Etsy :: The Storque :: Craftivism :: Crafting, Consumerism & Cooptation: Materializing a Utopian Idea

Crafting, Consumerism & Cooptation: Materializing a Utopian Idea


Story by Vanessa Published on February 9, 2008 in Craftivism	Photo by buttonempire

If you don't make it yourself, are you just a consumer — consumer in the dirty sense of the word?

I recently read Jean Railla's guest post “What Would Jesus Sell?” about Rev. Billy's Church of Stop Shopping, Morgan Spurlock, the Handmade Pledge and Etsy. Rob Walker — the author of a New York Times Magazine piece Handmade 2.0 about the crafting movement and Etsy — posted Jean's article on his blog Murketing:

"What Would Jesus Buy is the suitably ironic title of the documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame), which follows the antics of 'Reverend Billy.' As the head of the Church of Stop Shopping Reverend Billy, a character developed by the New York City actor Bill Talen, preaches an anti-corporate theology with an authenticity of feeling and full gospel choir. In the film, Reverend Billy is up to his old antics–exorcising demons at Walmart Headquarters, taking over the Mall of America, and finally crashing Disney Land. His objective? 'To save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt!'
I wonder what Reverend Billy would have thought about the handmade pledge sponsored by Etsy, Craftster, Craft Magazine and others this past holiday season: 'I pledge to buy handmade…and request that others do the same for me'...

...But I can’t help thinking: Isn’t shopping, no matter how wonderfully crafty and politically correct still, well, shopping? Can you escape the so-called sin of consumerism by buying handmade?'” [Read the whole post]

Jean then goes on to pose important questions about the crafting movement and its relationship to the act of buying. This topic fascinates me and makes me uneasy too. It's something I often think about. If you're just a buyer on Etsy and not a seller, are you somehow less empowered? Are you less talented? Are you not *really* part of the community? And Jean pushes this a bit further by begging the question: If you're selling things at all, are you selling out and therefore opting in to a consumerist society, albeit one a shade better than simply shopping at the massive chain stores crowding out small businesses all over the globe?

Can the act of shopping have meaning?

I think it does. I speak for myself here, both as a buyer and a seller, and as someone who has had the chance to really observe what happens on Etsy on a day-to-day basis (because I'm an admin at Etsy, yeah, so I guess I'm pretty biased!). What follows here are some of the questions I often ask myself when reflecting on Etsy's role in the larger capitalist society.

I, for instance, make movies (or rather I used to before I decided to take a job at Etsy); my filmmaking collaborator and I sell our doc Secondhand (Pepe) in my Etsy shop. I'm personally sending it out to the few that buy it, asking for their feedback after they watch it. Why am I selling it? In part because I went into debt making the thing and I'd like to make back at least a token amount of the money I spent! But I also listed it because it's an amazing experience to get those comments and criticisms from people I've never met face-to-face. My listing fees buy me access to a larger audience. The sale price of my movie covers the cost of making the DVDs, if not the time and money spent on the production of the film.

The world needs people to make things. Yes, I suppose Etsy could have been started as a website where makers give away their handmade things or do barters and swaps. But what about people who really want to make a living from what they make and do it part-time or full-time? In order for that to happen, creative people need buyers. Otherwise, they'll have to make do with some sort of day-job, probably something that is not their passion.

To play devil's advocate with myself: why taint people's DIY impulse with money? Why not shoot for a higher goal? Why not aim towards a folk culture where art and craft function not as commodities to be bought and sold, but rather as objects that have deeper meaning and are passed freely from person to person according to usefulness or significance? Then there wouldn't be any arts "professionals." Anyone could make something that benefited society, as long as they practiced the craft to the point where it was beneficial and accepted by the community. In order to have the time to practice that craft, the community would support the person and guide them by passing down ways of doing things from those masters that had come before...Actually at this point, what I'm describing starts to sound similar to what I see happening on Etsy a lot of the time: in a way, the Etsy community is a platform for people to support learning — and the line here between professional and amateur maker is often blurred. There are fulltime Etsy sellers who have experience and have dedicated their lives to making and selling what they make. But the amount of informal learning and eye-opening that goes on with newbie sellers on this site is remarkable. That's a vast resource that is supported by the fees and other revenue streams on Etsy.

Another devil's advocate question that I sometimes ask myself: I feel great when I need something and I buy it from Etsy. For example, I need a notebook for work, so why would I ever go to Stapes and not buy a recycled one from an independent seller? The consumer's choice is obvious in this case. But what about those cute earrings I saw on Etsy? Or that little crocheted octopus? I don't need these. Right now, a little red octopus is staring blankly at me from where she sits on my desk. I don't think she knows the answer. But then I think of the seller RubySubmarine from whom I bought it. I like to think that by buying from her, I was doing my part to enable her to be creative, to support her as she tested her knowledge of crocheting, to talk with her about why marine life is so crazy interesting. Or when people compliment me on my angry octopus skirt by aorta, I tell them to go to her shop (yeah, there's a special place in my heart for the octopus). I feel like in a tiny way, I've become a patron of the arts or a supportive member of a folk community. Or maybe this is something new and different and complex.

[tote by weatherandnoise]

There's meaningful expression in the objects that I wear and that I have around me: I'm showing people that I support independent artists and I value things that aren't produced in a sweatshop or in a polluting factory, etc. I'm also proud to be a seller. This meaningful expression translates a utopian idea into something material. That's the power of art and culture: it's a physical expression of an idea. I seriously think about these things, and I think most Etsy buyers do too. And if some of them don't, then part of Etsy's mission is to spread the word (now I sound like the Reverend)! Etsy is not just a black and white site where people coldly pass money and goods back and forth. Etsy is also a place where this discussion can take place. Etsy brings us together to talk about consumerism and craftivism. Only if we don't talk about it will the handmade movement be co-opted by consumerism. What we stand to gain by talking about it, alternatively, is enormous: we can spread the word about the values underpinning the handmade movement to many, many people. (Now, that's evangelical!)

Seriously, there are other shades of grey. In real life, making a utopian idea a reality is sometimes messy. "Buy something because you love it, need it, it will haunt you if you don’t. Buy art because it makes you think every time you look at it. Buy things that are beautifully crafted because you appreciate the design, the workmanship and using something that is so well made will enrich your life. There is a lot of handmade crap out there… along with all the manufactured crap," says seller Mimi Kirchner aka mck254 on her blog post about the Handmade Pledge. Mimi pointed me to the comments on her post. kristin "feel[s] there are great reasons to buy handmade when and only when the crafter or artist truly loves what they are creating and it shows in their work. if the handmade item was made to just make a buck…i think that will show in the work as well and i would not care to buy that." Karen B. feels that buying handmade "is a way to slow down the consumerism/design for disposal mentality so ingrained in today’s world. I would apply your thoughts about buying handmade to anything one buys: do you need it, is it good design, does it speak to you, will it enrich/enhance your life….?" And "do you need it" begs these questions, "Does art matter? Does craftsmanship matter? Does the personal connection between buyer and seller matter?" These things do matter and that act of buying something handmade from the maker has symbolic value. But it also has a direct impact on our lives. It gives us compensation for our labor and also a sense of participating in a movement.

When I boil down all my questions, I realize that DIY and the handmade movement — and what I see going on in the Etsy community — is conscientious participation. And if you're a buyer of handmade things, you are participating by supporting independent artists, crafters and makers. It doesn't feel like rampant consumerism. It feels like you're making a difference. Making things and using those things — if it's going to be a sustainable movement — can't completely exist outside the marketplace.

Please let me know what you think in the comments below.