Kim Werker

Handmade Nation at the Museum of Vancouver

I’ve been invited to speak alongside Rob of Lotus Events and Got Craft?, and Erin of Collage Collage when the Museum of Vancouver screens Handmade Nation next week. I’m so excited!

If you’re unfamiliar with the film, it’s a documentary by Faythe Levine about the resurgence of craft. The people she interviewed are in the U.S., but the scene is pretty much the same in Canada and Vancouver has a thriving crafts community.

We speakers will talk about a bunch of things, from what this whole crafts thing is about to the crafts scene here in town to the role of the internet in the current revival. It’ll be informal and there should be time for Q & A before the screening. And the museum is hosting a reception and mini craft fair afterwards, so it should make for a lovely Friday night.

Questions? Fire away!

Handmade Nation at the Museum of Vancouver

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Susan

O.K. Here's a couple of questions–How big a part do you think the economic downturn has played in the “resurgence” of crafting, and how can we sustain that resurgence when/if things get better?

Is there another website that has had the impact on a craft that Ravelry has had on knitting and crocheting?

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Kim Werker

Meaty!

I actually don't think the economic downturn had any influence on the
resurgence of crafting – at least not when the resurgence started, since it
started years before the U.S. economy imploded. In fact, a strong economy, I
think, helped egg many people to, say, open yarn stores around 2003-2006
(many of those stores are struggling now that consumers are tightening their
belts). I certainly think the downturn is fueling people's continued
interest in crafting, though, and is probably bringing new crafters in.

Just in terms of markets, I actually think early '00s resurgence was more
inspired as a rebellion against strong markets based on extreme mass
production and distribution, and the consequent everything-looks-the-same
and the removal of human contact from our everyday world of commerce.

As for your second question, no doubt Craftster.org has had a tremendous
impact on craft.

0
Reply
Susan

O.K. Here's a couple of questions–How big a part do you think the economic downturn has played in the “resurgence” of crafting, and how can we sustain that resurgence when/if things get better?

Is there another website that has had the impact on a craft that Ravelry has had on knitting and crocheting?

0
Reply
Kim Werker

Meaty!

I actually don't think the economic downturn had any influence on the
resurgence of crafting – at least not when the resurgence started, since it
started years before the U.S. economy imploded. In fact, a strong economy, I
think, helped egg many people to, say, open yarn stores around 2003-2006
(many of those stores are struggling now that consumers are tightening their
belts). I certainly think the downturn is fueling people's continued
interest in crafting, though, and is probably bringing new crafters in.

Just in terms of markets, I actually think early '00s resurgence was more
inspired as a rebellion against strong markets based on extreme mass
production and distribution, and the consequent everything-looks-the-same
and the removal of human contact from our everyday world of commerce.

As for your second question, no doubt Craftster.org has had a tremendous
impact on craft.

0
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