Mark Sherman learned his first string figure “Cup and Saucer” at the age of five. At the age of eight he bought Caroline Furness Jayne’s String Figures and How to Make Them, and learned them all. In 1982 he joined the String Figure Association based in Japan. During his post-doctoral studies (1987–1989) Mark wrote his first book, Kwakiutl String Figures, which he co-authored with Russian ethnographer Julia Averkieva. Between 1984 and 1992 he contributed several articles to Bulletin of String Figures Association. Then in 1993 Dr. Hiroshi Noguchi, the journal’s editor, asked him to take over. He renamed the journal, recruited several associate editors, and created a web page for the Association. During the subsequent 30 years ISFA Press, which Mark founded, has published several hundred articles on string figures.