Mar
22

More media!

Welcome to all our visitors from The Age! Please come on in, grab a cup of tea and make yourself at home. It is lovely to meet you

For you other visitors who rambled in from elsewhere, welcome too! And you might wanna look at the article ’cause it’s got lots of great people in it. Even better, go check out a paper copy of M (that comes with the Sunday Age) and see the super stunning picture of Pip on the cover and the spunky Gemma on the inside.

It’s a good read too. It was nice to see what other people round the traps are thinking about it all. I recommend checking out all the people in the story cause they’re all doing great stuff!

Isn’t it nice to see the media finally sitting up and taking notice to all this cool crafty stuff going on. Much more interesting than nudey photos if you ask me.

Those of you who came visiting looking for something a bit crafty, possibly a bit smutty and definitely a bit boozy to come along to, check out the next Craft Cartel gig on April 5th at Bebida. Yes, Trash Bag Rehab is here for anyone who’s overdosed on cutesy craft crap.

trashbagrehab

Read all about it here. It’s gonna be a regular thing and it’s gonna be dirty, dirty fun. See you there!

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Tags: craft cartel, gemma jones, meet me at mikes, trash bag rehab

Posted in Craftiness Craftivism Fun stuff Media Tutorials/Patterns
5 Comments Posted by Rayna

scrabblewymer says:

March 22, 2009 at 2:07 am

read the Age article and while it is great to see craft in the mainstream media it is disappointing to read more than half the article yet again makeing it sound like people 20 – 35 have exclusively invented this ‘new craze’. I was so pleased to see by the end of the article someone over forty(!! – good grief) voicing the view that it was wonderful for so many people to explore a non commercial activity but that some of what is produced is hobbyist crap – as it has ever been! Many women over 35 have grown up in a home with a sewing machine and a mother and grandmother with ‘craft skills’ and have gone on to make, sew, mend, create, wear, opshop, exhibit, plant, share, learn and enjoy, and you know what, many of us are still doing all of that without a website. Which is not to say I don’t enjoy the creators’ websites very much, just that it’s not actually a new idea, and if it wasn’t continually posited as a youth activity, some ‘youth’ might actually learn something from an over forty feminist.
Yeah!

kakariki says:

March 23, 2009 at 10:45 pm

Hello!

I think I have to agree and disagree with you. I don’t think that the article really said that. Certainly I know I don’t see it that way. And some of the women in the story are people I know and I’m pretty sure they don’t see it that way either.

Every time I get interviewed by the media about the upsurge in young people crafting I always stress that it is a certain demographic and there are plenty of people across different cultures and income levels that never stopped crafting. But sadly that part of the story never gets a run.

I think it’s important to remember that we are talking about corporate media here. Certainly if you look at any documentation of the movement produced from within the movement, there’s a lot stronger emphasis on the ongoing nature of the handmade culture.

But yes the ‘new’ part of this story is definitely the influence of the internet. I simply couldn’t do what I’m doing without it and I think that’s worth acknowledging.

And the story is similar for so many other young women, especially those in isolated communities. Yes, there is a prevalence of ‘crap’ being made and sold but at least it’s crap being made by us and used by us, on our terms and not crap being made in sweatshops and sold to us by mass media campaigns designed to make us feel inadequate.

But while I’m engaged online with a website and a store and an extensive network of crafters, it’s my small local stitching group made up of retired women that I love the most. And where I’m supposed to be now!

I’m interested to hear what others think about this. What are your experiences?

pip says:

March 23, 2009 at 11:20 pm

I think it’s great that everyone feels so passionately about how craft fits in to their own lives.

I think you’d be struggling to find someone who DIDN’T have a grandmother or mother who crafted – and I think that means that craft is NOT a fad or fashion – it’s an intrinsic part of our lives, in the same way as cooking, reading, gardening etc. Most of us grew up with craft in our homes – and are leading creative lives because of that.

I think it’s really interesting that some people seem to claim more rights to making things then others I also think it’s really interesting that people constantly relate craft back to commercial contexts.

Despite the fact that I own a store that sells craft – I think craft is a rite of passage for us all – rather then a commodity. It should be accessible to everyone – and should be free to be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Regardless of it’s saleability. I don’t think saleability is the issue. I think learning and sharing is what is important.

When did making stuff become so elitist, I wonder? Why are we so hung up on people earning the right to make things? Why must we prove our crafty heritage to be accepted by some crafty types? Why is it necessary to say ‘I’ve been doing this longer then you have’, I wonder?

I’m certainly not saying that you shouldn’t strive to be GREAT at your craft. I think practice and improvement is really important. But so is enjoyment.

Our craft group has members aged 9 through to 60. It’s inclusive. Surely that’s what craft is all about?

Why does it matter if Esmerelda down the road has made an awful tissue box cover, as long as she had fun doing it?! And just say she tries to sell her tissue box cover on Etsy? Who is that hurting? Give her a go, I say. At least she got off her butt and made something.

Rachelle says:

March 29, 2009 at 7:07 am

Hi there,

I’m the author of the piece in The Age, and I’m glad it generated so much discussion in craft circles! Just to clarify, I wasn’t trying to imply that 20 -35 year olds are the only one’s doing craft. Rather, they’re the ones who’ve mainly supported the avant-garde side of the craft movement, which has been a new thing in the past few years. I got this demographic from all the people I interviewed, and ran it by nearly everyone I spoke with, so I was only going with the figure my research uncovered. I know there are older people doing all sorts of craft, but this seemed to be the main age range of people joining groups such as Kaotic Kraft Kuties, etc.

Anyway, thanks everyone for letting me have a glimpse into the craft world, and thanks for the feedback – I appreciate all of it. And I’ll continue to buy handmade things – I’m addicted! Cheers, Rachelle

March 31, 2009 at 10:46 pm

Hiya Rachel

Thanks for stopping in to say hi. I don’t think you did imply that those are the only people doing craft. I think the article was great! Fantastic to hear you’re a handmade fan. Hope to see you at Trash Bag Rehab to make your own things

xox