THE ARTISAN CHRONICLES

Recently, I watched a conversation unfold among a group of passionate, capable window restoration professionals. The topic wasn’t technique. It wasn’t materials. It wasn’t even historic theory. It was survival. People were talking about burnout. Feast-and-famine cycles. Pricing anxiety. Emotional exhaustion. The strain of doing everything alone. What struck me wasn’t the frustration—it was how universal it was. Nearly everyone identified as a solo operator. Nearly everyone ad

A simple question came up recently in a Facebook group: “Anyone ever use Red Devil window glazing? It says it’s oil based… not latex like DAP. I prefer Sarco but we’re in a bind and need to finish a job.” It’s a familiar situation. Every window restorer eventually faces it. Two respected voices offered thoughtful replies. John Rodgers, president of the Window Preservation Alliance, explained that most traditional glazing compounds will technically work.

Across every historic neighborhood in America, the same truth quietly echoes through the cracks of peeling paint and the rattling of century-old sashes: our windows are calling out for help. And when the windows go, the rest of the house soon follows. But here’s the good news—if we save the windows, we save the community. Not just aesthetically. Not just symbolically. Literally. Historic windows are the keystones of our built heritage.

WindowFest + WindowLympics (Oct 27–Nov 7, Harrison, AR): Two weeks of hands-on training, real-world competitions, and an artisan community built around the Five Pillars of Window Craft. Come learn. Come compete. Come belong.

How the systems meant to save our historic homes may be silently letting them rot. In the world of historic preservation, good intentions...

When it comes to saving historic windows, most people focus on quick fixes: patching rot, slapping on paint, or swapping in replacements

Surely every Artisan is a worker, but not every worker is an Artisan. Every Artisan indeed is a worker, but what kind of worker?

What do you want for Christmas? Maybe it's a black swan on the back of a unicorn. I'm going to be glad to spend a few weeks at home with...

So we have a large project coming up soon, in a couple of weeks as a matter of fact. For months we’ve been working on small to medium...

My first job was a paper route with my dad, two brothers and myself - mom wasn't in the picture. We'd wake up between four and five in...