In an effort to assist in helping you email your PBS program director who decides on what shows they air in your community, we have provided the following information so you know what to say or include in your correspondence to them:

Tell the programmer why you want to see it. Are you a crafter? Are you a traveler? Is this a program you want your children or grandchildren to see? Are you a contributor to public television and if so remind them.
Your PBS programmer has been given the opportunity THIS WEEK to decide if they want to include Destination Craft with Jim West in their programming starting in May. The only way they will confirm it is to hear from viewers like yourself so they know there is some interest.

Thank you very much for your support!

We travel to Guatemala to the Lake Atitlon region and also to the artistic city of Antigua in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Guatemalan people. We feature workshops in cotton dying, back strap and loom weaving, embroidery, basket making, and candle making. We craft the perfect cup of coffee, enjoy a cooking lesson where we make tasty tamales and guacamole, see a demonstration in iron working, learn about crafting a medicinal garden and create a special artistic journal with celebrity artist Pam Holland.

The theme for this episode is colorful crafting for necessity.

We travel to the city of Salzburg, Austria and throughout Bavaria as we highlight crafts associated with the Christmas holiday. This episode features a trip to the tiny village of Oberammergau where we visit the workshop of a master wood carver. We make a delicious homemade apple strudel in a three hundred year old cafe, show the craftsmanship of the centuries old Glockenspiel in Salzburg as we see behind the scenes on how it operates, and we provide the recipe for a delicious mulled wine called “Gluhwein.” Our host takes us to different stands in the famous Salzburg Christmas Market and we learn about a variety of crafts. We also take a tour inside an antique toy museum, participate in a hands on workshop making glass ornaments, see a demonstration on making Austrian lederhosen, and sing Silent Night in a tiny Bavarian village.

The theme of this episode is crafting for the holidays.

We travel to the cities of Cusco and Lima in Peru in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Peruvian people. We feature workshops by master artisans as we learn the crafts of gourd carving, pottery, and making the pan flute. We participate in an authentic cooking class and make a traditional Peruvian “ceviche” dish with a master chef. Our master artisans demonstrate their skills in silver jewelry making, weaving colorful tapestries, and show us the ancient art of retables. We also visit a community where the local ladies make traditional and beautifully crafted arpilleras.

The theme for this episode is crafting with natural and organic matter.

We travel to Nepal to the Kathmandu Valley area in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Nepalese people. We feature workshops and demonstrations with master crafters in paper & clay mask making, wood carving, Napali paper making, felting, and pottery. We visit a Buddhist Temple and show monks making a colorful sand mandala. We see master artisans making a metal “singing bowl,” designing and weaving exquisite rugs, and participate in a cooking lesson taught by women who are part of an independent women’s support group.

The theme for this episode is crafting with minimal resources.

We travel to Jaipur, India and the surrounding area in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Indian people. This show features master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in wood block printing, henna designing, paper mache and miniature painting. We watch a masterful father and son show us the craft and techniques of brass inlay wood. We participate in a rangoli design workshop taught by master artisans and learn savory tips from a master chef for making a traditional Indian dish. We take viewers deep inside the Kathputhli Slums of Jaipur to visit a family that has been making puppets for more than a century.

The theme for this episode is crafting traditions.

We travel to the West of Ireland and also to Dublin and the surrounding area where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Irish people. This show features workshops taught by master crafters in felting, basket making and Irish soap making from organic materials. We enjoy master artisans demonstrating the crafts of woodturning, carving Irish crystal and making jewelry from Connemara Marble. We visit the kitchen of a master chef as we learn to make homemade Irish scones and even learn tips for designing an Irish garden from a master gardener. We travel to the heart of Ireland where an expert craftsman shows us how to build the perfect rock wall, and finally we learn firsthand how to make Irish lace from master lace makers.

The theme for this episode is crafting with passion.

We travel to Vancouver, Canada and the surrounding area where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Canadian people. This show features master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in crafting the perfect beer, building a Canadian canoe, carving soapstone and learning to paint on canvas. We travel into the forest where we craft the perfect maple syrup, visit a master wood carver who takes totem poles to a new level and enjoy the fascinating skills of a printmaker. Our host Jim West visits a Canadian tattoo artist and receives his first tattoo and we satisfy our appetites with a master chef who creates traditional Canadian grilled Salmon!

The theme for this episode is crafting with a blend of old and new.

We travel to the Warsaw and Krakow areas of Poland in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Polish people. We feature master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in traditional Polish folk dolls, learn the art of paper cutting, make traditional folk pottery, watch a blacksmith bend beautiful steel, and participate in a workshop of traditional stained glass making. We travel to a local village where the entire community participates in painting designs as artwork on their homes, then we visit deep inside the salt mines of Wieliczka where we see an entire chapel carved out of salt. Our cast crafts the perfect dance step with some Polish folk dancing and crafts the perfect pierogi as we enjoy a hands on cooking lesson.

The theme for this episode is crafting folkart based on a resilient heritage.

ICELAND

We travel to Reykjavik, Iceland and the surrounding area in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Icelandic people. This show features master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in horsehair jewelry, making crafts from fish skin, embroidery on one of the largest tapestries in the world, making traditional leafbread, carving driftwood into marvelous works of art and creating beautiful glass products from volcanic ash. We travel outside the city and visit a couple who make traditional Icelandic costumes and we enjoy a cooking lesson on how to make a centuries old bread and homemade soup.

The theme for this episode is crafting from natural resources.

We travel to Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland and the surrounding areas in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Swiss people. This show features master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in Beekeeping & Crafting Honey, learning how the Alphorn is made. We visit a family that has been making cow bells for over one hundred years, travel high into the Swiss mountains where we visit a family that makes authentic Swiss cheese, warm up our vocal cords as we learn the craft of yodeling, and make a traditional cheese fondue with one of the local residents. Our journey takes us North to the town of Steckborn where we tour the Bernina Sewing Machine factory, and we’ll wrap things up with Bobbin Lace Making, a workshop in decoupage and enjoy the sweetest craft in the country as we learn to make Swiss chocolate!

The theme for this episode is crafting from a proud heritage.

We travel to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and the surrounding area in an episode where we explore the culture, traditions, food, and passions of the Mexican people. This show features master crafters who provide demonstrations and workshops in paper mache, pinata making, and crafting giant puppets with Mojiganga. We’ll visit a master tinsmith and watch him make amazing art, see a family who has been making Huichol Bead crafts for decades, and participate in a mosaic workshop with master artisans. We travel outside the city to Dolores Hidalgo where we paint designs on pottery in the Talavera style, enjoy an Alfeniques workshop and learn how the city is changing graffiti into neo murals throughout the city. Finally we participate in a cooking lesson and prepare a delicious mole sauce with chicken, and sweeten our day with a man who has been making unusual kinds of ice creams in Guanajuato for over sixty years!

The theme for this episode is crafting a colorful heritage.

We filmed many crafts in all of the destinations where we traveled, but we were unable to include some of them in the shows because there simply was not enough time. So we created an entire episode devoted to those “lost crafts” and have highlighted both the craft and master artisans’ workshops and demonstrations. This show features pottery and ceramics from Tuscany, a master Irish crystal carver, making incense in Nepal, creating an offering basket in Bali, handcrafting a Bodhran in Ireland, learning about wool production and knitting with master knitters in Iceland and much more.

The theme for this episode is remembering the lost crafts!