I don't want to overstate this, but the 70-Year craft timeline has been a huge part of my life for the past four months. Now that the magazine is out, and the interactive timeline is up and running, it's hard for me to fathom life post-timeline. Picking my favorites was a tough task, because I've had all of these years and events ingrained in my very being. But here are my highlights:

1981: A walnut rocker by Sam Maloof is donated to President Reagan and his family for use in their private quarters at the White House. Maloof's appeal is bipartisan; President Carter and President Clinton are also fans.

I first came across the photo for this entry in Maloof's autobiography, and I knew it would be perfect for the timeline. "The Great Communicator" and the People magazine dubbed "Hemingway of Hardwood" sharing a laugh? C'mon! The chair was also the first piece of contemporary furniture in the White House collection.

Tracking down the photo was easy, but making sure we had rights to publish wasn't. After a couple of phone calls and e-mails, I finally got a hold of the original photographer, Bill Fitz-Patrick. He was a White House staff photographer at the time. And the photo he took? Well, it turns out that it belongs to America. Plus, it's nice to be reminded that craft can transcend party lines.

1961: Rose Slivka, editor of Craft Horizons, writes "The New Ceramic Presence," provocatively introducing new wave ceramics and ushering in an era in which the medium is increasingly considered fine art.

I didn't really realize how big a deal "The New Ceramic Presence" was until last week, when I was doing a little research before posting the entire original article online. Lots of letters were written to Craft Horizons concerning the article, and much controversy ensued. My favorite reaction was a letter from Warren MacKenzie, comparing the new works to the piles left in his neighbor's cow pasture. But, it's hard to imagine where we would be right now if Voulkos and company had just kept making functional pottery.

1979: This Old House premieres on WGBH in Boston and introduces America to the joys of restoring handcrafted homes.

1989: The New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abram hits the airwaves and brings the techniques of a master craftsman into living rooms everywhere.

I lump these two entries together in my head, because Norm Abram got his start on This Old House, and The New Yankee Workshop is almost like a spin-off. Regardless, I remember watching these shows with my father after Saturday morning cartoons, and, despite not being old enough to responsibly use power tools, being fascinated by the work Bob Vila and Abram were doing restoring old homes and building furniture. But I also remember my mother and sister taking in episodes, cementing (in the brain of a budding future craft enthusiast) the universal appeal of men who make things.

1957: "Craftsmen Today," the first U.S. craft conference, is sponsored by the ACC and held in Asilomar, CA. The event draws such stars as Charles Eames, who proclaims the importance of the handmade in his own work and for the culture at large.

I originally read about this event in Sam Maloof's autobiography, too, but I didn't realize it was sponsored by the ACC until I started working on the timeline. It's hard to remember a time before the internet and email made the world feel so much smaller. From Sam Maloof: Woodworker:

"There I first met Walker Weed, Wharton Esherick, Art Carpenter, John Kapell, and Tage Frid. Bob Stocksdale I had met previously, but this meeting cemented our friendship.

"What we all had in common was that we were doing what we wanted to do. None of us was a conformist. None of us wanted to be tied up or bound. I believe all of us were seeking spiritual well-being in what we were doing. We were not using our work as a means of avoiding responsibility in a material sense."

How exciting to have all of these now-legendary artists assemble in one place! All of these people were united in the quest to bring the handmade back into American consciousness.

Have you seen the craft timeline in our August/September issue? Or its interactive cousin? What are your favorite moments? Let us know.