Village Vox

 I’ve been hearing more and more about these ongoing, semi-private house concerts in Palmyra. Apparently they’ve been happening regularly for a while, and it looks like they’ve been putting on some pretty solid shows—Charlottesville singer-songwriter Jason Pollock (remember Seven Mary Three?) did one in January, for example. So what’s the story, Ace? And how do […]

Vendors: City Market deserves stable home

The Charlottesville City Market rang up a record $1.2 million in 2009, more than six times what the market generated when it first moved to the Water Street lot in 1993. What’s more, 2010 will be the first year the market will accept food stamps and debit cards, which may spur more growth. The Charlottesville […]

Hand-made in Charlottesville

  MEET THESE LOCALS Angie Hogan (Typesetter, Virginia Arts of the Book Center) Sarah Barker (American Sign Language instructor, Independent Resource Center) Jennifer Maton (Calligrapher, If So INKlined) Ben Miller (Tattoo artist, Ben Around Tattoos) Ted Wood (Typewriter repairman, Charlottesville Office Machine Co.) Jamal Millner (Flat-pick and fingerstyle guitarist) Jon Bright (Lensman, Spectacle Shop) Kenny […]

Angie Hogan, Typesetter at Virginia Arts of the Book Center

“I’m not opposed to one thing or the other,” says Hogan of letterpress versus e-books, “but it’s like the difference between writing somebody a letter by hand and sending them an email.” Tools? I primarily use a Vandercook press, which is not that old, really. It’s probably from the ’60s or ’70s. It’s primarily a […]

Jon Bright, Lensman at the Spectacle Shop

“Occasionally when we’re using screwdrivers and we flip off the screws, we’ll accidentally stab our fingers,” says Bright. “Or burn our hands from working with soldering. But in general, it’s pretty low impact.” How did you learn your craft? I went to college. But I got started in second grade when I had to wear […]

Jennifer Maton, Calligrapher, If So INKLined

“They’re normal hands,” says Maton. “The pen I use is fairly smooth, so it doesn’t rub my fingers raw at any points.” Typical workday? I usually start around 8:30am with warmup exercises for the hands, then I’ll begin one of the projects I have for the day, whether it’s wedding invitations or designs, or whatever’s […]

Ben Miller, Tattoo artist at Ben Around Tattoos

“I wear gloves all day long, which keep my hands fairly soft,” says Miller. Tools? For the most part, we use tattoo machines anywhere from an ounce to six ounces apiece. We use pigments. Most of the tattoos we do, we use surgical skin markers to draw under the skin, then tattoo over it. And […]

Jamal Millner, Flat-pick and fingerstyle guitarist

“I have to be careful, think about closing doors and stuff like that more than anyone else does,” says Millner. Tools? A guitar, flat-pick, sometimes a slide.   How did you learn your craft? I started playing when I was a little kid, on the banjo before I picked up the guitar. As far as […]

Kenny Shreves, Race Car Builder at Werkstatt Charlottesville

Fire in the hole: Sometimes when he’s welding, stuff ends up burning. “It happens more often than you would think,” says Shreves. Typical workday? We’re always behind. We begin in the morning, and depending on where we are with the stage of the build, we start fabricating right away. On the weeks that we have […]