Press
Press kit
The Trades Show is a video and audio interview show about working artisans, hosted by Briana Ottoboni and recorded on location in each guest's own workshop. Season 1 was recorded across the Bay Area and New York; Season 2 is set in San Francisco and runs through mid-December 2026. 15 episodes have published so far, with guests including an ornamental plasterer, a leather artisan, a florist and an architectural blacksmith.
Press contact: briana@thetradesshowpod.com
The host
Briana Ottoboni
Briana Ottoboni is the host and creator of The Trades Show. After being awe-inspired by the work of a local cobbler who transformed a pair of old loafers, she apprenticed with a shoe cobbler and developed a fascination for the artisan trades, and a determination to revive them to their original glory, just like the cobbler did to her shoes.
The Trades Show was born as a storytelling medium to highlight artisan pathways in a return to what it means to be human. She is also the founder of The Corral, a national jobs board connecting artisans with work.
In June 2026 she gave a talk at the IDEA SF conference titled "Reviving Artisanship in the Age of AI," making the public case for the trades in a room full of technologists.
Format
How the show is made
- One artisan per episode, filmed in their own shop. No studio, no panel, no co-host.
- Video first, audio everywhere. Full episodes publish on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with short vertical clips on Instagram and TikTok.
- Episodes run about 35 to 65 minutes, biweekly during a season.
- 2 seasons, 15 episodes published to date, the most recent on July 23, 2026.
- Every episode has its own page on this site with show notes, chapters and the guest's own links, and every guest has a profile page.
Audience
Who watches, and where
The audience is social-first and video-led. Most of it is on Instagram and YouTube, where the short workshop clips travel; the podcast feeds are the smallest of the show's channels, not the largest. Anyone sizing this show by download counts is reading the wrong number.
The people watching are, in rough order: makers and tradespeople, people considering a career change into a trade, and design-literate viewers in the Bay Area who buy handmade work. Guests bring their own following with them, so reach varies widely by episode depending on who is in the chair.
Current figures for any channel are available on request — email the press desk and they come back the same week.
Story angles
What the show is actually about
Three angles the show is built to serve. It is worth saying plainly that none of them is an anti-technology argument: the premise is that craft and technology are both true at once, and the interesting part is the seam between them.
Going analog in the AI capital of the world
San Francisco is where the future is being built, and it is also where a plaster shop, an atelier and a forge are still open on a Tuesday. The show is not an argument against the technology. It is about what happens when both things are true in one city.
What AI can't learn: the intelligence in your hands
Every guest carries knowledge that lives in their hands and cannot be written down: the sound a shoe makes when the last is right, when clay is ready, how hot is hot enough. That knowledge is transmitted by apprenticeship or it is lost.
The oldest trades in the newest city
Long before code, there was craft. Several of the shops on this show are the last of their kind in San Francisco, and their owners are the last people who know how to do the work.
Assets
Everything you need to file
Logos, cover art and a headshot, all cleared for editorial use. Episode stills and workshop footage are available on request, including footage of the guest at work.
- Show cover art (JPG, 500×500)
- Stacked logo, black (SVG)
- Stacked logo, white (SVG)
- Wordmark, black (SVG)
- Wordmark, white (SVG)
- Host headshot (PNG)
Reporting on a guest?
Every guest has a page here with their trade, their city, their own links and the episode they appear in. The Bay Area guide is the fastest way to scan the full roster for the region.
Previous coverage
Briana speaks about the trades on stage and on other people's shows. The IDEA SF talk above is the fullest public version of the argument. A full coverage list is available on request.
Get in touch
Interviews, review copies of an episode ahead of publication, guest introductions and current audience figures all come from the same inbox. Deadlines get priority — say so in the subject line.
Email the press desk