One never knows when one might launch a docu-series about local artisan makers—like KinForged, which is now available on YouTube.
For married team Keely and John Shofner, it happened in 2025 when they had some down time from their day jobs, which center around the motorsports industry.
Keely Shofner works in PR, running The KC Agency, while John Shofner shoots and edits video based on the motorsports world via his company, Corsa Works.
“The seed for the idea really came from John and his desire to shoot something different in the offseason of racing,” says Keely Shofner. “We were married in October, and he moved from Dallas to Sonoma County and really wanted to get a better insight into the area, and thought how fun it would be to film someone making honey.”
As these things sometimes go, the pair was unable to find anyone willing (or, interesting enough) to film making honey. So, while out on recon at Montgomery Village’s Made Local, they decided to broaden the scope of their initial vision.
“We went in to see if we could find some local makers through the store. That is how we were connected with Jim McVicar, who is featured in our second episode, ‘Wood, Wisdom and Time,’” she says.
From there, the duo met with McVicar to see if he might be right for the maiden KinForged voyage. And after they decided he was, it was … ahem, off to the races.
The “Wood, Wisdom and Time” video opens with a lovingly shot, high-definition video of McVicar practicing the tools of his trade. A small brush applies glue on a small, handcrafted piece of wood meant to hold together a larger piece. A sander, being run by hand, spews sawdust into the air. Then, McVicar fades in to not only offer a sort of thesis statement for his work and perhaps, inadvertently, the entire KinForged series.
“I really enjoy one-off projects,” McVicar says. “I don’t want to be a factory,” he continues as the video shows more cutting, sanding and staining of woodworking projects, mainly chopping and cutting boards sealed with olive oil and honey that he creates and sells online. In just two weeks, that video has 32,900 views on the KinForged YouTube channel.
The YouTube algorithm is the main force behind the high views, says Keely Shofner. But she notes that she also reached out to local press and did some online postings, with word of mouth playing a big part.
“Our hope [is] this brings light to the craft, skills, passion and hard work that goes into handmade goods,” she explains. Once episode one was in the can and posted online, she says she started deep diving on who to feature in the first “season,” which they’re hoping will be six episodes total.
Technically, the first released KinForged video, entitled “Crafting Freedom,” features a peek inside the workshop at Fitz Cyclez, John Fitzgerald’s Santa Rosa-based custom, hand-built, steel-frame bicycle business.
Much like the “Wood, Wisdom and Time” video, John Shofner trains his camera on the hands of the craftsperson, in this case softly focusing on Fitzgerald’s hands as they polish crafted steel. Other shots show very fine welding before the camera cuts to a bike tire, being ridden slowly, as if to check for balance.
At just under 16 and a half minutes, the “Crafting Freedom” video makes one feel as if they’ve been along for the journey of making a bicycle and then enjoying the fruits of the labor with a ride in scenic, foggy Sonoma County.
When asked how the duo came to work together, Keely Shofner says, “We actually met through work on a race team we were both working on in January of 2024.” Then she adds, “We instantly became friends, but didn’t start dating until August.”
From there, the two realized a compatibility, both professionally and personally, that had a natural flow.
“The nice thing is that because of our work, we already had all of the tools necessary to hit the ground running as a two-person team to produce the entire project,” she says. “We have had some learning curves in how this type of work is produced versus filming a race weekend. We also learned we need way more time with each maker than we had originally anticipated.”
When it comes to making the actual videos, Keely Shofner explains their process, saying, “We have an initial planning session where we lay out what we think we want to shoot based upon what we know up front. [Then], we spend a day filming while they work. And this isn’t where they describe what they are doing while they are doing it, but more of us being flies on the wall to get a better understanding of the process.”
And then, the Shofners craft questions that they have from initial filming as well as ones that will help direct the narrative. “In John Fitzgerald’s first interview, he talked about bike packing, and we did an offsite shoot of him and his friends bike packing from Santa Rosa to Bodega Dunes,” Keely Shofner offers as an example.
The shoots can also be an adventure, she adds, saying, “We spent the night camping with them and filmed their trip back as well,” before clarifying that she typically provides the interview questions as her husband, John, films the subjects.
As the series gains popularity, the Shofners are receiving all sorts of outreach from makers for potential upcoming videos. A natural question pops up in terms of how subjects are selected and if there have been any false starts as subjects or their passion don’t translate to video.
Keely Shofner admits, “All of the makers we are filming with now have had compelling stories. Really, that’s why we go through a vetting process initially, as we have had many people reach out that we wouldn’t be able to get enough content on their work to produce a 15-20 minute episode.” As for dream shoots, she says John Shofner hopes to one day capture Banksy in action. “How that would work I am not quite sure, but it would be amazing,” she adds with a laugh.
Another obvious question arises in terms of the immediate future of KinForged, as the couple are committed to the motorsports industry as a day job, and the racing season is revving up again.
While KinForged came to life as an interesting lark, Keely Shofner says, “We have absolutely fallen in love with telling the stories of each of the makers,” and they are already planning ahead. “We are working towards filming in some nearby states, then eventually globally. We plan to put out two chapters this year, and will possibly scale down to one chapter with longer episodes moving forward.”
She adds, “One day, we would like to be picked up by a streaming service and maybe do KinForged full time,” almost flipping a 180 with their day jobs. Indeed, having two outlets for work that they are passionate about seems like a good problem to have.
As duty calls, Keely Shofner closes out by saying, “We truly have gotten so much out of this. From meeting these amazing makers, to learning about their craft, to making new friends. It is something really special that we are both so proud of.” With more than 1,000 subscribers to their channel in under a month, it certainly seems like the passion and care of the KinForged stories is paying off.
The next episode of KinForged, entitled ‘Patterns in History,’ is set to drop April 17. All videos and more info at KinForged.com.
