.