THE FLORIST'S FLORIST: Studio Mondine's Amanda Luu on Ikebana, preserving a 600-year-old craft, intimacy with nature, and a tech-forward studio

THE FLORIST'S FLORIST: Studio Mondine's Amanda Luu on Ikebana, preserving a 600-year-old craft, intimacy with nature, and a tech-forward studio

In this episode of The Trades Show, host Briana Ottoboni sits down with Amanda Luu, florist, founder of Studio Mondine, and a lifelong student of Ikenobo Ikebana, inside her San Francisco home. Their conversation traces Amanda's circuitous path into flowers — from a degree in economics and environmental policy and a career in marketing, to the ten-minute commutes she spent gathering leaves and grasses from parking lots, to the apprenticeships she took on for $11 an hour to learn the craft hands-on, the way a cook stages in a kitchen. Amanda shares the quiet "portal" winter after she quit her job at the end of wedding season, where working with dead branches and gleaned material pushed her toward the minimalist forms that became her signature and eventually led her to formal Ikebana study — the 600-year-old Japanese practice whose oldest school she now trains in, learning to express the life force of a single stem and to read an arrangement as a landscape. She's candid about what it takes to keep a tradition alive when the average practitioner in the West is 72, and about the wordless correction of a teacher whose lineage runs back centuries, passed down through the kanji characters in a student's name. And in a turn you might not expect from a craft this old, Amanda makes the case for being a tech-forward flower studio — running a logistics business underwritten by data and flower "recipes," and rendering arrangements that don't yet exist in Canva and Gemini so a wild idea can be tested in the room before a single stem is sourced. Whether you're a florist, a maker drawn to slow practice, or someone curious how a centuries-old art stays alive in the age of AI, this episode is a masterclass in finding your own voice in a craft, building a studio that lasts, and cultivating an intimacy with nature that feeds everything else. The Trades Show is an interview series on location with modern artisans exploring what it means to be human: the ability to create with our hands. 💐 Where to find Amanda Luu and Studio Mondine: Website: https://www.studiomondine.com/ [https://www.studiomondine.com/] Instagram: @studiomondine [https://www.instagram.com/studiomondine/⁠] Substack: Mondine After Dark [https://studiomondine.substack.com/] ⚒️ Where to find The Trades Show: Instagram: @tradesshow [https://www.instagram.com/tradesshow/⁠] TikTok: @tradesshow [https://www.tiktok.com/@tradesshow] YouTube: @tradesshow [https://www.youtube.com/@tradesshow] Substack: Trade Secrets [https://revivethetrades.substack.com/⁠] Website: https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/ [https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/] ✨ Where to find your host, Briana: Instagram: @brianaaugustina [https://www.instagram.com/brianaaugustina/⁠] Substack: https://brianaaugustina.substack.com/ [https://brianaaugustina.substack.com/] Website: https://www.brianaaugustina.com/ [https://www.brianaaugustina.com/] 🎬 In this episode: 00:00 Season Setup in SF 01:00 Meet Amanda Luu 02:43 From Economics to Flowers 03:30 Magpie Gathering on the Commute 04:30 Apprenticing for Free 06:00 Balancing Two Careers 08:30 Quitting at Wedding Season's End 11:00 Finding Form in the Quiet Season 13:00 What Is Ikebana 15:00 Flowers Hold Time 21:00 Finding a Teacher 23:00 The Wordless Correction and Lineage 25:00 Preserving a 600-Year-Old Tradition 27:00 A Tech-Forward Flower Studio 31:00 Rendering Arrangements with AI 34:00 Flowers as Storytelling 37:00 The Language of Flowers 42:00 The Florist's Florist 43:30 Advice for Early-Stage Florists 46:00 Quick Round: Technology and Flowers 49:00 One Thing to Take Away 50:00 Where to Find Studio Mondine

12. ANTIQUES FROM THE FUTURE: Architectural Blacksmith Jefferson Mack on a 50-year career, the art of selling, and reviving the American craftsman

In this episode of The Trades Show, host Briana Ottoboni sits down with Jefferson Mack, a self-taught architectural blacksmith with a 50-year career, inside his San Francisco workshop. Their conversation spans nearly five decades of making — from the Eric Sloane book that planted the seed when Jefferson was a child, to a self-taught path that wound through scrap-yard forges in his mother's backyard, lighting work on rock 'n' roll tours, and a construction career that finally cracked open the leap into full-time blacksmithing. Jefferson shares the philosophy behind his signature work — what he calls "antiques from the future," forms that fuse traditional hammered texture with contemporary tension — and walks through the milestones that built his career: the four-page Restoration Hardware spread that brought him a moment of national visibility, the demonstration nights he modeled after Dale Chihuly to teach architects what blacksmithing could be, the staircases that took seven and eight years to land, and the slow, hard-won art of selling a craft most people don't realize they need. He's candid about the toll of the work — the muscle memory it takes to feel hot steel through a hammer, the seven-year apprenticeship windows that no longer exist, the cost of making at 71 — and where the trade is going as the next generation finds its way in through maker spaces, welding kits, and YouTube. Whether you're a maker, a builder, or someone trying to figure out how to sustain a creative business over the long arc, this episode is a masterclass in self-taught mastery, pricing handmade work, declaring yourself in a craft no one else is pursuing, and what it actually takes to last 50 years. The Trades Show is an interview series on location with modern artisans exploring what it means to be human: the ability to create with our hands. 🔥 Where to find Jefferson Mack: Website: https://www.mackmetal.com/ [https://www.mackmetal.com/] Instagram: @mack.jefferson [https://www.instagram.com/mack.jefferson/⁠] ⚒️ Where to find The Trades Show: Instagram: @tradesshow [https://www.instagram.com/tradesshow/⁠] TikTok: @tradesshow [https://www.tiktok.com/@tradesshow⁠] YouTube: @tradesshow [https://www.youtube.com/@tradesshow⁠] Substack: Trade Secrets [https://revivethetrades.substack.com/] Website: https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/ [https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/] ✨ Where to find your host, Briana: Instagram: @brianaaugustina [https://www.instagram.com/brianaaugustina/] Substack: https://brianaaugustina.substack.com/ [https://brianaaugustina.substack.com/] Website: https://www.brianaaugustina.com/ [https://www.brianaaugustina.com/] 🎬 In this episode: 00:00 Season Setup In SF 01:50 Meet Jefferson Mack 03:37 Origins Of A Blacksmith 11:18 Taking The Leap 17:36 Selling And Apprenticeships 30:55 Learning Paths Today 31:44 Maker Spaces and Welding 33:19 Restoration Hardware Breakthrough 42:36 Pricing Handmade Work 59:16 Finish and Produce

11. ART OF THE RESTAURANT: James Beard Award-Winning Chef Stuart Brioza on the craft of cooking

In this episode of The Trades Show, host Briana Ottoboni sits down with Stuart Brioza, James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar, inside The Progress restaurant in San Francisco. Their conversation traces Stuart's path from dishwasher at fifteen to leading three of the city's most celebrated restaurants — and explores what it means to define California cuisine in a time when every ingredient imaginable shows up at the farmers market. Stuart shares the origin story of State Bird's small plates revolution, the handmade design philosophy that built The Progress (down to every chair, table, and piece of pottery), and why he opened The Anchovy Bar to celebrate a two-hour-out-of-water local fish that nobody else pays attention to. They talk about discovery versus innovation, the good-better-best mindset that drives his cooking, and why restaurants are one of the last places that require active human participation. Whether you're a cook, a craft-curious diner, or someone trying to figure out how to stay creative without burning out, this episode is a masterclass in leading with patience, building for longevity, and cooking with all five senses.The Trades Show is an interview series on location with modern artisans exploring what it means to be human: the ability to create with our hands.🔥 Where to find Stuart Brioza:Atomic Restaurant Group: https://atomic-workshop.com/Stuart Brioza IG: https://www.instagram.com/atomicstew/State Bird Provisions: https://www.statebirdsf.com/The Progress: https://theprogress-sf.com/home/The Anchovy Bar: https://www.theanchovybar.com/⚒️ Where to find The Trades Show:Instagram: @tradesshow (https://www.instagram.com/tradesshow/)TikTok: @tradesshow (https://www.tiktok.com/@tradesshow)YouTube: ‪@tradesshow‬ (https://www.youtube.com/@tradesshow)Substack: Trade Secrets (https://revivethetrades.substack.com/)Website: https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/✨ Where to find your host, Briana:Instagram: @brianaaugustina ( / brianaaugustina )Substack: https://brianaaugustina.substack.com/Website: https://www.brianaaugustina.com/🎬 In this episode:00:00 Welcome to The Trades Show00:36 Meet Chef Stuart Brioza01:45 Cooking as a Sensory Craft02:38 Leading Three Restaurants04:19 State Bird Small Plates06:38 The Progress Handmade Design09:30 Good Better Best Mindset12:20 Defining California Cuisine15:11 Anchovy Bar Local Mission20:14 From Dishwasher to Chef26:32 Landing First Kitchen Job28:14 Learning Through Mistakes29:53 How Cooking Culture Changed30:20 Social Media and Dish Lineage34:04 Discovery Becomes Innovation38:10 Boredom as Creative Fuel41:55 Restaurants as Human Refuge44:32 Innovating Without Burnout48:53 Tech Wins and Losses50:16 Simplicity and Career Advice51:40 Craftspeople for Life53:57 Closing Thanks and Outro

10. Artisan Crafts in the Age of AI with Host Briana Ottoboni

Host Briana Ottoboni introduces season two of The Trades Show, filmed on location with artisans in San Francisco, and explains why the rise of AI and the return to analog craftsmanship are happening at the same time. She shares her Bay Area background, her first encounter with shoe cobbling that sparked her passion for artisan trades, and her concern about who carries these crafts forward as older generations retire. Briana defines artisan trades as the intersection of fine arts and skilled trades—uniting creativity, aesthetic rigor, technique, and tradition—and recounts how a window of “creative spaciousness” led her to create a high-production “show,” with season one serving as a 10-episode pilot. She outlines a city-by-city vision, season two’s biweekly Thursday release schedule, and the broader ecosystem she’s building, including The Corral artisan jobs board that uses technology and AI to make artisan work more visible, viable, and valued. In this episode, you’ll hear: * Briana’s intro into the artisan trades and shoe cobbling * The Why behind The Trades Show * Why now in the age of AI is the perfect time to revive the artisan trades * Her vision for the show * What you can expect for Season 2 and beyond 👩🏻‍🎨 Where to find Briana Ottoboni: Follow on Instagram: @brianaaugustina [https://www.instagram.com/brianaaugustina] Follow on LinkedIn: @brianaottoboni [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaottoboni/] 🛠️ Where to find The Trades Show:Follow on Instagram: @tradesshow [https://www.instagram.com/tradesshow]Follow on TikTok: @tradesshow [https://www.tiktok.com/@tradesshow]Subscribe on YouTube: @tradesshow [https://www.youtube.com/@tradesshow]Read the Substack: https://revivethetrades.substack.com [https://revivethetrades.substack.com]Visit the website: thetradesshowpod.com [https://www.thetradesshowpod.com/] 🎙️Credits:Host & Creator – Briana OttoboniCreative Direction, Filming & Editing – Briana OttoboniOriginal Theme Music – Federico Wanzo, Skane Music 📺 In this episode: 00:00 AI Meets Craft01:01 Season Two Kickoff01:39 Cobbler Spark03:03 Why Trades Matter04:55 Learning In Portland06:01 Birth Of The Show08:50 Season One Lessons09:28 San Francisco Backdrop11:29 Humanity In Imperfection12:59 Mission And Pathways15:53 Release Schedule16:23 The Corral Jobs Board17:59 Wrap Up And Subscribe18:47 Outro Credits

Season 2: Official Trailer

Meet the artisans keeping craft alive in the age of AI. Season 2 of The Trades Show takes you inside the workshops of San Francisco's most skilled tradespeople — from bladesmiths to chefs — exploring why handcraft matters more than ever. New episodes coming soon. Follow The Trades Show for stories of mastery, tradition, and the human hands shaping our world. #TheTrades #Artisan #SkilledTrades #Handcraft #Craftsmanship #SanFrancisco #TradesShow #ArtisanEconomy #MadeByHand