we’ve always been here

From time to time we see media articles about a trend in textile crafts or surge in traditional hand-making among young people. I was recently interviewed by RNZ for a piece in its lifestyle section where I talked about my lifelong love of making things: embroidery, knitting, sewing, crochet, etc.

The lovely reporter asked me to talk about my ‘analogue hobbies’ and we discussed how crafts are a great counterbalance to digital life, but how the online aspect of making is also important in connecting us to others, learning about our craft and other lives, and finding and sharing inspiration. For me, the digital and analogue aspects work together!

I see the piece has attracted quite a few comments on Facebook, where readers are questioning a perceived narrative that ‘analogue hobbies’ are trending, and so I wanted to share my own perspective on this.

I’m no longer a ‘young’ crafter, but have been obsessed with making things since childhood and have shared my work online for the past 20 years. Over this period, I’ve been interviewed by media many times about ‘the revitalisation of traditional textile skills.’ Just last week on a plane, the air steward remarked on the crochet I was working on and said ‘I’ve recently heard that knitting is on the rise - I had only ever seen my grandmother doing it before!’

My mum has been making things since her 1960s childhood and my grandmother got started in the 1940s. I’ve traced my ancestry to 1700s Shetland Island sock and shawl knitters, though admit their handwork was more necessity than hobby.

It’s the nature of news media to find a trend or change in something to report. And I think it’s fair to say that some digital platforms truly are inspiring young people to take up knitting and get started with embroider, ceramics and making clothes.

But of course we’ve always been out here, using our hands and threads to make beautiful and useful things and share them with others.

If describing this as a rise in analogue hobbies reaches new audiences and encourages people to take up a new skill, connect with ancestral traditions or even just knit yourself a simple hat to keep toasty this winter: nau mai, haere mai - a warm welcome, there’s enough room for all of us here.