Craft lives in the hands. And in a world increasingly shaped by speed, automation, and abstraction, what does it mean to dedicate your life to making things slowly, by hand?
In this episode of Full Expression, host Dan Imhoff sits down with Angelo Garro, Sicilian-born blacksmith, sculptor, forager, and founder of Omnivore Salt, for a conversation about craft, culture, food, and the creative life.
Angelo traces his journey from a small village in Sicily to apprenticing with a master metalworker in the Swiss Alps, before building a life in North America as an architectural blacksmith and artist. He developed a deep connection to the natural world—through foraging, hunting, cooking, and community—that would eventually place him at the center of California's early slow food movement.
The conversation moves between worlds: from the history of ironwork in Europe to the philosophy of creating, from the realities of running a small food business to the challenges facing organic producers today. Angelo reflects on immigration, identity, and the role of culture—food, art, and craft—in shaping both personal meaning and collective freedom.
We also explore what may be lost—and what could be rediscovered—in an age of artificial intelligence, as Angelo makes a case for the return of traditional skills and the enduring value of working with your hands.
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