Austinist Interviews Leah Kramer, Craftster Extraordinaire

How did you get started in crafting?

I actually don't know where it comes from because my mother and grandmothers weren't all that into crafting. I just always loved making things as far back as I can remember. In school, I hated when it was time for gym class but loved any kinds of arts and crafts time. Whenever we had any kind of crafty activity in school, I remember always going the extra mile and doing something above and beyond. My interest in crafting didn't diminish over the years, but instead the kinds of things I like to make have changed as my personality and interests change over the years.

Why did you create the Craftster Web site?

When I got into my twenties, I found myself getting dismayed whenever I'd see something like a magazine about crafts or a store that sold handmade crafts only find it full of things that really didn't speak to me, like frilly teddy bears filled with cinnamon potpourri. At that time, I'd also just become involved in this alternative craft fair called Bazaar Bizarre where people came together who loved to make crafts, but crafts that were totally nontraditional. In August 2003, the term "craftster" popped into my head as term that was sort of a clever term for "crafty hipster." The word "craftster" also reminded me of Napster and Friendster. It struck me that it would be really interesting to start a Web site where people could come to together and instead of sharing music or sharing friends, they could share crafty ideas that were hip, irreverent, eco-friendly, or just totally original.

The site has become wildly popular. Did you expect such a huge response to it?

I continue to be totally floored by how Craftster has taken off. I remember in the beginning when 50 members had signed up and I was absolutely thrilled that this many people thought my Web site was a good enough idea to sign up for. Almost three years later, there are more than 67,000 members. The growth of the site has been so shocking to me.

Who are all these people? I think there’s sometimes stereotypes of people who make crafts: a suburban housewife or a dotty old aunt. But this doesn’t seem to fit with Craftster. Could you describe the typical “Craftster”?

It's really hard to pinpoint this. At first I used to think that most of the people on Craftster were basically like me in terms of age, interests, political views, and so forth, but this really isn't true. There's a huge range of ages and personalities on Craftster. I think the common thread among us all is that we love to make things and we love to push the limits when we do this and do something original and unexpected.

Crafting has really taken off in the past few years. Why do you think it has become so popular?

I think the Internet has played a huge part. Basically any niche subject you can think of can just flourish on the Internet due to all the message boards, blogs, LiveJournals, etc., where you can interact with other people who share your interests. I also attribute its popularity to a bunch of other factors. For one thing, it can be a great social activity where you get together weekly with friends and chat and knit or craft. Individuality in a fashion sense is also a factor for lots of people, and if you can craft, you make wearable things no one else has. Crafting can also be a big money saver, whether you are making things for yourself or for gifts. Then there are people who appreciate the fact that crafting can be eco-friendly when you remake things that would normally be thrown away.

Is there a difference between the current craft movement and the crafts that our mothers and grandmothers made?

I think there was a time in American history, in the 1940s and 1950s, where women were expected to be totally fulfilled by "domestic" activities, such as knitting, sewing, baking, etc. So whether you really enjoyed it or not, you were expected to do these things. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a backlash against this idea of what women should be expected to do with their time, and I think there was a stigma against crafting. But now I think people are sharing all these new ideas with one another that truly speak to them and their eyes are being opened to the fact that crafting can be just one more way of expressing your creativity, not unlike writing, music or art. And it doesn't have to be "Home Sweet Home" plaques and other cookie-cutter type ideas people often associate with crafts.

Where do you think crafting is going? Is this a trend that will burn out as it has in the past?

Whether it burns out in popularity or not is really not a big concern for me because I feel like if you love to make things, there's really no way to quell that urge. But I also don't see that it will be a passing fad. I think that once people have their eyes opened to yet one more way of expressing their creativity, that doesn't really go away.

Your book is about “kitschy” crafts. Why did you decide to focus on those types of projects?

Other than making stuff, I love rummaging through flea markets, yard sales and thrift stores looking for weird old things that catch my eye for one reason or another. One of the things I love to collect are how-to books from 1950s, such as cook books and craft books. There's just so much I love about printed matter of that time period: the super-saturated photos, the illustration style, the fonts, and the saccharine and treacly phrases of speech. The craft books in particular are full of ideas that range from just plain brilliant to totally kitschy and hysterical but without meaning to be. I just think it's all really appealing. So I thought it would be great idea to compile a bunch of these "gems" into a craft book.

What are your favorite craft projects?

I tend to love the idea of taking something that would normally be thrown away and instead making something out of it. It's great from an environmental point of view and then there's this extra challenge and ingenuity involved. It's impossible to pick my favorite recycled craft projects on Craftster but just recently there were a couple of projects that people posted that caught my eye.

A craftster member named "Fidget" used an old 8-track cassette player as the base of a lamp and then stacked up colorful 8-track cassettes on top as the neck of the lamp. She topped it off with an appropriately tacky lampshade. Besides the clever reuse of these 1970s relics, the best thing about this project is that you can still play cassettes in it!

Another great project posted recently by a member named "Mixi" was to take your fabric scraps left over from sewing and basically just cut them into strips and fold them and then string them onto necklace cord. It made for a really gorgeous and unique necklace.

How does someone get involved in crafting? Where would you recommend a newbie start?

Poking around on Craftster is one way to get started. Each category is broken down so that one folder is for questions and chit chat and the other folder is for people to post pictures of finished projects complete with tutorials. So you can go into any "Completed Projects" folder and easily browse through tons and tons of ideas and see what catches your eye. It's also satisfying to flip through a craft book that you think looks appealing. You can always check one out at the library if you're afraid you won't like that particular book once you try the ideas in it.

What’s next for you?
I'm always fighting the unending battle of keeping up with all the work of running Craftster. At the same time, I'm a total geek and I love online community-based Web sites and all the cool things you can do to help people connect and share information in various ways. So I have all kinds of new features that I'm working on adding to Craftster.

You’ll be at the Work*Shop here in Austin. What will you be doing?

I'm so excited about this event. It's the first official stop on my book tour. Also, this is my first time in Austin. I'll do sort of a typical book signing spiel where I talk about Craftster and the book and show some of the projects in person and some of the original vintage publications where the project ideas came from. After that, people are invited to stay and make something crafty to take home. I'm bring all of the supplies and it will be an easy craft so that people at any level can join in.

Leah Kramer Book Signing and Craft Event
The Workshop
1211 West Sixth Street, Suite 400
Tuesday, July 18 (tonight!)
7:00 pm
Free