Family History and the Indie Craft Movement

I was introduced to the world of craft fairs at a young age. I come from a family of artistic and creative people, so I feel as though I’ve always been part of this crafting world, even when I was only a spectator. My grandpa (my mom’s dad) was an artist, although not by trade. (I think that was probably natural for his generation. He had to drop out of art school because his work hours changed, and he had a family to support.) His particular specialty was drawing cartoons, the great 1930s- and 1940s-style cartoons, featuring his friends and family. Both of my grandmothers were also crafty. My closet still contains several dresses my mom’s mom sewed for me. My dad’s mom taught me to crochet, to cross stitch, and to make decorated cakes, and she always had some sort of project for me to work on at her house. I still have the afghan she made for me when I was a kid (all the grandkids got one). She was the one who really introduced me to craft fairs. She and my dad’s sister always had some sort of project going and were always selling things at craft fairs. I think they have done or tried just about every craft known to woman (or man) except knitting, which is a bit surprising, considering that knitting is my craft of choice.

Later generations have continued the interest in arts and crafts. My mom has painted, crocheted, and quilted. My mom always encouraged us to make things ourselves, telling us that a gift we made was better than anything we could buy. My cousin is studying to be an art teacher. My sister has a BA in Graphic Design, an MFA in Visual Art, and a Certificate in Fashion Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After exploring cross stitching, crocheting, card making, jewelry making, and other things, I finally came home to knitting.

So, as I said, I have been familiar with the art and craft world for quite some time. The DIY ethic is pretty well ingrained in my psyche. Despite my familiarity with this world, I was surprised to discover an entirely new world of indie crafters. While these crafters share some traits with the crafters I was introduced to in my youth, there are many differences, which I believe is why indie craft has become its own movement.

In the more traditional crafting world, the main focus seems to be one of having a hobby and selling the things you made with that hobby. Some creativity is definitely present, but often things are made directly from patterns with little or no alteration. Many things are old-fashioned. I’m not taking a negative view of the traditional crafting world. How could I? This is the foundation on which indie crafting is built. Without our grandparents and parents instilling that DIY ethic and exposing us to that world, it may have taken many of us much longer to come to it. It is my heritage, and I’m proud of it.

I am equally proud to be part of the indie crafting movement. I am incredibly impressed with the crafters and artists I have discovered in this world. For many, this is not a hobby; it is a lifestyle. I think the difference between the traditional crafting world and the indie crafting world is that indie crafters infuse their worldview into everything they do; for example, if you are a crafter who cares about the environment, you make environmentally friendly products. While the people in this indie craft world are as varied as the people of the wider world we are all part of, there seem to be commonalities that many of us share.

These commonalities include social responsibility, political activism, and environmentalism. People in the indie crafting world care about the world around them and about making it a better place. They try to do that through their art or craft, even if it is only by hoping that what they make makes someone else happy or brightens someone’s day. Many take it even further by donating profits to charities, scholarship funds, or ill friends or family members. I don’t mean to imply that people in the traditional crafting world don’t care about these things, but having been exposed now to both worlds, I can see that these ideas, these visions that indie crafters have of a better world, are infused into everything they do.

And when you care about the world, the world knows it. I can’t describe the feeling I have when I send one of my creations off into the world with a person who has purchased it partly because they value the love, time, and energy that I put into making it. I think that most crafters understand that feeling. My love goes with that item, and it sends my love out into a wider world than I could ever touch in any other way. When I purchase a handcrafted item, I think about the person who made it and the love and effort he or she put into it. If it is yarn or something that I use to make an item to sell or give away, I think about my additional love and effort that has gone into it and how all of these threads of love stretch out as these things get given and sold to other people. We are creating connections between us, even if they are tiny. I think that all of these connections are being stitched into a great afghan that can blanket all of us with hope and optimism. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a sappy Polyanna, but I really do believe that what you do matters and that the love you put into something gets carried along.

I think that is why indie crafting is a movement. People are tired of the impersonal, corporate goods. Where is the love in a scarf made in a factory by machines that is exactly like hundreds of other scarves made in the same factory? Who wants to give their money to huge corporations that continue to make the rich richer and the poor poorer? Indie crafters care about those things. The people who buy indie crafts care about those things. I care about those things. And perhaps you should too.

I think that all of the things happening in the world today are leading to a return to more traditional handcrafts, updated to reflect a greater awareness of the world around us. Just as the traditional crafters built a foundation for me, I want to build a foundation for future generations. I want to pass on the values that I see reflected in the indie crafting movement. I want others to understand the joy of making something with your own hands and of seeing that item bring joy to others. My dream is that this hope, love, and joy will be instilled in others, that it will spill out into the wide world to cause positive change. Perhaps that is a tall order, but I think we are up to it.