On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Travis Smith about his love of sidewalk stamps! That term might not be immediately familiar to you, but you've probably seen them -- they're the imprints, usually of contractors' names, left in curbs, sidewalks, and driveways. They're not used much anymore, and most of us probably walk past them without really noticing them. But not Travis.

Travis seeks out these stamps, photographs them, researches them... they're meaningful to him in a way that their creators likely never imagined. We'll talk about when he started noticing them, why they captured his interest, how he looks for them, and what it all means to him.

You can see some photos of Travis and a few of the sidewalk stamps we encountered on a recent walk around Austin's north campus neighborhood on our KUT show page. And you can check out Travis's instagram page to see his own sidewalk stamp photos!

Tell us about your thing and apply to be on the show here!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Matt Jeanes about his love of vintage film photography. Matt's taken photos all his life, but a few years ago he made the switch back to using old-school cameras — the kind that use physical film. That quickly led to a hobby of collecting vintage and unique film cameras and a love of experimenting with different film, including some rolls that expired decades ago.

Matt shows off some of the cameras in his collection, which range from the sublime to the ridiculous -- he's got 1930s era cameras that look like works of art (and still work!) and a 1980s era Voltron toy that's also a working 110 camera. And lots more, too, of course!

We'll talk about the the unpredictable nature of using decades-old film in decades-old cameras, why that unpredictability is actually the point, and whyhe wouldn't have it any other way.

You can see a treasure trove of Matt's photos (and one photo I took of Matt using his vintage Minolta Hi Matic) on KUT show page.

Tell us about your thing and apply to be on the show here!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with David Karp about his love of crocheting and knitting (as any crocheter or knitter will tell you, those are two separate but related yarn-based arts). David kind of stumbled into the hobby, deciding to work on a crochet kit after his kids lost interest in it. Much to his surprise, he fell in love with yarn hard and fast.

We'll talk about his origin stories, how he discovered that crafting with yarn quieted his mind and soothed his PTSD more than just about anything else, and so much more!

We're always looking for more interesting things to talk about so tell us about your thing and apply to be on the show here!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org