Do It Yourself!

    I have mentioned the growing importance of the DIY movement, and yeah, I think it really is a movement, in other posts here and on facebook.  Its time to dig a bit deeper, and take a look see at what this means about us.
    The most superficial of the reasons this movement exists would have to be simply, the cycles, culturally, we swing through, that take our attention from one thing to another over time.  On one level, its just time for home arts to get a boost, after decades of inactivity.

    The second reason is closely aligned to our growing understanding about how interconnected everything is, and that our profligate use of the small place we call home, is getting us into deep trouble; so an increasing number of people are exploring how to continue to live well, but smaller, and with a closer connection to the world we inhabit.

    Another valid reason this is happening, is the ever increasing cost of clothing, and accessories.  Affordable clothing that isn't flat out junk is getting harder and harder to come by, so some have taken to updating, re-purposing, and otherwise altering existing things, making them into unique and personal signature garments.

    And the final, most, to my mind, crucial reason, is our widening sense of disenfranchisement.  We have become so disconnected from things, due very largely to this simple little device I'm sitting here typing at, the computer.  Its also due in great degree our sense that the governance we have, wherever we are, no longer has much interest in actually addressing any of our concerns. We feel powerless, voiceless, and invisible, more and more often.

    If these aren't psychological motivators to visibly express a sense of individuality, and identity, then I'm at a loss as to what those motivators might be.
    I fully expect this movement to continue to expand, as more people become accustomed again to making and doing on their own, re-discovering the great pleasure that is an innate part of it. I can tell you that where some years back at my work we rarely saw people coming in who were about to embark on a new creative project that didn't involve some sort of kit. Now it is a daily event that I and my co-workers are helping fledgling creatives take their  first steps with sewing, embroidery, felting, knitting and other crafts.  And its also increasingly common that we get those same people back in, proudly showing us what they made, eyes shining with the glow of self made work.

    The result is that every day, more and more folks are trying things out, testing their own limits, ripping something up, to make something new, and individual out of it.  Not only do people get garments, and accessories unique to them out from this process, there are two other hidden results.  You get a greater sense of your own breadth of skills, and you can confidently say, when you get complimented, that you made it yourself.