‘ I don’t think you need to distinguish craft by itself: so much craft work is now integrated into visual art and design and illustration. Its more a process than a movement.’ James Gulliver Handcock.
Craft is a skill that we immediately associate with the making of objects. However, now it seems to have become much more. It encompasses design, art and illustration. This new definition of craft is exactly what we are seeing re-appearing in Britain, America and worldwide.
Previously, craft has been a product of artists and professional crafts people. Now it is emerging from the streets. Craft groups are being founded in cities and small communities alike. Teenagers are learning new skills and the modern career woman is taking the time to learn sewing and knitting. Domestic crafts neglected due to a rise in feminism are welcomed back into an ever increasing, ethically aware society.
In addition to the ethical motives behind this movement, craft really has become ‘cool’. With celebrities such as Uma Thurman and Sarah Jessica Parker leading the way towards such a crafting revolution, a younger crowd are eager to follow suit.
‘
DIY is the punk rock of the craft world.’ Andrew Wagner, founding editor of Dwell Magazine.
This quote sums up the new movement of craft. It is exciting, fresh and full of energy. It is about creating new and individual work that is desirable to a wider market. It is also fundamentally about making a living doing what you love.
The new crafter produces work that appeals to them. This turns consumerism on its head. Crafters are not primarily working with the consumer in mind and the products are not restricted by limitations of mass production.
This, in effect, is what makes the re-appearance of craft so exciting. As well as encouraging crafters to make a living from selling their work, the DIY movement also encourages individuals to try making for themselves.
‘For me crafts are an extension of a DIY lifestyle. If someone is excited about something I make, I tell them that they can do it themselves also, just to remind people that they can do everything, that anythings possible’. Jenine Bressner .
We must ask what has contributed to this gradual if not sudden rise in the practice of craft.
Alison Burke from ‘American Craft’ suggests that the revival of craft is a result of,
‘fresh teaching in art schools, a sophisticated consumer and a government that is supportive of creative industries.’This generation of crafters have graduated from universities that have a very liberal attitude when referring to the arts. Craft, textile and illustration courses are diverse in content and encourage the student to pursue their own interests and influences.
However not all crafters are young graduates. Keen knitters and stitchers are now encouraged to be proud of their talents. Knitting groups of all ages and backgrounds are being established and flourishing in all areas of the world. A growth in support for all things creative has seen a definite influx in these groups in recent years.
An initiative in Britain to promote Craft was the Craft Councils 2007 mission to ‘
make craft exciting and relevant to a broader audience.’
In one year alone we can see the results of this initiative by the development and growth of craft in Britain. The Craft Council promotes craft through fairs such as Origin and Collect. These fairs raise the profile of craft and close the boundaries between itself and fine art.
‘
The flagship UK Craft event left me feeling a bit cold last time I went in 2006. I thought it was a tad too up market and whilst there was a lot of great work on display it felt a bit like a gallery or actually a museum. It felt dead. To them craft is undertaken by a privileged artistic few and the arbiters of quality are the gallery curators.’ James, Folksy Blog.This article continues further to imply the benefits of the internet and our ability to chose a more accessible form of craft. It is important to realise that the DIY culture we are discussing is not the high brow craft displayed in galleries. It is work that is accessible to the public by craft fairs, websites, and blogs. It is produced by everybody for everyone.
In recent years we have seen a rise in the number of groups that promote and encourage craft. The groups vary from organisations that have a community based manifesto, to those who are working for themselves, promoting their work.
In the USA there is a wealth of such organisations, so much that it has been tagged the ‘Handmade Nation’. An abundance of crafters with an
‘anti-industrial, anti institutional and highly entrepreneurial manifesto’ ( The New York Times) take part in regular craft fairs that are community events.

Fairs such as the Renegade Craft Fair and the DIY Trunk show are common events in the USA. These showcase a whole array of designers who are making a living from their own skills.


This opportunity to show work is invaluable to any designer. It is also an excellent source of inspiration and a place to network with other crafts people.
Britain does not yet have a culture like this in place that so fully promotes entrepreneurial business between craftspeople. However, craft organisations and fairs are starting to emerge throughout the country, especially in cities such as Glasgow and Manchester where there is a growing indie community. Glasgow recently held ‘Made in the Shade’ craft fair that is now to be held annually.
Other new British craft fairs are Clutter City in Norwich and Manchester Craft Mafia Markets. Bust Craft fair, in collaboration with feminist magazine Bust, is also coming to London. Debbie Stoller founder of Bust, promotes craft and feminism. She started the first Stitch and Bitch group in the USA.


The Craft Mafia founded in Austin, Texas have three organisations in Britain; Nottingham, Manchester and Glasgow. The Craft Mafias are promoting crafty businesses within the city. They are an initiative that encourages crafts people to make and sell. These are the first of this nature in Britain and will hopefully be influential in establishing a thriving craft scene.
‘
We want to help kick-start the new wave of . . .
. . . entrepreneurial crafters sacking the rat race and finding other ways to make a living . . . people crafting en masse and in public . . . anyone hiding an inner crafter . . . and everyone who just loves buying, finding or making something that bit different.’ Manchester Craft Mafia Website.

Crafting in public or within a group has been a large contributing factor to the re-emergence of craft in Britain. Taking craft into the public has raised its profile and made it clear that, yes, it is okay to craft! It has also encouraged younger generations to learn new skills. Working within a group has made a once, singular hobby now something that is sociable and therefore more enjoyable.
The Make Lounge in London has been set up with this in mind. It is an establishment that holds workshops related to crafting techniques. Founded by Jenny Pirtle, it was a response to a lack of existing workshops in London. Pirtle wanted to participate in an activity that was the opposite of working on her computer. Herself and other career women alike were in need of a respite from everyday life in the office. Not only is it a good place to learn new skills and meet others, it is a retreat and a surprising therapy to counteract the strains of fast paced careers.

Pirtle states:
‘craft is fashionable and exciting right now, I wanted to create a space that reflected that.’The Make Lounge is an attractive proposition for young women. As the Daily Mail points out,
‘a girls night out that was once a glass of pinot grigio, is now seeing 20-30 somethings spending their evenings learning a host of new pursuits.’In Britain, knitting groups have seen a huge increase in recent years. Knitting of all the crafts has experienced the largest renaissance.
John Lewis reported it sold 93,000 balls of wool in a week. Many knitters have referred to knitting as the new yoga, likened for its relaxing qualities. Various factors attribute to the mass knitting revolution and we will look further at this in following chapters. The groups which foster this craze for knitting range from ‘knit and natter’, to more subversive groups such as Cast Off.
Knit and Natter originates from the Stitch and Bitch groups established in America by Debbie Stoller. They are an opportunity for knitters of all abilities to meet and discuss their work. It encourages the crafter to proceed with their work and it gives reason and incentive to finish projects.
Cast Off is a knitting group founded by Rachel Matthews and Louise Harries. They vow to ‘never knit in the same place twice’. Cast Off aims to introduce knitting to a wider audience by taking it out into the public. As a result Cast Off is at the forefront of media attention. They challenge where it is acceptable to knit. The Savoy, the London Underground, local bars and pubs, have all been visited by the Cast Off group. They are questioning the publics perception of knitting. They aim to,
‘promote the art of knitting as a healthy, contemporary and creative pastime, through a club dedicated to craft’.
Groups like Cast Off, Knit Knit (a knitting zine) and ‘Knitta’ (extreme knitting, graffiti tagging) recognise knitting as a rebellion, a statement against feminism and consumerism. Gerard Allt of fashionable yarn shop, ‘I Knit’ values the benefits knitting has on the community and on personal achievement.
‘
Knitting is all about love and giving, and community....and the other thing is that knitting is really empowering: it teaches you that you can make something for yourself. There’s no feeling of satisfaction like looking at something that you’ve made yourself.’ Gerard Allt.This chapter has only briefly touched upon the growing amount of crafters, organisations and groups that are emerging as part of the indie craft movement. It is important to reflect that these craft groups are unlike the art and contemporary craft world we have been used to in Britain. This DIY culture is a fresh, new approach to craft that is exciting and infectious. It is as much a reaction to consumerism and politics as it is to entrepreneurialism and design. In the following chapters I will look at the main contributing factors to this re- emergence of the craft world, the DIY Culture and indie craft fairs. I aim to discover why the USA and Britain really are turning into a ‘Handmade Nation’.