It's been a fun week around the office, seeing everyone's timeline highlights and hearing the reactions as people have received their copies of the magazine. I'll forgo a repeat pick of the launching of This Old House (possibly my favorite TV show growing up), but otherwise, here are my favorite entries in the 70-year craft timeline:

1950: Mary and Russel Wright's Guide to Easier Living paints an Atomic Age vision for a well-designed futuristic utopia, laying the foundation for lifestyle mavens such as Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren.

When I first saw this entry I rushed to the ACC library shelves to find our copy. I'm always amazed by all the tactics and tasks one should be doing to make life easier, which it always seems to require so much more work! A coworker and I snickered over passages on proper care for drapery and how to split the household division of labor. We're thinking of making a documentary called Raw and Unplugged: A week in the life - the Easy Living way. Anyone want to film it?

1950: Warren and Alix MacKenzie become Bernard Leach's first American apprentices a the Leach Pottery in England. Returning to Minnesota, they help make the state a hub of functional studio pottery; Warren becomes an esteemed teacher.

I had the chance to visit with Warren this spring for a video interview, and he tells a great story of how can and Alix turned up at the Leach Pottery and stayed up all night talking with Bernard Leach before he agreed to take them on as apprentices. Here's one of the videos in which Warren talks about making affordable, utilitarian pots.

1963: "Woven Forms," curated by Paul J. Smith at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (NY), gives over the whole first floor to Lenore Tawney. The work of Alice Adams, Sheila Hicks, Dorian Zachai, and Claire Zeisler fills the second floor.

Last week, our visual resources intern, Pati, wrote about the exhibition catalog for "Woven Forms" as it's one of the many pieces of the library collection being digitized. I was lucky enough to flip through the pages, and it really was delightful.

1966: The first ACC Craft Fair is held in Stowe, VT. 

Don't you just love this poster? We've heard stories of the early ACC shows, but I'd never seen the visuals until now, and I had to marvel at the forward-thinking design.

1970: Back to the land: Dawn of a golden decade for crafts, high and low. While serious crafts artists flourish, so does their bane, the macrame plant holder.

I'll never understand the disdain for the macrame plant holder. I confess I own one, which I commissioned from my mom within the last year. And I love it.

1998: Dave Eggers launches the literary journal McSweeney's, combining fine writing with the mass-produced book arts.

Oh, McSweeney's, a true work of book art. I love seeing each new incarnation of the quarterly lit journal and reading the many great authors that grace its pages.

2007: Retro drama Mad Men premieres on AMC, introducing midcentury modern design to a Gen Y audience.

What can I say, I love being transported back in time and basking in the chic style and design of the era. Come to think of it, I bet Betty Draper has a copy of the Guide to Easier Living tucked away somewhere. If not, she should.

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