Jezebel: crafting

Handmade's Tale: Documentary Charts Rise Of The Crafting Mafia

Sadie — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EDT

Whether you regard the DIY crafting revolution as fun, empowering, radical, frivolous, an act of reclamation, an important response to consumerism, harmful to feminism, or merely cool, Faythe Levine's new documentary Handmade Nation will propel the conversation.

In this sneak peek at Levine's film, self-described "craft mafias" across the country talk about the importance of DIY in their lives - as an outlet for adult creativity, a reclamation of lost arts, a vehicle for radical action - and the dramatic growth of the movement.

Handmade Nation

Handmade Nation Trailer [YouTube]

Handmade Nation: Stop Animated Opening Title Sequence [YouTube]

Film: Handmade Nation [Mother Jones]
Crafty Comeback With Indie Edge [Washington Times]

#Crafts

Sadie — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:40:00 EDT

Check out these meta twitter cross-stitch samplers from Julie Zidel, who, subversively, manages to stretch 140 characters into (one imagines) several hours of hard labor. [MediaBistro]

In The Future, We'll All Wear Electronic Skirts

Sadie — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST

Alison Lewis wants to get women into crafting and electonics.

Alison Lewis, a former web designer and crafter, wrote her new book, Switch Craft: Battery-Powered Crafts to Make and Sew, "to change the way people craft," as she tells the AP. The book's projects range from the low-fi (iPod case) to the high-tech: "an illuminated skirt and wriggling squids for cats to play with."

The idea of technology and crafting intersecting - as they do on Lewis's Web show, "Switch" - is perhaps not unexpected, since both have entered the culture so assertively. While the book is not explicitly geared towards women, the fact that Lewis says she wants to make technology "less unfriendly" and involve a new audience, would seem to point towards overturning certain stereotypes.

On the face of it, the two hobbies - the high-tech and the homespun - would seem to appeal to two very different forms of confident neo-dorkery. But really, Lewis is right - why should they? Making things is awesome, and at this point, almost any kind of manufacture is within our power. If we started out reclaiming crafting somewhat ironically, why not technology? Disclosure: when I, a retro-crafter from way back, first heard about the book I thought, not for me. But a glance through it has kind of changed my mind, and I have an eye towards making the boom box-pillow thing as a gift for my brother. Then too, my dream of finally owning a working Electra costume and performing "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" now seems within even my power. One thing is for sure: Alison Lewis is that most admirable of creatures, a woman who's taken her passions, had the confidence to assume others would share them, and made it into a career. And who doesn't love that?

Designer melds tech, fashion in crafty electronics [AP]

Soft In The Head

Sadie — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:45:00 EST

Here at Jezebel, we have a fondness for cloth organs, and are glad to see it's a type of crafting that's really taking off.

Marjorie Taylor, who makes "scientifically accurate fabric brains," describes the appeal thusly: "I thought the folds of the cerebral cortex would be great in velvet." She has since made three brain quilts and is at work on an MRI rug. Karen Norberg, meanwhile, knitted a wool brain so accurate it is now in Boston's Museum of Science, and is now making her own neurotransmitter quilt. Both women's work can be seen at the virtual Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art. [New Scientist]