NOTE FROM THE STORQUE: 

 The following is an update from Faythe Levine, filmmaker and friend to Etsians!  Faythe is working SO HARD on a documentary about the DIY craft resurgence.  Below, you'll find the latest news from the project and their brand spanking new online video clip.

FROM FAYTHE:

I'm sure you are all in as much disbelief that is it almost mid-September already as I am! Cris, the editor just uploaded a new version of the preview clip that most of you have seen at this point- there is some of the same footage but a lot of new faces are making an appearance ( Poketo, Needles & Pens, Little Otsu, Jenny Hart, Reform School and more!) We are still chugging along with editing with our original goal of having a 2008 release still a good possibility. Please feel free to re-post the clip on your blogs, myspace, etc.

In other news:

• Micaela and I will be doing some follow-up shooting this weekend in Chicago at the Renegade Craft Fair.
• We will also be out in New York for the re-launch of American Craft Magazine next week as well as shooting at the ETSY Labs!
• I will be making the trip to Austin in November for Stitch.
• There will be screening a clip of the film previous to the fashion show here in Milwaukee at Art vs. Craft.
• Cortney and I are still working on the details of our book deal with Princeton Architectural Press (which will be a companion book to the documentary!!).
• Our ETSY shop still is our main source of income for the film, if you haven't checked out our most recent donations and T-shirts still on sale for $13 please do.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zH2HWPfwpOw
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21568463@N00/
ETSY: http:// www.indiecraftmovie.etsy.com

MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT:

A new wave of craft is capturing the attention of the nation.  It has emerged as a marriage between historical technique, punk and the D.I.Y. ethos while being influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art.  It is no longer just about cross-stitching samplers or painting floral scrolls on china.  Instead, it has increased its realm to embrace an emerging movement of artists, crafters and designers working in traditional and nontraditional mediums and methodologies to intervene in mass-market consumerism, to challenge the familiar and to attempt creative and economic freedom.  This movement created by craft forges a new economy, lifestyle and burgeoning art community that is based on creativity, determination and networking.

The heart of the new wave of craft is the community.  Artists, crafters, makers, organizers, critics, curators, cultural theorists and historians come together to create a community that shares the desire to produce change through the passion to create.  By sharing ideas and encouragement they work together to nurture entrepreneurialism, preserve feminine heritage and wield great economic power.  Through websites, blogs and online stores individuals in this widespread community can stay virtually tight-knit while boutiques, studios, galleries and craft fairs connect to the greater public to inspire and to promote. 

In the fall of 2003, after returning from Chicago’s Renegade craft fair, Faythe Levine decided that someone should create a documentary on the rise of independent craft as it was occurring. In June 2006 Levine, director and producer, and her close friend Micaela O’Herlihy, director of photography, marked the beginning of the 19,000-mile journey to interview and film over 50 crafters, craft market organizers and shop owners in 16 cities across the nation as well as the first ever Craft Congress in Pittsburgh. Handmade Nation, a documentary slated to come out in spring 2008, is the original product of their efforts.  Levine’s goal from the beginning of this project has been to expose people outside the craft community to what’s going on and give exposure to the community itself by showing the remarkable people who have created it.