August 8 - And The Guest Author Is . . .

THOMAS MACENTEE

Destination: Austin Family

When last we left Friday From The Collectors, The Practical Archivist had suggested crafts projects as an alternative to purging photographs. That was the perfect segue to this Friday's subject and guest author, Thomas MacEntee, Destination: Austin Family. Thomas has been working with collections of old photographs purchased online and using them to create new items such as holiday ornaments, journal covers and more. His goal is to share this knowledge with you in hopes that you will not only learn but also pass it forward.

Born in the Catskill region of New York, Thomas MacEntee currently lives in Chicago after spending close to 20 years in California. He attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. earning a Bachelor of Arts in Art History with a minor in Spanish Language and Literature. After graduation and while working for USDA, he was asked to learn all about a new-fangled machine called the IBM Personal Computer and then train others in his department. Thus began a fascination with technology and many years later its adaptation within the history and genealogy fields.

Twenty-five years of technology experience has not dulled Thomas’ senses or discouraged him from finding creative solutions to problems – it has just given him grayer hair and less of it. He continues to learn and adapt new technologies such as Blogger, Facebook, Jott while the memories of white out, mag cards, 12” floppy disks, Lotus 123 and fax carbon rolls are distant and faded. But he isn’t hesitant to mention them when some young whippersnapper complains that some search or process took too long. Thomas remembers the dark days before Al Gore invented “The Internets” and talk of gigabytes and servers and when he had to walk uphill five miles to work on cold winter days with a hot potato in his coat pocket.

Thomas wowed us with his handcrafted photographic Christmas ornaments last year and we are anxious for more of his creativity. August is the perfect month to start those handcrafted Christmas projects. Join us for Friday From The Collectors, August 8, when Thomas shows us the way.

See You Then!