A HandBuilt Life

Ben Viapiana is a one-man denim brand, a fount of knowledge about all things jeans, one of our favourite makers to follow on IG, and a fellow Canadian. Ben started making his own jeans at sixteen after asking his dad, an Italian-trained tailor, to teach him; "It's too late," his dad said, but he spent the next few years teaching himself as much as he could through trial and error and dogged determination. What began as a teenage curiosity turned into a decade in Thailand building an entirely self-taught custom denim operation, and now a one-man shop in Toronto producing everything from small batch in-house releases to big production runs for clothing shops, using his collection of over two hundred industrial sewing machines. Heather sits down with Ben in his studio to talk about how he taught himself denim construction from scratch, why finishing every project (even the ugly ones) matters more than getting it perfect, the difference between sewing jeans on a domestic machine versus a full industrial lineup, and the wild story of how a chance conversation with a customer turned into an amazing trip through Japan's denim mills. Fair warning: they nerd out hard on jean construction and industrial sewing machines, so this one's a great listen if you love getting into the weeds, and also just a genuinely fun conversation if you don't. Find Ben on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/viapiana_custom_denim/ or check out his work at https://benviapiana.com/ . A HandBuilt Life is brought to you by Closet Core Studio. 🌐 Website: https://closetcorepatterns.com 📷 Instagram: https://instagram.com/closetcorepatterns 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdb_3OevoozegQB6C5meFjQ

Heather and Amy are reflecting on the end of summer and the joys and pains of summer vacationing with their respective families. Other items on the docket: moving to get the thoughts out, moodboarding fall style and building stairs! Heather also shared her deep dive into Eve Babitz's fascinating life and essays, and Amy is now hunting down a copy of To Live and Die in L.A. Find us at: www.closetcorepatterns.com

Heather is sitting down with author and humourist Eve O. Schaub to talk about her latest project: growing a dress. Her previous works, which include Year of No Suga r (2014), Year of No Clutter (2017), and Year of No Garbage (2023), have all been experiments she's engaged in with her family, and this latest project is no different. From growing the flax and weaving it into cloth to making the dye from cultivating indigo, Eve is sharing the painstaking process that is connecting her to the history of making clothes on a level that we find fascinating. Tune in to hear the whole conversation. Connect with us: www.closetcorepatterns.com

This week, Heather and Amy are sharing what has been filling their heads, hands and hearts this July. From Amy's staycation to Heather's journey into the classics, we are proving that not only are we huge nerds, but we also have nerdy hobbies. Bird watching, anyone? Find us at www.closetcorepatterns.com

Heather was delighted to speak with Dr. Claire Ashley on the pod this month. They have a long chat about detecting and healing from burnout (check out her book, The">https://amzn.to/4aB36Vl">The Burnout Doctor), her sewing practice, and ADHD and how it relates to sewing. Claire is a licensed GP and has a neuroscience degree, and the confluence of that background and her interest in making led to a really fascinating conversation. This is exactly why we started the podcast: nerding out about how our brains work, the mental health benefits of a creative practice, and the things we can do to take care of ourselves with intention.Learn more about Claire at drclaireashley.com ">https://www.drclaireashley.com/">drclaireashley.com or follow her on Instagram @wiredtomake ">https://www.instagram.com/wiredtomake/">@wiredtomake.

Join Heather and Amy as they get into what has been filling their heads and hearts and keeping their hands busy this June. Coming to you from Amy's basement, sorry the production values aren't perfect on this one! Sign up for our newsletter to get all the details on each episode: www.closetcorepatterns.com

Our guest is business advisor, strategic consultant, and style icon Gretchen Jones. Heather and Gretchen go deep on values-driven entrepreneurship, what it means to be truly creative in today's culturally flat landscape, how to break out of the stagnation of late-stage capitalism, and why we should all be embracing "sloppy boobs”. Real wisdom and genuinely thought-provoking ideas from one of the most original thinkers we know! Read Heather's 2015 interview with Gretchen for Seamwork. https://www.seamwork.com/craft-projects/a-closet-tour-with-gretchen-jones?srsltid=AfmBOooCX6Bd1cdtYrpm3WyOpIZp-NmUeI_LcIhZAdSbm-2Na1_t93Wr Read Gretchen's essay The Cultural Plateau : https://mailchi.mp/gretchenjones.co/sage-advice-the-noonday-demons-19885062?e=64e3c9a6ee Sign up for Gretchen's newsletter : https://www.weirdspecialty.com/

Heather and Amy are debriefing after H&H, a giant studio move and Amy's revelation that she's an entirely different season than she thought! Tune in to hear more about what is filling our hearts and heads this month. Find us at: www.closetcorepatterns.com

Our guest is chef, recipe developer, bestselling cookbook author and maker Christine Flynn. Hailing from the East Coast of Canada, Christine and Heather had a rollicking conversation that covers big life and career pivots, what it actually takes to write a cookbook (spoiler: it's more expensive than you can imagine), and how to look at a fridge full of sad ingredients and figure out dinner anyway.⁠ ⁠ This is exactly the kind of conversation we hoped to have when we launched AHBL — wide-ranging, honest, and a little bit all over the creative map in the best way. Follow @christineanneflynn for more — her farm life content and what she's cooking are endlessly inspiring.

Heather and Amy are back to discuss the hobbies and obsessions keeping their heads and hands busy this Spring. From Amy crying with astronauts to Heather's feminist literature class, we are busy in April, shaking off a loooooong winter and getting our wardrobes and makeup drawers ready for what's looking like a very grown-up handbag summer. Tune in to find out what the heck this all means... Find us at www.closetcorepatterns.com

Heather sits down with the original multi-hyphenate and muse to our most challenging sewing pattern to date (the Jasika Blazer) Jasika Nicole! They talk hobbies (how many are too many??) creativity juice and perimenopause in this intimate chat. Where to find us: www.closetcorepatterns.com

Heather and Amy are back with the subjects that are filling their heads, the hobbies that are keeping their hands busy and the little things that are filling their hearts this month. From Amy's sourdough journey to Heather's favourite new series, we are coming to you from the Closet to share our passions. Like and subscribe so you never miss an episode! Find us here: www.closetcorepatterns.com

This week, Heather sits down with sewing superstar Cornelius Quiring! We had the pleasure of hosting Cornelius in Montreal while working on The Cornelius Shirt collab, and honestly? It was a blast. Photoshoots, silly videos, and endless laughs... You can feel that joy coming through in this conversation. Grab a snack, settle in, and enjoy the chat! Find us at www.closetcorepatterns.com

In the inaugural episode of A Handbuilt Life, Heather and Amy are coming to you from the Closet Core Closet (literally) to introduce themselves and their plans for the show! Times are tough, and now more than ever, we need to look for ways to fill our cups with positivity and creativity. If you are looking for a place to talk about your many hobbies and the growing pains of getting older, baby, get in here! Leave a review (five stars only) and be sure to like and subscribe so you can hear our first guest interview... coming soon!