Draft Craft Manifesto

I’ve been trying to pin down what is driving the increasing popularity of crafting for a while now. This is what I’ve got so far:
1. People get satisfaction for being able to create/craft things because they can see themselves in the objects they make. This is not possible in purchased products.
2. The things that people have made themselves have magic powers. They have hidden meanings that other people can’t see.
3. The things people make they usually want to keep and update. Crafting is not against consumption. It is against throwing things away.
4. People seek recognition for the things they have made. Primarily it comes from their friends and family. This manifests as an economy of gifts.
5. People who believe they are producing genuinely cool things seek broader exposure for their products. This creates opportunities for alternative publishing channels.
6. Work inspires work. Seeing what other people have made generates new ideas and designs.
7. Essential for crafting are tools, which are accessible, portable, and easy to learn.
8. Materials become important. Knowledge of what they are made of and where to get them becomes essential.
9. Recipes become important. The ability to create and distribute interesting recipes becomes valuable.
10. Learning techniques brings people together. This creates online and offline communities of practice.
11. Craft-oriented people seek opportunities to discover interesting things and meet their makers. This creates marketplaces.
12. At the bottom, crafting is a form of play.

UPDATE:

See Craft Manifesto in MAKE.

Comments

[Ulla-Maaria]

Wendy,
Thanks for your comment. This is an extremely interesting project you are doing, and it provides a concrete example of how people can start building a much more personal relationship to the objects they consume. Fashion as a cultural phenomenon still bears the idea that only the newest, the latest is desirable, and by purchasing the latest fashion, your credibility becomes renewed in certain social circles. As you well pointed out, we cannot afford to this kind of thinking. Our understanding of the fashion system (consumption, production, exchange) need to change into one where street fashion, vintage clothes, recycling, remodification and personalization of garments play a much greater role.

[Ulla-Maaria]

Another comment to artsandcrafts concerning the question "Why new marketplaces" in the Draft Craft Manifesto.
I read a study published by the Hobby Industry Association in the US, according to which the most common usage for craft projects is personal use or gifts. Some 15 % of the people that do handicrafting as a hobby also sell their products on-line, at fairs or in stores. I don't think people are making huge profits out of it, but surely it can provide some additional income to many.
In addition to crafters, there are hundreads of thousands of artists and designers in the world that do extremely intreresting stuff, but who are not getting much exposure to their creations. For me, the point about new marketplaces has to do with understanding what kind of infrastructure could provide a credible alternative to the hit-driven, centralized fashion industry.

[cimba]

Your blog and manifesto are very interesting. I also would like to add something: crafting can be (in my case is) a form of therapy, intended as an activity that you do primary for yourself (as a form of taking care) and that leaves you with an object you did with your hands, empowering your self esteem, in some ways. Maybe this fact can be called a form of relax, as stated, though maybe in some cases, for some people, crafting can be a relax time that also contribute to help "psychologically".
sorry for my english, thank you, ciao!

[Ulla-Maaria]

Grazie Cimba, that's a good amendment. I really like your blog.

[Fern Lady]

I just came across this and find it utterly intriguing and wonderful. I'll be sure to pass this on through my blog!

[Kerry Woo]

Ulla-Maaria,

Excellent! Thanks so much for helping to understand why there is a deep need to craft/create -

For me, whether it's woodworking, LEGOs, writing, drawing or even blogging, I believe that there is wellspring in creativity in each of us that our Creator placed in each of us. The things I can't craft are meant to be enjoyed via other vessels such as poetry, music, sculpture, dance, etc. I think the key is that we strive for excellence; that's where the deepest sense of pride and personal gratification comes from when we hear "well done".

My kids have made birthday and Father's Day cards for me on construction paper with collage images - these I cherish greatly. Maybe there is something to offering hand crafted gifts at Christmas or other times; could it be that a crafted gift is a among the deepest expression of love?

[BJ Fogg]

I saw you in Make magazine and figured I should visit your blog.

Very interesting!

In fact, it's downright refreshing.

--BJ Fogg
Stanford University
YackPack (Founder & CEO)

[Moon]

Exellent observation, and very inspertional.
By talking mainly when you were talking about craft and its hidden magical meanings, i was thinking about the INVISIBLE ARE concept, it's has got some very intersting link to the 'Almost Invisible Art' (AIA)?

""AIA is Art made for the sake of its own, without any explanation or excuses. AIA does not seek publicity and is not made for the sake of money. AIA is experiemental in its approach, and seeks to approach complexity in its own terms. AIA is about Action, not Re-Action, the Self of the Artist having Control over the production, working with hirself and others. AIA seeks to play with the idea of Invisibility. AIA is fiercly independent, yet designed for interaction with other performers. AIA is a form of Art available to everyone, working in a no budget/low budget setting just as well as with ample funds."

http://www.totse.com/en/ego/artistic_endeavors/162045.html

[JasonY]

Saw your Manifesto in Make magazine and reposted it on my site (with attribution and links). Hope you don't mind.

I love it! What a great way to think about the world. Thanks for summing up so well.

My wife and I have two big cutout aluminum letters on our living room wall: "LIVE" and "CREATE". They're there to remind us that the time we have is limited, and making stuff is a great way to use it.

Jason
Austin, Tx

[Utilly]

Brenda Dayne, (who writes quite often for Interweave Knits) sets out her knitters manifesto in her latest knitting podcast in which she riffs off your draft craft manifesto.

It can be found here:
http://www.cast-on.com