Podcasts are one of the greatest inventions for people who work with their hands. At your fingertips are inspiring conversations with people doing amazing things, thinking about the world in new ways, and offering us new paths to follow.

When we think of collaboration, we often think of it in how it reflects in our workplace or immediate life. A local community center doesn't run smoothly if people are not assuming different roles to ensure that the necessary work gets done. Families require members to work in tandem to make sure that dinner goes on the table, bills are paid, children's needs are met. At work, teams are assembled to tackle a big project, with tasks meted out by the skill sets of the participants.

On a recent TED Talks Radio program, collaboration was viewed a little differently. From coding for a better government in Boston to building a universally accessible online encyclopedia to why there is such a thing as too much collaboration, how we work together to create something better is turned inside out and reexamined for the 21st century.

One of the founding principles of Craftstitute was collaboration between the instructors and the school. It's hard for people with esoteric skills and knowledge to find an outlet for sharing their work. We wanted access to learning new skills, not just for ourselves (who are we kidding - we totally wanted it for ourselves!), but for others we were sure were also looking to learn old and new skills. Collaboration builds community, which was the other driving principle behind our business.

One thing that I didn't anticipate was the collaboration between instructors and students and amongst the students themselves. Watching a group of people learn a skill, observe other approaches to the creative task, and help each other when the instructor is assisting another student, offers a glimpse of how collaborating leads to better questions and better outcomes.

As we push into the next season, leaving the languor and learning curve of summer behind, we plan to offer more opportunities for collaboration, with instructors working together to offer a dynamic workshop where different skill sets converge - like Cal's and Maya's upcoming weekend printing and sewing workshop. Keep an eye on our social media sites to see the experimenting in action and let us know what's got you excited.