wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] KC from Sunnyside February 12, 2009 - 11:51AM

  I'm surprised that you didn't get the founders of Etsy on the show--to me the most obvious expression of the DIY movement and the way to connect with a huge swath (if you will) of artists.

  http://www.etsy.com/

  http://www.kctrommer.etsy.com/

  
  
• [2] KC from Sunnyside February 12, 2009 - 11:53AM

  I'm hoping that one positive offshoot of the economic situation will be a turning back to handmade and to crafts--using your imagination costs nothing.

  
  
• [3] charles from brooklyn February 12, 2009 - 11:53AM

  The DIY zeitgeist started in 2000? Really? I thought it went back at least as far as 1995!

  
  
• [4] Avivah from Brooklyn, New York February 12, 2009 - 11:53AM

  There is no new zeitgeist for crafts. There have always been those who do crafts; it's just that it has caught the attention of some reporters. Some of us were taught by mothers, grandmothers, cousins, etc., to make things to wear or use. My crafts: crochet, knitting, jewelry, sewing (not just darning tights). I went to Brooklyn Tech where I learned to work in wood and metal shop and the foundry.

  
  
• [5] Jessica from manhattan February 12, 2009 - 11:55AM

  I prefer to make everything myself. I have made dishes, clothing, furniture, light fixtures and I cook all the time which is rare for manhattanites. It is far more difficult to make things in manhattan than anywhere else I have lived. Space is the primary reason. My kitchen is the size of a closet. I have been glared at from apartments accross the street when I use power tools on my balcony. This city desperately needs a craft revolution!

  
  
• [6] downtown from downtown February 12, 2009 - 11:55AM

  Has your guest heard of Ruth Taube who

  recently featured in an article in the NYTimes:

  Henry Street Settlement’s Sewing and Crafts Program Survives Budget Cuts

  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/nyregion/09bigcity.html?_r=1&scp=15&sq=HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT HOUSE

  She has been running the Home Planning Workshop, that she has been running since 1966.

  
  
• [7] David from Jacksonheights February 12, 2009 - 11:55AM

  What role has someone like Martha Stewart played in the DIY movement? Positive or Negative?

  
  
• [8] Mario from Washington Heights February 12, 2009 - 11:56AM

  My parents raised me with this ethos of DIY without even telling me. When I would see a toy that I wanted at the store, they would say "why don't you make it?" The thought of wanting to buy it never even occured to me.

  The classic one was going to an appliance store and getting a refrigerator box, which my brother and I would spend the weekend making into a fun-house in the living room. It was better than any toy could be.

  Ever since I have made things for myself, including furniture. The ethos has carried with me well into adulthood.

  
  
• [9] Avivah from Brooklyn, New York February 12, 2009 - 11:57AM

  I only knit cable patterns. I find knit and purl only objects BORING.

  
  
• [10] Amanda from Jersey City February 12, 2009 - 11:57AM

  I have been amused by the DIY craze over the last half dozen years. I find it entertaining that rich New York hipsters find it so fun to be all crafty and creative. In my family doing for yourself was not a hip-cool thing to do-but a basic necessity, as we were not wealthy. I grew up with the natural inclinations on how to figure things out and make things for myself by watching my parents; a mechanic and homemaker. Dad can fix most things with engines and my mom...she wanted the couch reupholstered-she learned. She likes stained glass-so she took a class. She recently won a reserve grand champion ribbon for a stained glass piece. My family grows their own food, cans it and shares it. My sister grinds her own wheat for bread. We all sew for ourselves and for profit at times. I think growning up poor made us all more productive people.

  
  
• [11] Amy from Brooklyn February 12, 2009 - 11:58AM

  Both my grandmothers died before I was born and my mother was of a generation that became professionals but never learned to tat. I learned everything i know from books, but now I get to teach people both older and younger how to knit and crochet.

  
  
• [12] ella from nyc February 12, 2009 - 11:58AM

  Admittedly, I've shopped at Etsy and like the idea, and I make many of my own things-- from flags to gifts to clothes to bookshelves. I like the infusion of creative design into everyday life. Still, I think this "handmade nation" has uneasy tensions with consumerism-- it often presents itself as an alternative, but it still feels like a business sector that wants you to BUY other people's stuff more than make your own-- and race and class. It feels like most people involved are privileged and white, even if not rich.

  
  
• [13] a from manhattan from manhattan February 12, 2009 - 11:59AM

  crafts = art??

  
  
• [14] Glen Ganaway from Manhattan February 12, 2009 - 11:59AM

  GREAT TOPIC! Because space is premium here, I've customed designed most of the furniture in my apartment. Built a loftbed, shelves, tricked out the closet sized kitchen, etc...

  DIY is not a chick phenomena. Faythe is great!

  
  
• [15] Megan from manhattan February 12, 2009 - 11:59AM

  My grandmother crocheted many many things--blankets, scarves, hats, ornaments. We have a huge collection, but she passed away before I ever learned. Now I study her work and use the internet, books and ravelry.com to teach myself the craft and every time I hold the needle, I feel closer to her.

  
  
• [16] Avivah from Brooklyn, New York February 12, 2009 - 12:00PM

  I sell (ha, ha) jewelry from my stoop. Or rather, I sit on my stoop with jewelry I make. People are not willing to pay to buy directly from artists. Even when I try to sell at cost, they just walk silently past.

  
  
• [17] Kelly from Brooklyn February 12, 2009 - 12:01PM

  I really encourage everyone to come to etsy.com's craft night or church of craft. It is wonderful to meet other crafters to inspire you and learn new techniques. DO IT! And it's free.

  
  
• [18] emily from brooklyn February 12, 2009 - 12:05PM

  I absolutely agree with Kim who just called -- none of the women in my family knew how to knit, so though I learned to crochet from my mother, I had to turn to young women my age, books, and especially the internet (especially especially the HUGE knitblogging community) to learn how. I find that knitters on the internet are committed to preserving information about the techniques, motifs, patterns, designs, and history of our craft. So although they may not be going to their elders -- who in many cases don't have an interest in that craft -- the skills and history are being passed down and will survive. Thanks for some great guests, Brian -- I look forward to attending the NYC premiere of Faythe's movie tonight!

  
  
• [19] jm February 12, 2009 - 12:06PM

  Amanda, your tired sweeping generalizations about "New York hipsters" make me question your own creativity. Trust me, my family was much poorer than yours (I can guarantee this), yet I happen to now live in a neighborhood popular with transplants. Actually many of my friends also had to learn such skills while growing up, but now are able to partake in these activities for leisure.

  Also, I'll outbake you ANY day with my grandmother's recipe arsenal. Seriously.

  
  
• [20] Kelly from Brooklyn February 12, 2009 - 12:23PM

  And heck yes craft is art. I actually screen my own tshirts that say exactly that.

  
  
• [21] Lita from Greenwich Village February 12, 2009 - 12:24PM

  I've been pleased to note that crafts are coming back in fashion. Since I was a child, my mother's highest praise for a gift or card, etc, was that it was made by hand. No surprise, then, that crafts have always been an important & fulfilling part of my life. My mother, who came from Cuba, would say, "Hecho a mano (ETCH-o ah MAH-no).!! Que bueno!." These days, I repeat that mantra to my grandchildren. (Admittedly, sometimes it becomes an inside joke in our family--if we see a truly horrendous creation, art, etc, one of us is sure to offer it's one redeeming feature: "But it's hecho a mano.!)

  Lita Elvers

  
  
• [22] Caroline Byrne February 12, 2009 - 04:52PM

  I'm tired of the whole "this is not your grandma's (insert any traditional fiber craft)". It's insulting to the grandmothers who, frankly, were probably a lot more interesting than the DIY crowd.

  The difference between embroidering flowers and embroidering skulls is wholly superficial... Crafts have ALWAYS been political, and will be political in the future whenever there is sufficient doubt that production is in the wrong hands. Gandhi used yarn spinning as a form of protest against the british control of manufacturing, and so did George Washington.

  Personally, I am totally conflicted about making for the sake of making. On one hand I feel it is our birthright to create... On the other hand, it seems like when you are just creating more "stuff"(by that I mean trendy, poorly made stuff...) then you are just adding to the problem.

  
  
• [23] Caroline Byrne February 12, 2009 - 05:14PM

  One more thing:

  Sure, crafts can be art. BUT NOT NECESSARILY. It is sad that our civilization has reached such a low point that anything handmade is considered art. There was/is? a sign up at Subway that said "let our sandwich artists help you". Uhh, not art.