A sustainable approach to creativity

As crafters and makers, we are responsible for questioning the sometimes-wasteful crafting paradigm and challenging ourselves to reuse and repair things that already exist in the world.

Crafting can be super-wasteful in the materials we choose and the outcome of our craft efforts. So I focus on two goals in my own work and in the workshops I create and facilitate: ‘Start with sustainable materials’ and ‘Create to keep.’

Start with sustainable materials

I’m always exploring ways to reimagine waste materials — from single-use packaging to industrial offcuts — as a starting point for play and imagination!

Though I wish all this waste didn’t exist in the first place, using it as a source of play and inspiration gives it a second (or third or fourth) life as something of value.

Create to keep

When imagining my workshops into existence, I think about what people will actually wear or display in their homes. I want their creation to endure and not be shoved in a drawer or, worse — in the bin as soon as they get home! I think about the kinds of crafts that will stimulate the imagination of the participants, inspire further learning, and make them feel proud of their creations.

Craft as compassionate activism and creative solutions

Craftivist Collective’s Sarah Corbett speaks of ‘gentle protest’ through craft as a positive, inclusive and strategic way to change hearts and minds on complex and politically-fraught issues like the climate emergency.

A community of people thinking about what they use, how they use it, and the beauty and benefit of the crafted object can be a meaningful introduction to sustainability and a gentle and just form of activism.