Second Season of National TV Show, A Craftsman's Legacy, Features Oxford Resident

Detroit motorcycle builder and master metal shaper, Eric Gorges is a man on a mission. His goal: to seek out and spotlight the modern maker community, men and women who practice the lost art of making things by hand and bring their stories to television.

Since the successful launch of the national, public television show, A Craftsman’s Legacy, last September, Gorges and his team have been on the road, filming on location around the US, uncovering and showcasing the stories of people who reject modern mass production and, instead, make their living with their own two hands.

Local craftsman Greg Anderson, of Oxford, is among those 13 chosen to be featured on the show, according to a release. Anderson’s talent and craft of creating handmade bow and arrows will be featured on one of the shows episodes. The air date of the episode is not yet known.

“An experienced naturalist and wilderness survival expert of his native Connecticut area, Greg Anderson enjoys archery, nature journaling, leather making, flint knapping, martial arts and gardening,” the website said.

Anderson’s bows are sold exclusively at North Wood Traditional Archery, which he founded back in 2010, according to their website. He reportedly learned his trade by perfecting his skills with other masters in the field of archery crafting.

“He is a mentor in wilderness survival schools throughout New England after having spent many months living in the wilderness testing his skills in the Blue Mountains of North Carolina as well as Washington state and Northern California.”

A Craftsman’s Legacy began airing on public television stations across the country in September 2014. Season Two is currently wrapping up production and will air in over 90% of the nation in the fall of this year.

Season Two of A Craftsman’s Legacy, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, explores a range of timeless crafts, from shoemaking, to bicycle building, to clock making and fashioning suits of armor. Episodes feature in-depth conversations with the artisans and plenty of hands-on learning, as Gorges takes on such challenges as making artisanal cheeses and learning how carve a bow and arrow. Many of this season’s featured emerging and established artisans were cast after being nominated by fellow craftsmen or friends and family on the show’s website.

Over the course of 13 episodes, filmed in seven states, Gorges plays the role of apprentice, learning the necessary skills and techniques from the ground up. With genuine enthusiasm and a lighthearted playfulness, he shares his inexperience, failure, inspiration and the path to eventual success – giving viewers a sense of the patience and expertise that must go into the painstaking work of the handcrafted object.

“We are so excited to bring Season Two to air. In a disposable, “get it when you want it” world, our craftsmen and women have important stories to tell,” Gorges says. “I hope viewers will be entertained, inspired and reminded of the value of fine craftsmanship – and I hope some will even be encouraged to try their own hand at it.”

Visit the show’s website for more information at www.craftsmanslegacy.com. Follow on FB or Twitter @CraftsmanLegacy.