Craft Kids

Knitting, embroidery and crochet have never been so cool – Craft Kids have learnt their skills from grandparents and friends. Once a

pastime assigned to pre-schoolers or geeks, craft is now seen as fun and progressive.

Craft Kids

‘Craft kids’ are part of a much larger tribe, know as the ‘Indie Scenesters’.

Indie Scenesters

Indie Scenesters occupy the space previously inhabited by Trendies (and Ravers before them) – people who want to be ahead of the crowd and are willing to invest time and effort into the paraphernalia and detail of their sub-culture. A decade ago they may well have been Ravers and a couple of years back they were listening to bands like Klaxons, the pioneers of nu-rave. Indie Scenesters exist thanks to the fashionable status of guitar music (though for them it’s often about mixing it up with more electronic sounds) and are linked to the general rise of instant fashionability – of fashion and music trends having much faster lifecycles thanks to the commodification of cool.

Scenesters don't mind bands achieving mainstream success, but prefer them before the masses cotton on – their own version of second album syndrome. There is significant role reversal in the Indie Scenester Tribe, with both boys and girls dressing in tight fitting clothes and often sporting make-up and accessories. The relatively recent return of the Ray-Ban Wayfarer (in all colours) is big with this crowd as they love to be the first to pick up on the rebirth of a once popular fashion item.

Indie Scenesters

Craft KidsCraft Kids pastimes evolved generations before them - and out of necessity rather than desire: it was once a given that when something could not be bought, it would have to be made. Until fairly recently, sewing machines were a staple of every household, but these were soon relegated to the attic as items became cheaper and were thrown out rather than repaired. Making meals from scratch was the only way until supermarkets offered ready meals that tasted homemade. This tribe is actively standing up to consumerist culture and making craft cool again. Reasons for this are varied but the unavoidable media furore surrounding cheap third world labour means that some people don’t want to shop on the cheap and be left with a guilty conscience. Craft is also seen as an antidote to capitalism, which in the current economic climate is regarded as a dirty word. Craft Kids are proud and pleased to be part of the new ‘green’ members of society – contributing by skilfully recycling old items and fashioning them into new ones. Members of this tribe are more likely to be female – though male crafters are certainly on the rise – and generally come from middle class backgrounds.

Craft Kids

- “Your house could happily be in the 1950’s”- “You prefer to wear clothes you have made yourself, or at

least customised.”- “Floral print dresses are de rigeur”- “Your iTunes is full of post war crooners.”- “Your idol is Rita Hayworth” - “You’d loved to be studying the history of art at Central St.

Martins”- “You own a vintage sowing machine”- “You drew a mural on your bedroom wall that cost you your

whole deposit”