We Are Makers on Tour
Our self-funded podcast tour of the southern states of America, starting in Atlanta, Georgia, to Houston, Texas, is a go!
For the last six months, we've been dipping our toes into the podcasting world and have recorded 16 podcasts in total, all within the maker's spaces.
Our trip to the US was triggered by a conversation with Tim Cullen (Hooligan Georgia), who kindly made us a pen from scratch with our logo engraved into it! Tim has been following our journey for some time and really loves what we are doing. And so he was going to ship our pen to us here in the UK, but we thought this could be an excellent opportunity to pick it up in person and to do a USA podcast trip after our successful tour around Belgium and the Netherlands before Christmas 2022.
As some of you will be aware, Jack works full time as a special effects engineer in film, whilst I work full time on We Are Makers. Jack managed to secure an extended period of time off for the first time in almost eight years, so we decided that this time off for Jack would allow us to book an America trip longer than two weeks.
Our itinerary so far
Week One: We will be flying from Edinburgh to Atlanta, Georgia, on the 14th of March, and Tim has kindly offered for us to stay with him for a few days, do a podcast with him and a few other makers he put us in touch with which includes, Ryan Krusac, Paul Hamler and Bill Oyster. That same week, we are visiting District Leather, Melissa Chavez then heading off to Chattanooga to meet Tyler Rodgers.
Week Two: After a stop in Chattanooga, we will be heading to Knoxville, TN, to meet Alchemy Bakehouse (can’t wait to try a cookie!) & Rough Cut Craft (who we featured in Ed.5) , then on to Nashville to podcast with HoneyTree Meadery, Red Rock Tileworks, Old School Farm Pottery. Huge thank you to The Gallatin Hotel for having us stay in their hotel for five nights! We will be doing a podcast with the hotel manager, as they have a really cool and interesting story! Then we will be heading to Columbia, TN to meet and podcast with White Wood Company. To finish the week we will be heading to Birmingham, Alabama to meet Yellow Hammer Print Workshop.
Week Three: So far, we have Monday the 27th free to catch up on admin/ sleep! We then are heading to see the lovely Ben Geisler of Trail’s end Saddle shop, which you will be introduced to in edition six! We will spend a few days with Ben before meeting Swindon Drums in Petal MI and Derek Melton in Jackson, MI.
Week Four: Starting our week with a podcast with Caddo Bros Hats in Shreveport, LA, then travelling to Dallas for a day off to explore! Then we will travel to Forth Worth, TX, to meet Christopher Jones, then to Waco, TX, to meet Alisha Koppert and Lucky B Designs!
Week Five: This week (I turn 30 years old!), we will be spending the week in Austin with Chewy Design Co, following on to Tomii Cycles, then ION Art, Growler Domestics and then on Thursday the 14th (my birthday), we will explore Austin and attend the ION ART event The Surreal Garden (surrealionart) - For the second consecutive year, Ion Art will illuminate the Zilker Botanical Garden with The Surreal Garden Exhibition. The Surreal Series is an annual interactive art experience full of fantastical neon sculptures created by Sharon & Greg Keshishian and the Ion Art Team. By integrating the exhibit into the serene setting of the enchanting botanical garden, the already stunning art event becomes a phenomenal neon extravaganza and a wonderful way to benefit the Garden - so if you are in the area, buy your ticket and meet us!
On the Saturday, we will be visiting the Hand Built Show - The most inclusive motorcycle show in the world!
We will be travelling to San Antonio on Sunday to meet Welton Lister, who Ben put us in touch with!
Week Five: Our last week, and I’m sure we will have had an adventure of a lifetime by then! This week we will meet with Bao Loi Designs in Houston, TX, before flying home on the 20th of April.
We are incredibly excited to meet everyone we’ve mentioned above, and we will most likely meet others on the way!
Thanks to all who agreed to meet with us and take time out of their day!
