15h ago

Season Two Episode Four | Gathering Lessons from the River with Todd Spire of Esopus Creel

What does a river teach us? And are you someone who is in love with rivers? An affirmative yes to latter question is the hope and mission of Esopus Creel founder, Todd Spire. In this episode of Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival, I sit down with Todd, a Catskills fly fishing guide who is devoted to helping people not only with fishing, but with the connection the river offers. I have been following Todd’s work with Esopus Creek since it began, during the years when I lived in Brooklyn and was craving a deeper connection to the natural world. Long before I knew him personally, I was drawn to the way he approached rivers, writing, and community. His work has always carried a sense of beauty and depth that stayed with me, and I wanted to understand more about his philosophy behind it. Todd and I talk about fly fishing as an art form, a practice in presence, and a gateway into a much larger experience of the natural world. We talk about the greatness of the Catskills, the Esopus, and all that unfolds when we're in the water. It feels like we barely scratched the surface, and yet touch on profound topics of grief, loss, meditation, and one of my favorite topics, the shared human experience. Our conversation moves beyond fly fishing into community building, environmental stewardship, and legacy. And herein the river becomes a metaphor for all of it. Todd is also an extraordinarily gifted writer. There is a particular beauty in what he shares, and an elegance in his depth in perspective. I hope this conversation inspires a reason to consider how the river opens pathways of reflection and exploration not just of the natural world, but of the life inside each of us as well. About Todd Spire and Esopus Creel:Todd Spire is the founder of Esopus Creel, a Catskills fly fishing guide service centered on the Esopus and the experience of falling in love with rivers. Through guided fly fishing trips, writing, and community, Todd invites people into a deeper relationship with the water, the landscape, and one another. Things I Learned from My Mother is a podcast from Arcadian Revival about home, land, nature, culture, stewardship, and the wisdom we inherit from the people who came before us.

Sep 29

Season Two Episode Three | All Things Cheap Old Houses with Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein

What does an old house mean to us? For this episode of Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival, I sit down with Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, the founders of Cheap Old Houses, to talk about much more than old houses. Over the past decade, Cheap Old Houses has introduced millions of people to forgotten houses across America: places with peeling wallpaper, original woodwork, old kitchens, beautiful proportions, histories, and stories that might otherwise disappear. What began as an Instagram account has grown into a cultural phenomenon and a much larger conversation about how we think about home, history, architecture, preservation, and the places we choose to invest in. Elizabeth and Ethan have created something remarkable by helping people see possibility where others might see decay. In this conversation, we talk about why old houses continue to capture our imagination, and what it is about their imperfections, materials, craftsmanship, patina, and accumulated history that can feel so meaningful in an increasingly fast and digitally mediated world. We talk about the sensory experience of an old house: the perfect creak of a stair, secret nooks that carry magic. These details connect us to something tangible at a moment when so much of our lives are becoming increasingly virtual, automated, and shaped by artificial intelligence. We also talk about the enormous cultural footprint Elizabeth and Ethan have created through Cheap Old Houses and how their work has expanded beyond individual properties. Saving an old house in a small Midwestern town, a rural community, or another part of the country is not only about preserving a building. It can mean preserving a piece of local history, supporting a community, maintaining a sense of place, and giving a future generation the opportunity to encounter something that might otherwise have been lost. Stewardship is a central theme of our conversation. We talk about what it means to invest in an existing home rather than simply replacing it, and the environmental, financial, emotional, and cultural dimensions of restoring an old house. We explore sustainability not simply as a question of energy efficiency or environmental impact, but as a broader question of whether the things we build, repair, care for, and pass along can endure. There is a deeply human side to the work. Elizabeth and Ethan share stories from their own childhoods and experiences with houses and places, and we talk about why certain buildings stay with us. We discuss the emotional connection people develop with homes, the responsibility that comes with taking on an old property, and the idea that a house can belong to a much longer story than the people living in it at any given moment. Old houses often carry architecture, memory, culture, environmental stewardship, history, and human experience at once and is perhaps part of the reason Cheap Old Houses has resonated so deeply with such a large audience. In a culture increasingly oriented toward speed, novelty, convenience, and digital connection, there is something powerful about being reminded that some things are worth slowing down for, repairing, learning from, and carrying forward. This is a conversation about old houses, but ultimately, it is about what we choose to preserve, what we value enough to care for, and what we hope will still be here when we are gone. Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein are the creators of Cheap Old Houses, the widely followed platform dedicated to sharing affordable historic homes and inspiring people to preserve and restore them. Through their work, they have helped bring historic architecture and preservation into the mainstream and created a community of people interested in old houses, restoration, architecture, and the stories embedded in the places we inhabit. Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival is a podcast exploring home through stories, generational wisdom, and our relationship with the natural world. In this episode we confirm that home is never just a house, it is part of a much longer story.

Sep 22

Season Two Episode Two | A Conversation with Caleb LaRue on Carrying Ourselves with Curiosity

What does it mean to make a life of paying attention and to offer that attention in service of a more beautiful, grounded, and human way of living? In this episode of Things I Learned from My Mother, Bethany speaks with Caleb LaRue, a wallcovering hanger, painter, father, grandfather, and lifelong student of the world around him. With a background in biochemistry and religious studies, Caleb never set out to build a career in the trades. Yet what began as a practical way to support his growing family became a decades-long study in craftsmanship, curiosity, beauty, and human connection. Through his work in people’s homes, Caleb has learned to see the sacred in the ordinary: in the way a well-loved paintbrush changes over time, in the rooms where families live with dirty dishes, treasured objects, pets, unfinished projects, and in the care people take to shape their surroundings. He reflects on the influence of his artistic parents, his unexpected awakening to color and art, and the role curiosity has played throughout his life. For Arcadian revivalists, those seeking beauty, craftsmanship, attentiveness, and a deeper relationship with the places they inhabit, Caleb offers a practical and lived philosophy. His knowledge comes from working with his hands, entering people’s homes with humility, noticing what others overlook, and caring for what already exists. He offers a way of seeing ordinary materials, rooms, tools, and objects as carriers of memory, meaning, and possibility. At the heart of Caleb’s approach is a simple philosophy: stay curious. Curiosity is the seed from which creativity grows. Making space to wonder is essential to becoming more fully human. This is a conversation about beauty, faith, family, art, and the subtle ways we learn from one another. Most of all, it is an invitation to look more closely at the lives and places we inhabit, helping restore them with patience, skill, reverence, and care as we carry ourselves into each day.

Sep 15

Season Two Episode One | A Conversation with Pippa Biddle of Quittner

What does it mean to build a life around what you value? Season Two of Things I Learned from My Mother, from Arcadian Revival begins with Pippa Biddle, co-founder and co-owner of Quittner, the Hudson Valley lighting and homewares company she runs with her husband, Benjamin Davidson. Pippa begins by sharing one of the most formative experiences of her early life: working with Jane Goodall. From Goodall, she learned to step outside her comfort zone, live according to her values, and let those values guide the life she builds. We explore what it means to carry that philosophy into adulthood, from building a business to creating a home and finding a community that gives life meaning. We talk about staying true to yourself, finding joy in the way you live, and allowing the things you surround yourself with to reflect what matters to you. It is a fitting beginning to a season about home, generational wisdom, stewardship, and our connection to the natural world and one another. What is worth carrying forward? And how do our values shape the lives we choose to build? Welcome to Season Two.

06/10/2025

Season One Episode Seven | Where Everything Beautiful Begins: A Conversation with Beekeeper Anna Knapp

Welcome back to Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival, a podcast grounded in slow living, seasonal beauty, and the art of creating a life connected to land, lineage, and meaning through the lens of home. In this episode, host Bethany Khan steps away from the tangible work of creating home to explore a more poetic kind of living. She’s joined by Anna Knapp, a neighbor and kindred spirit in Saratoga Springs. Anna is a beekeeper, mother, educator, and community leader whose life embodies what it means to live in tune with the seasons. From her early fascination with bees as a child in New Mexico to her thoughtful approach to building community and slowing down in upstate New York, Anna invites us into a world where tending becomes a form of beauty, perseverance, self-discovery, and meaning through connection. So settle in. Pour a cup of tea, perhaps sweetened with local honey, and join us as we journey into the world of bees and the quiet lessons they hold about home, care, and the sweetness found in the smallest and most nuanced ways of the world.

06/06/2025

Season One Episode Six | The Art of Craftsmanship, Community, and Legacy with Master Craftsman Chuck Donnelly

Episode 6: "The Art of Craftsmanship, Community, and Legacy" with Master Craftsman Chuck Donnelly Things I Learned From My Mother from Arcadian Revival In this episode, I sit down with master craftsman Chuck Donnelly, a man whose work speaks for itself and leaves a lasting impression. Over the span of his rich career, Chuck has not only touched hundreds of home with his craft, he has carved out a career that speaks of pride of the spaces he has built, but also the relationships that he left room to cultivate along the way. Together, we explore the parallels between project and path. Chuck shares stories that carry the grain of wisdom earned only through time, patience, and a deep reverence for doing things the right way, especially when no one is watching. We talk about the exquisite millwork Chuck created here at our home and for the Arcadian Revival studio, and share a few of our favorite details, deep-rooted inspirations, those details that might initially go unnoticed, but make a space feel like home. In this conversation, craft becomes more than output. Millwork becomes a language of thoughtfulness, connection, and place. As a designer, Chuck brought me to my own deep path of appreciating millwork through a lens that I will always wear, a to a niche passion of mine within the building arts. Come sit with us in the stillness of good conversation. This is the kind of episode that reminds us that the best things often take time, and the most beautiful places are built rich with intention.

05/30/2025

Season One Episode Five | Crafting Home with Cabinetmaker Justin Steinberger

Episode Five – Crafting Home with Cabinetmaker Justin Steinberger: On Kitchens, Nature, and the Art of Getting Things Done Welcome back to Things I Learned From My Mother, a podcast by Arcadian Revival about creating home, cultivating community, and finding deeper connection to nature, our heritage, and to one another. In today’s episode, I’m joined by collaborator and friend Justin Steinberger, a cabinetmaker, father of six, devoted husband, and fellow dreamer rooted in the bucolic countryside of upstate New York. Justin not only helped design and build the kitchen in our home, but he’s someone who understands that true craftsmanship is about more than measurements and materials, it’s about listening closely to how people live. Our conversation moves from kitchen design into deeper territory: the balance between creative work and raising a family, the realities and rewards of small business ownership, and the quiet discipline it takes to keep showing up for both the big dreams and the daily to-dos. Justin shares his philosophy on cabinetry as a deeply personal expression of home, one that’s shaped not just by style or trend, but by the rhythms of everyday life. We talk about the power of place, especially the role that nature plays in shaping our work and our well-being. We reflect on what it means to step up to the plate, even when no one’s watching, and what it looks like to build a meaningful career doing something you believe in, one project at a time. We also look ahead at what’s next...some exciting collaborations we’re dreaming into being...and wrap up with a few thoughtful reflections from Justin on what homeowners should really know before diving into a kitchen or home design project, and how working so closely with people in their most intimate spaces has expanded his view of the world. This is an episode about craft, character, and connection. It’s about making space for beauty, for family, and for the kind of homes that feel as good as they look. If you’re craving that mix of inspiration and groundedness, pour a cup of something warm and join us. Follow along @arcadianrevival for more stories about slow living, seasonal design, and the art of building a life with care.

05/22/2025

Season One Episode Four | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Creating Community: Lessons on Expanding the Definition of Home with Dee Bowyer

Episode 4: Creating Community – A Conversation on Opening Our Home and How Experience Shaped the Creation of a Special Community In this fourth episode of Things I Learned From My Mother, I’m once again joined by my mom, Dee Bowyer for a heartfelt conversation about what it means to create community. This episode centers around the legacy of the seasonal craft shows my mother hosted for decades, events that were not just about handmade goods, but about building a home-based business rooted in people, the environment, and shared experience. We reflect on how these gatherings, often timed with the start of the holiday season (especially the week leading up to Thanksgiving), became annual rituals for so many in our Ohio hometown. Hundreds would come through our doors over the years, not only to support local artisans and small businesses, but to feel part of something meaningful, warm, and connected. I wish I could bring you there now. We also explore how those early memories shaped the work I do now through Arcadian Revival, creating a sense of place, belonging, and intentional living here in Saratoga Springs, New York. From porch gatherings to pop up shops and workshops and the stories we share through this very podcast, community remains a cornerstone of everything we build. This episode is a reflection on how giving to community nourishes not only others but ourselves. It’s a story about humble beginnings, handmade treasures, and the significance of connection. We hope you’ll listen in as we trace the roots of what “creating community” has meant across generations, and how it continues to grow. Tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts, and remember to subscribe so you won’t miss what’s next.

05/14/2025

Season One Episode Three | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Creating Home with Dee Bowyer

This episode is all about creating home. In this episode, my mom and I sit down to explore what it truly means to create home. We reflect on how design has been passed through generations in our family, not just as an aesthetic, but as a language of care, creativity, and continuity. From incorporating heirlooms that carry stories to embracing the rhythms of seasonal living, we talk about how the spaces we shape reflect the lives we lead. We also share design and styling tips for anyone starting from scratch, and how even the simplest decisions can turn a house into a home using what you have. One of the most thoughtful sentiments is from my mom talking about accepting change, and how the seasons allow us to embrace the mindset of an ever-evolving world. At its heart, this conversation is about designing with intention: making spaces that feel warm, lived-in, and welcoming. Home, after all, is less about perfection and more about meaning.

05/07/2025

Season One Episode Two | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Living Heirlooms and Lessons Learned from the Garden with Dee Bowyer

Hi, I’m Bethany Bowyer Khan and this is Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival, a podcast about creating home, community, and a deeper connection to nature and to one another. What does home feel like to you? Is there a scent, sound, or season that instantly transports you to a familiar place? Does it pull at a longing feeling for something warm, or inviting? For me home is a feeling…of love and acceptance, of empathy and understanding. It is a place of comfort and ease where we can feel inspired, can grow, and can be the best versions of ourselves. It is a place where lessons from the past help instill values for today. I connect to home through my own experiences of the smell of breakfast thoughtfully being made before I wake or the smell of the fresh summer air breezing through the windows of our century home filled with heirlooms and books where I grew up, I feel home through gardening, with my hands feeling the coolness of the earth between my fingers, of a hug, a shared glass of iced to after an afternoon of yard work, or the warmth of a familiar quilt wrapped around me while listening to a thunderstorm from the comfort of a porch swing on a summer evening. It’s the voices calling my name, laughter, dancing around our kitchen, reading stories at bedtime, and a million other things. At its core it’s about creating a place that is welcoming, while keeping in mind that it is a microcosm of the greater global community in which we live in and a just a piece of the larger natural world in which we call home. Here we’ll explore answers to this question through generational wisdom, shared perspectives, and from Mother Nature herself. Whether you’re here for something you learned from your mother (or father) or you’re a parent yourself or you’re just looking for that warm feeling from a guiding voice we hope you’ll find it here. This episode of Things I Learned from My Mother is rooted in the garden, but really, it’s about so much more. We sat down at the kitchen table to talk about how gardening has been a place of solace, restoration, and quiet discovery across generations. It’s where we’ve processed grief, reconnected with joy, and found our footing in seasons of change and growth. The episode, called 'Living Heirlooms | Lessons Learned from the Garden', opens with my mom and me reflecting on what we’ve learned while kneeling in the dirt together—and how planting became a way to keep going, a way of building home, and a quiet act of hope. These conversations, filmed around our kitchen table where we’ve sown seeds, arranged wreaths, made tea, told stories, played games, and shared meals, are where something shifts. The table holds more than just our hands—it holds memory, lineage, and the kind of truths that only come out when there’s a bloom in a vase and a kettle on the stove. If you’ve ever turned to your garden when you didn’t have the words, or if you grew up learning from someone who did, this episode is for you.

05/01/2025

Pilot | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Fixing Up Old Buildings with my mom, Dee Bowyer

Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival Episode 1 | Fixing Up Old Buildings Hosted by Bethany Bowyer Khan, Founder, Arcadian Revival Featuring Dee Bowyer A welcome In our very first episode of Things I Learned from My Mother, we begin with how we hope this podcast makes you feel. Hi, I’m Bethany Bowyer Khan and this is Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival, a podcast about creating home, community, and a deeper connection to nature and to one another. What does home feel like to you? Is there a scent, sound, or season that instantly transports you to a familiar place? Does it pull at a longing feeling for something warm, or inviting? For me home is a feeling…of love and acceptance, of empathy and understanding. It is a place of comfort and ease where we can feel inspired, can grow, and can be the best versions of ourselves. It is a place where lessons from the past help instill values for today. I connect to home through my own experiences of the smell of breakfast thoughtfully being made before I wake or the smell of the fresh summer air breezing through the windows of our century home filled with heirlooms and books where I grew up, I feel home through gardening, with my hands feeling the coolness of the earth between my fingers, of a hug, a shared glass of iced to after an afternoon of yard work, or the warmth of a familiar quilt wrapped around me while listening to a thunderstorm from the comfort of a porch swing on a summer evening. It’s the voices calling my name, laughter, dancing around our kitchen, reading stories at bedtime, and a million other things. At its core it’s about creating a place that is welcoming, while keeping in mind that it is a microcosm of the greater global community in which we live in and a just a piece of the larger natural world in which we call home. Here we’ll explore answers to this question through generational wisdom, shared perspectives, and from Mother Nature herself. Whether you’re here for something you learned from your mother (or father) or you’re a parent yourself or you’re just looking for that warm feeling from a guiding voice, we hope you’ll find it here. Fixing Up Old Buildings Today I sit down with someone who shaped my creative vision and sense of place more than anyone else: my mother, Dee Bowyer. Together, we trace the throughlines of our lives that have been built, sometimes quite literally, around the act of fixing up old buildings. From family farmhouses to historic main streets, and from old architectural gems of the south to New York City landmarks, this conversation is rooted in the kind of slow, intentional desire to preserve and make better what lies before us that has shaped both of our lives. We explore how the act of touching and tending aging structures is about more than just aesthetics or preservation…it’s about respecting what came before, and leaving things a little better than you found them. Whether you’re a lover of historic homes, a DIY renovator, a mother-daughter duo with a shared vision, or someone who believes in the quiet revolution of place-making, there is something for you in this episode. We’ll share stories of growing up in a multigenerational farmhouse and learning renovation lessons by trial and error, peeling back layers of newer construction and family heirlooms, community work that intersects with architecture, place, and dignity, the unspoken values passed from one generation to the next about care, craftsmanship, and resilience, and how we both learned, in our own ways, to trust our instincts. We hope this episode ignites a passion toward the power in restoration, not just of places, but of relationships, rhythms, and our own sense of purpose. Keywords for search & SEO: historic home renovation, women fixing up old homes, mother-daughter renovation team, sustainable home restoration, farmhouse living, old house podcast, DIY restoration, historic preservation, Arcadian Revival podcast, Bethany Bowyer Khan, Dee Bowyer, Things I Learned from My Mother, creative home design, rural revival, fixing up farmhouses, old building restoration, community development and design, generational wisdom, multigenerational home ⸻ Podcast Art Note The cover image for this episode was inspired by the botanical illustrations of a 19th-century Tennyson book cover found in the attic of our family’s farmhouse inscribed by one of my ancestors, a worn but beautiful piece of our story that felt just right for our beginning. ⸻ Produced by: Arcadian Revival in conjunction with Mary Laniewski @scout.ml ⸻ Follow and Subscribe Stay connected with Arcadian Revival and Things I Learned from My Mother across platforms: Instagram: @arcadianrevival Substack: The Arcadian Revivalist Website: www.arcadianrevival.com YouTube: Arcadian Revival on YouTubePinterest: Arcadian RevivalTikTok: @arcadianrevivalLinkedIn: Arcadian Revival on LinkedIn and Bethany Bowyer Khan on LinkedIn Subscribe and share if you’ve enjoyed our first episode. We cannot wait to bring you along on so many upcoming stories and adventures.

Things I Learned from My Mother from Arcadian Revival

Episodes

Season Two Episode Four | Gathering Lessons from the River with Todd Spire of Esopus Creel

Season Two Episode Three | All Things Cheap Old Houses with Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein

Season Two Episode Two | A Conversation with Caleb LaRue on Carrying Ourselves with Curiosity

Season Two Episode One | A Conversation with Pippa Biddle of Quittner

Season One Episode Seven | Where Everything Beautiful Begins: A Conversation with Beekeeper Anna Knapp

Season One Episode Six | The Art of Craftsmanship, Community, and Legacy with Master Craftsman Chuck Donnelly

Season One Episode Five | Crafting Home with Cabinetmaker Justin Steinberger

Season One Episode Four | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Creating Community: Lessons on Expanding the Definition of Home with Dee Bowyer

Season One Episode Three | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Creating Home with Dee Bowyer

Season One Episode Two | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Living Heirlooms and Lessons Learned from the Garden with Dee Bowyer

Pilot | Foundations of Arcadian Revival: Fixing Up Old Buildings with my mom, Dee Bowyer

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