Donate

Marion Meets Makers

A high-fidelity docuseries capturing the resilience, purpose, and mastery of America’s last master artisans, exploring the transformative impact of the handmade on human life.

Synopsis

Marion Meets Makers is an intimate, documentary series that explores the human stories and philosophies behind traditional manual trades in the United States. Rather than focusing purely on technical steps, the series serves as a record of the artisan's inner world, capturing the power of working with one’s hands in a digital age.

Through deep, personal conversations, the series goes inside the minds of these master creators, capturing the resilience, purpose, and skill required to keep heritage arts alive. Using a beautiful visual style, each episode weaves together regional history, cultural identity, and a shared passion for manual labor to show how making things by hand shapes human life, offering a striking alternative to modern consumer culture

Why Donate?

Documentaries do more than document history; they invite audiences to inhabit another world and build deep empathy for individual lives. This is essential for safeguarding America's heritage craftsmanship.

At its core, Marion Meets Makers serves as an essential archive of human dedication and artistry, documenting traditional trades that could otherwise be lost to time. In doing so, it also acts as an educational piece to inspire future generations to preserve these crafts and remember the incredible power of making things by hand.

The pilot episode, featuring a custom western bootmaker, is complete and on the 2026 festival circuit. Production is now underway for upcoming episodes featuring a stained glass artisan, a beadwork artisan, and a hatmaker.

Join the community and help save these vital stories! Your tax-deductible donation directly funds high-fidelity production logistics and on-location filming across America with these master artisans.

Donation Incentives (Tax-Deductible)

$0 - $250

A personalized thank you message from the director.

$251 - $500

A personalized thank you message from the director.
Special thank you in the credits of one episode.

$501 - $999

A personalized thank you message from the director.
Special thank you in the credits of one episode.
An invitation to a 1:1 Zoom call with the Director.

$1,000 - $2,500 (Friends of the Craft)

A personalized thank you message from the director.
A warm, prominent "Special Thanks" credit in the episode's closing crawl across the season.
An invitation to a 1:1 Zoom call with the Director.

$2,500 - $10,000 (Artisanal Benefactor)

A personalized thank you message from the director.
An invitation to a 1:1 Zoom call with the Director.
A standalone, dedicated "This Episode Made Possible by the Generous Support of [Patron Name]" title card at the beginning of an episode.
On-screen Co-Executive Producer credit in the titles of a specific episode.

$10,000+ (Grand Patrons)

A personalized thank you message from the director.
An invitation to a 1:1 Zoom call with the Director.
Prominent "Presented in Association with [Patron Name/Foundation]”.
On-screen “Executive Producer” credit in the main titles across season 1 (4 episodes).
Password-protected, advance digital access to the completed films 48 hours before any public or festival release.

Does your employer match donations? Thanks to our Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF, your donation may be eligible to be matched by your employer. Please inquire with your HR department or workplace giving program to see if they participate in donation matching.

Other Ways to Support

Spread the word about our project and share the stories of these incredible creators!

Crew

Creator, Director, Producer & Host: Marion Poggioli

After over a decade in ethnographic research and design, Marion transitioned to filmmaking to bridge the gap between scientific observation and cinematic art.
Her French heritage provides a "Old World" appreciation for tradition, while her San Francisco base offers a front-row seat to American innovation and grit.

Director of Photography: Cliff Traiman

Cliff Traiman is an award-winning Director of Photography and filmmaker whose film work includes acclaimed documentaries and features such as 26.2 to Life.
With over 25 years of experience, he brings a cinematic eye to stories that balance intimacy and scale, authenticity and craft.

Editor & Second Camera Operator: Joseph Hyun Su Chun

Joseph is a Bay Area–based editor, videographer, and storyteller with a deep passion for documentary filmmaking.
With years of experience shaping visuals and narrative, he brings Marion Meets Makers to life in the edit, crafting sequences that reveal not just what makers do, but who they are and why it matters to watch.