Category Archives: Shop Tails

Because I’m a Ham-handed Moron

(Yesterday this post was sent out to email subscribers with a draft introduction. If you received that yesterday and were confused, blame me. You can see the post in its correct entirety here. Below is the introduction to the piece you didn’t receive.) During the last four years, I’ve lost four members of my immediate…

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Nancy Hiller, Raising the Bar for Everyone

During the last four years, I’ve lost four members of my immediate family (mom, dad, stepfather, sister), most of them suddenly and unexpectedly. And if I’ve learned one thing from the experience, it’s this: Tell people who are important to you how you feel about them. Today. Don’t wait for a nice evening on the…

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‘From Forest to Furniture’ (& Sometimes Back to the Forest)

A few months back, Daniel Ackermann, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, Research and Archeology at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, sent a note inviting me to give a presentation at the museum’s March 17-19 conference. As someone who was diagnosed with an incurable condition typically associated with a short prognosis, I replied…

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Cheers to You, St. Nick!

Lost Art Press had an early visit from St. Nicholas in the form of a comment on “Shop Tails” from Nick Offerman. It’s not every day that you find a gem in your inbox from Ron Swanson this thespian, author, singer-songwriter, lover of sheep and shepherds, all-around good guy and builder of canoes and ukuleles,…

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On Worth

Something that quietly becomes clear in Nancy Hiller’s newest book of essays (“Shop Tails,” now shipping) is a subtle underlying theme of worth. “Blue-collar” vs. “white.” Grades earned, degrees obtained and at which institution. Worth in the eye of friend, teacher, sibling, parent, boss, client, beholder. Critique. The worth of a commission. Representation in a…

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