On one hand, I am so sad I’m just now finding this podcast in 2025. On the other, I am thrilled because there are so many back episodes to binge and catch up on. Zak’s voice is so calming, and his questions and insight are so insightful and thoughtful. His work and his podcast are inspiring and I’m so glad to have found it via his Textile Talk with Heidi Parks recently!

Zak’s tender conversations with his thoughtful guests are keeping my cup filled up these days. Each episode is an invitation to be a little more honest and vulnerable in art-making. To take the first step, again and again toward being the change we wish to see in the world and to make a soft space for others to do the same. Big gratitude, Zak. Keep going.

Seamside is my favorite podcast for exploring the world of textiles. Zak is the most thoughtful host. Thank you Zak for making my stitching days more interesting and inspiring. A quilty nook fan! Brooke Albrecht

I’m a new nookster and just learned about this podcast. It’s providing me a great companion while I’m sick in bed and stitching this week. I am loving hearing from all the different artists, just eating up all the ideas and perspectives! Thank you!

Thank you for this warm and friendly podcast which I listen to while working in my studio. It renewed my deep love for textiles.

This is my new favourite podcast! The conversations are natural and dive deep into the emotional and practical realities of creative and intelligent textile artists. Zak is an expert interviewer and conversationalist. These are gems. Thank you Zak and the guests for all these wonderful words!

I often listen to Seamside while in my car driving across Brooklyn to Staten Island to New Jersey where I spend the weekends decompressing from my work schedule as a therapist and looking forward to being with my textile projects and walking along the beach with my dogs. It’s perhaps strange to say but while I listen, I tend to feel that Zak and his guests are actually in the car driving along with me. Zak feels like a colleague or friend, and his discussions with other textile artists on his podcast always feel intimate and warm, the way conversations with friends feel. Zak’s interview style is related, curious, and connected which makes him a good listener, a great questioner, and a playful human being. I’m writing this review to let others know that this podcast is truly one of my favorite resources for exploring the world of art and craft using textiles. It provides me with a community of people who have the same passion for art and creativity that I have, and helps me navigate the traffic from Brooklyn to Asbury Park each Thursday evening. So if writing a review helps Zak to get more guests on Seamside and continue holding space on the Quilty Nook, I’m happy to support!

Textiles and deep thinking, with such a lovely host and the most amazing guests! I am always inspired both creatively and intellectually by the wide array of exciting topics. Sometimes I even listen to episodes more than once! 11/10 would reccomend for quilters, textile enthusiasts, and really anyone!

I’ve loved this podcast for a long time, but the episode with Russell James Barratt was just extraordinary. I loved imagining the pieces as they discussed them, but then seeing the images blew my mind—so inspiring. Thank you thank you!

I’m a long time listener, if somewhat inconsistent. Every now and then I pop back in to see what’s been happening here, let a few hours play, and play with fabric. It’s like I’m listening into a great conversation between friends, whoever it is Zak’s chatting with. Thanks so much for the work you do.

I learned about Zak's podcast recently, and it has been so thought provoking and inspiring. It came to me at a perfect time where I'm just starting to learn about quilting. Zak tells stories and interviews his guests in the friendliest and most comforting way. I also have roots in the Carolinas, and this podcast reminds me of home.

Thank you, Zak, for sharing your gifts with the world. My love affair with textiles began when I received my first sewing machine at 11 years old. Sewing and all things creative have literally saved my life and continue to help me heal from the loss of my son to suicide two years ago. Finding you and your work have been a big piece of my healing puzzle. Thank you!

Just listening to Zak and Coulter Fussell in conversation - got her humbly brilliant fingers on the pulse of this world. Lots of deep intelligence threaded through your podcast, Zak - way beyond quilting and textiles, while never straying far, because it can all be found right there. Thank you.

The questions are deep & Zak’s voice is calm. There is laughter and lightheartedness, as well as an exploration of the hardships and difficult sides to human life. This show has helped me deepen my creativity. Each conversation has kernels of wisdom and sparks of joy. & the episodes that are deep dives into Zak’s quilts are so inspiring and thoughtful. There is no podcast I would rather listen to. Thank you Zak.

I’ve listened to 2 episodes and already have so many new ideas for quilts. They’re inspiring and heartfelt ❤️❤️ also when Russel mentioned PRINTABLE FABRIC in the latest episode that further stretched what’s possible with quilts. Thanks for what you do!

Thank you, Zak, for this fabulous and always poignant podcast. I started listening in Oct. 2023 when I discovered quilting and have not missed an episode. Rating and reviewing because you always ask so nicely in your opening and I want everyone with an interest in textiles to know about this. MUST LISTEN!

Zak has a velvety, calming voice, and it feels like a friend who guides me along my quilting and life journey. His podcast makes me think about quilting, fabrics, and even life in a different way. Each week I look forward to the new episode and it is a companion as I work on my current project. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone who wants to broaden their creative process!

Found this podcast at the exact time I needed it. I’ve only listened to maybe 4 or 5 and not in any order. the one with Paolo Arao being my fave so far. This is all about creativity and inspiration. It is refreshing and much needed to shift the focus away from turning everything into making money. Every episode has me near tears as my brain remembers what it was like to be flooded with emotion and color and light. Thank you!

I love this podcast. I come to each new episode knowing, for sure, that I will 1) feel blissed out by the tempo and the tenor and the whole vibe that Zak creates with his guests; 2) feel so very awake with inspiration and new ideas to think through; and 3) feel so ready to get back to my own creative practice. A great listen for creative folks of all stripes.

Oh Zachary (did I spell that correctly?), you are a gift to this planet and most especially to all the artists on it. This podcast is about textiles; their histories, their people and the stories they tell. But also, and maybe more so, its about being human, being soft, being compassionate and being raw. The guests Zak finds are treasures in themselves but Zak’s soft southern voice opens people up to the most beautifully insightful conversations. Maybe it was Zak’s years with high schoolers that taught him how to listen with such devotion… whatever it was, it shows in both his art and his interactions with his friends/guests. He mentions in an early episode that Zak sees himself as a lighthouse (one of a great many). That seems to fit. I was a bit lost at sea with my artistic practice and Zak and his guests (and friends on the Nook) have shown me the shore. In this country, at this time, gentleness like Zak’s is a great rarity. When you find it, you hold it close (and listen to each new Seamside episode the second it comes out). Thank you Zak, you’re a gem.

Zak puts words to how we feel about textiles and fabrics. His calm and inviting manner lets the conversations with his guests flow as if we are there right with them. The topics are challenging, and understood at the same time. The conversations open the creative doors and encourage us to find our creative directions. You’ll be inspired!

Zack is a treasure. My favorite episodes are his personal ones that are meditations on his work. I am so calmed and inspired, and I love his sweet heart. Bless you, Zak, from this old Southern sewist!

I have been enjoying listening to Seamside as I drive. I feel like I am sitting in on a conversation with friends. Zak is a great host and storyteller and somehow makes me feel like I’m there in the room with him. It reminds me of a feeling I get at a few wonderful small restaurants - I feel like I am a guest in someone’s home. Thanks Zak for letting us in, for sharing and encouraging.

to listen to Zak’s podcast. Each interview I’ve heard contains at least one nugget of goodness that continues to resonate with me long after I’ve listened to it. In particular, I had to write a review after listening to Zak’s interview with Paolo Arao. As a Filipino quilter, I was delighted to hear from and about another Filipino textile artist—thank you, Zak!

i have learned more from the interviews on Seamside than taking a college course in textiles! and met some exceptional artists… thank you zak for such thoughtful interviews…

Oh my, so glad to have stumbled upon this podcast! As a textile artist, I appreciate hearing from others with like philosophies and such interesting takes on their own practices. Zak is an excellent interviewer and host. Having this podcast to listen to helps get Me out to my studio faster!

Zak’s podcast is magic ✨

I love this podcast because it never fails to inspire. Zak’s takes on creativity are something special in the quilting world.

Seaside is so deep - and so light! I love sewing while listening to others discuss the many seasons and thoughts from within their own processes. I love how sewing and quilting grounds us to this connection of stories. I love what you accomplished with this Zak, thank you! basically, love, love, love listening to Seamside :) And how it fills some of the gaps in bringing together community around fibers, to have space for these discussions. Listening to others definitely influences me in a good way. I loved the nuances of talking about making space, empty space to start fresh with Nick, and even NOT doing things and still being a quilter with Jennifer. There is such life lessons in all this - listening to people take their art seriously and not so seriously - as I'm sewing away too.

I’ve inhaled this beautiful podcast today the first cool breeze after a long hot summer! Highly recommended for artists of all kinds (which means all y’all).

For introducing us to quilters and artists through your podcast. I never miss an episode and repeat listen as well.

Zak is a fantastic artist. He makes wonderful art—quilts and textile goods and the like. His work has elements of traditional, elements of innovative. It’s all great. It’s all really, really wonderful! HOW ABOUT as a philosopher, have you met a deeper thinker? Zak is someone who entertains different sides of the issue, the dilemma, the conversation. He’s answered your questions, and he has sparked so many new ones. AND HOW ABOUT as a communicator, have you met someone who connects better with each person he comes across? With his guests, of course, but also in random encounters elsewhere. He make each of us feel important, like we’re an important part of his family. Zak is a gift. And his ability to make us better thinkers and better communicators and better connectors and better people cannot be understated.

Seamside is such a relaxing listen…always positive and fun!!

Each time I listen to Seam Side, I learn something new and exciting! The various artists inspire me to be open to new ways of expressing creativity and Zak allows them so much time and space to share their ideas and habits slowly so we can picture them in our own mind’s eye. And…I like the introductory music!

Zak brings such peace, joy, and magic to each conversation. I love the big and little talks with each artist. I always feel inspired after listening.

I have been really enjoying listening to Seamside. As a member of The Quilty Nook I have been aquatinted with Zak for a while now. I am new to Seamside though. All the different artists have such different views on how they relate to the world, themselves, and their creative work, and they help me wonder about how I relate to the world, myself, and my current recreational fabric art life. Thank you Zak for bringing all these people to me so I can expand my own world view right from my tiny rural American town.

The best kind of big, deep, generous, enthusiastic art talks! I don't even know how to sew but I love these.

I love this podcast! Zak’s conversations with other quilters manage to be at once very mellow, wildly inspiring, and profoundly mind-expanding. I listen to certain episodes more than once—they are *rich* and often influence my perspective and creative work. Grateful for it! Thank you. 🙏🏼🦋

I love this podcast and look forward to each episode. Zak has such wonderful spirit! I really enjoy the variety of artists he features and the intimate conversations around textile and textile art. His interviews are so thoughtful and really engaging! Five stars!!

zak's authenticity kind of reveals the truth of his guests...this revelation is the ultimate creative act. coulter is the best!

Hi! I just listened to your podcast go the first time and feel inspired and connected. I am new to quilting, but have been a maker, crafter, artist my whole life. A friend of mine @kadeyweaves recommended your podcast to me, and I’m so glad she did! While listening, I was motivated to start my layout for my first large quilt with oh so many small, puff squares. Thank you for your conversations which feel like I’m tagging along in a conversation with an old friend. Besos!!

I really appreciate your interview style. We as the listener are able to get a true glimpse into the guest as an individual, as well as their approach to their craft and/or business. I am so glad that I found your podcast. Emily

Seamside has been an absolute gift to me. It helps me to remember that we’re all human, and that we all experience challenges in our everyday lives. Seamside takes these conversations and shares the impact it can have on our textile practices. I love hearing how artists confront their difficulties by making creative outlets for the world to feel and see. I just listened to Zak’s conversation with Lou Gardiner. I have fallen in love with her Cape projects. Oh my gosh!! “A must listen to”! Beverly

I love your gentle way of communicating with your guests and the way you bring in not only their work but their lifestyles I keep your podcast for when I have to walk on the treadmill (which I find deadly boring) and it’s beautiful way to take me to a place that’s lovely

The open and honest conversations that Zak engages in with an astoundingly rich variety of accomplished guests is such a pleasure to be apart of. Never before has a podcast conferred such a feeling of home for me. This podcast is a source of inspiration, a salve for those of us who don’t feel like “real” artists because we work in a “craft” medium or on the side, and a community and family for those without a tangible stitching circle. Thank you, Zak and guests, for putting this lovely work into the world.

There is incredible richness in this podcast, I love hearing about all of the meaning and humanness in Zak’s textile work and that of his guests

Zak’s gift is not only his talent and the art he produces but his humanity and how he’s able to authentically connect to others. The discussion of the process of creating art and navigating life is equally important. He is able to present a beautiful perspective without judgement that makes listening as joyful as his the colorful pictures of his work on Instagram. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

What a fun, and informative podcast. There’s so much to love about quilting, and this podcast shines a bright light.

This is just the conversation I want to be privvy to as I pick up my needle and stitch. As I listen, it feels like I have good company, like-minded folks who understand as we draw the needle in and out, together.

I don’t write podcast reviews, but I MUST this time. Every one of these interviews gets better and better. I’m a picky podcast listener. I want every moment to be worthwhile or I just can’t. I love love the thoughtful questions, amazing guests…Zak creates a comfortable and intimate space for the interviewer and listener to reflect and listen and feel. I don’t think you have to be a maker to enjoy these episodes, but it sure is nice to sew while listening. I can’t wait for the next one.