Nicolette’s Design Diary

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the different types of craft shows while I was patiently awaiting my rejection from CraftBoston. But in the past few months, I’ve slowly become aware of a growing movement in the craft world, a movement that I was recently reminded of while reading a post from Amy Shaw from the Greenjeans blog. In her post, Amy points out that there appears to be a “alternative” world of sorts that’s growing separate from the traditional “crafts” establishment. This world is made up of an energetic group of individuals who are taking traditional crafts world and standing it on its ear. They call themselves “indie crafters” and “indie designers”. They can knit, they can sew, they can crochet and felt and they aren’t making cutesy little socks and stodgy old doilies but they are making vinyl zombie bags. knitted Star Wars figures, and Halloween bats made of *ahem*…tampons.

CRAFT booth

Originally uploaded by natzee.



And they are net-savvy…oh boy are they net savvy. While many of the “old-school” artists and crafters I know are just getting their web sites up and are still trying to figure out how to make this internet “thing” work, this new generation of “indie crafters” are connecting to each other through blogs and MySpace, sharing photos and videos of their work on Flickr and YouTube. Some have even launched their own podcasts. (If you don’t know what a podcast is, click here) They’re also finding alternative places to sell their wares, online craft stores like Etsy as well as their own professional looking web sites. There are whole blogs like Modish and Inside the Indie Mind by Craft Revolution that are dedicated to finding and featuring the “designers” and “indie crafters” of this new wave. And they are showing and selling at new craft fairs like the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta, GA, the Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle, WA and Renegade Craft Fair that takes place in Brooklyn, NY and Chicago, IL.

Work by Dana Brandwein Oates

I had actually first heard about the Renegade Craft Fair back in August when I was at the Litchfield Jazz Festival. My neighbor was a cool and talented potter by the name of Dana Brandwein Oates, if you have the chance, check out her work. Dana had been in the PR business in the music industry dealing with heavy metal bands like Metallica before she decided start her pottery studio. While at the jazz festival, she suggested that I might try check out the Renegade Craft Fair. By chance I ran across photos from the Chicago show on Flickr and the first thing I noticed was that the crafters there seemed to be about my age, in the mid 20’s to mid 30ish range. Now at most “traditional” craft shows that I’ve done, most of the artists exhibiting there are usually older than me and in some cases I was the youngest person there. A study of the crafts industry done in 2000 showed that the average age of most crafters is 49 and that this population is steadily growing older. There is actually some discussion in the crafts world about the “aging of the crafts industry” and galleries and show promoters are trying to figure out ways to attract younger artists to the field. There are some complaints that not as many young people are signing up to do craft shows and galleries are talking about how difficult it is to find new and emerging artists. There was an article in this month’s issue of the crafts industry magazine The Crafts Report on this very subject. Well, if it takes an artist $400 to $600 and up to do a “quality” craft show not to mention a grand or two on a professional booth setup, and another grand on travel expenses, the reason why starts to become clear, especially as many professional craftsmen report that they are barely breaking even at many of these shows.

CRAFT @ Renegade

Originally uploaded by natzee.

Another thing I saw from these photos from the Renegade Craft Fair is the type of items that these “crafters” where selling had more of a “cool” factor. The style was more modern, more edgy, more “hip” and youthful. Not that I don’t love the work I see at the “traditional” craft shows, but after doing close to 20 shows a year…it starts to be the “same type of crafts and the same type of aesthetic, show after show. And if I as an artist notice that it’s the same crafters from show to show, you can bet that the customers that attend these shows year after year certainly notices. I also hear from artists who have been on the craft show circuit that even the most popular and prestigious shows have gone downhill since the “glory days” of the eighties and the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Kayoka Shibue of Pied Nu @ Urban Craft Uprising

Now, I know I’m inferring a lot from some photos of an event, but after months of reading indie related blogs like Extreme Craft and Craft Synergy and visiting the web sites of indie designers, I can’t help but to be a bit excited and intrigued by this new world of craft opening up. I know that one criticism that some of my veteran crafters may have about this new wave of indie crafters is that in some cases, that the level of craftsmanship doesn’t measure up. Some of the old-school may argue, and possibly with some justification that this new wave may actually set back some of the strides that has been made in advancing craft as an art form. We’re finally getting to the point that the general public are beginning to see crafts as something other than pipe cleaner ornaments and granny squares, and now some of the new designers are just making “hipper” pipe cleaner ornaments and granny squares. In the recent years, some of the traditional mainstream crafters don’t even want to refer to themselves as crafters anymore because of the connotations the word “craft” invokes…those of summer camp craft projects, Saturday morning classes at Michael’s, and after-school rec room creations. They’re calling themselves “artists”, “artisans”, “woodworkers”, “ceramic artists” and are focuses on creating “serious” works. Mediums such as knitting, crochet, and certain folkcraft are very difficult to market in the old-school world and has to meet a certain aesthetic to even be considered acceptable. Even galleries and museums that have traditionally focused on fine crafts are purging the word “craft” from their names, such as the formerly named American Craft Museum in New York, which is now known as the Museum of Art and Design. Now you have this new wave of artists and crafters that are unabashedly calling themselves crafters that are turning the traditional connotation upside down and having a fine time doing it. How are traditional professional craftsmen and artisans and their work supposed to be taken seriously in the face of this new wave? I don’t know. Perhaps the reason that new artists and craftsmen aren’t joining the old-school world because they’re making one of their own.

Toward the end of Amy’s post she asks these questions:

The point is that it’s so interesting, these two worlds. Are they merging? Is the new one replacing the old one? And if so, what is happening to the value of craftsmanship? How are new generation crafters approaching old school media? How is craft, and the craft world, changing?

Are these two worlds merging? Don’t know, too soon to tell. I’m not even sure that the old-school world is even aware of this new world. Is the new one replacing the old one? Ditto on that point. Like any establishment, there can be one of several reactions, to ignore it, to embrace it, or to try to crush it. One thing that I do know, each world has a lot that can be learned from the other. Perhaps the biggest thing that the old-school world can learn from the new one is not to be afraid of the label of “crafts” and look beyond what the medium is and to focus on the object itself. And perhaps the new one can learn more about the importance of craftsmanship and excellence in one’s medium and how to channel that energy and brashness into pushing a certain medium to it’s limits and beyond. One thing’s for sure…it’s going to be interesting.

[tags]craft shows, craft, DIY, design[/tags]