Crafting is Brand New!
I just read this article and I am wavering between feeling insulted and chuckling at the short sightedness of the young. I recognize it, I used to live there.
The author has written an article in which she declares crafting to be an emerging trend. Now, she says, crafting is merging with art and design and technology. I will give her the technology angle since it is also fairly new. And I will agree that technology is fabulous for crafters, it has opened up a world of sharing and exploring. I love it and I have been a crafter for ......well, a long time.
But, an emerging trend?
This is a topic my friends (the ancient crafters, apparently) and I have been discussing for about a year. I have noticed that the 30 somethings are all of a sudden into crafting in a big way. They have started a wave of crafts that they think is different than what has existed for "old ladies and kindergardeners." The author's words. Nice.
Some of my own personal observations:
- They think everything is new because they are just finding out about it. I attended an evening of make it take its last year at The Creative Connection. The room was filled with women younger than I. They were enthralled with the projects and techniques, one of which was tooling letters into leather. Yeah. That craft has been around since Pocahontas. And they made the same leather bracelet that she made.
- This new craft wave is wrapped around recycling and the green movement. That is a great thing. But, the new crafters are not using a lot of craft product yet. They will get there. They need to get into product and tools if they want company sponsorship.....and they do want it.
- Most of the crafting I have seen from this group has nothing to do with art or design. There is certainly nothing wrong with that since the point of crafting is making stuff for fun. 30 somethings are busy with lives, kids, and technology so they do not have the time or focus to study and take classes like the old crafters did. Decorative painters and quilters, for example, spent years honing their crafts. The new crafters look at a picture and copy it the best they can. They think they can sew without a lesson. And they are happy with that.
- The new crafters are eager for the very same crafts the seasoned crafters make. They love Mod Podge..... which is older than they are. They think Friendly Plastic is fabulous...I have seen three incarnations of FP in my crafting lifetime. Currently some of the hottest crafts are embroidery, knitting and crocheting, and card making. Nothing new to see here kids. Guess that makes them old ladies!
Seasoned crafters, this is an opportunity for us. We know a lot of stuff that the new crafters don't. They will love what we know, let's show them.
Share your Vitamin C!
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