{"id":722472,"date":"2025-11-21T19:12:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=722472"},"modified":"2025-11-21T19:12:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:12:51","slug":"its-my-party-and-ill-craft-if-i-want-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=722472","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s My Party, and I\u2019ll Craft if I Want To"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Living<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s My Party, and I\u2019ll Craft if I Want To<\/h1>\n
By <\/span>Sylvie Florman<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

November 21, 2025<\/p>\n

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    A craft meetup hosted by RecCreate.<\/span>Photo: Emma Scholes<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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    On a warm September night, I sat at a crowded Greenpoint, Brooklyn spot and browsed the menu. It was a similar scene to many nights I\u2019d had before, but this menu was different. Instead of a martini or a burger, there was a \u201ccollage buffet\u201d and air-dry clay. At a simple wooden table across from a friend I hadn\u2019t seen in nearly a year, I ordered a set of watercolors from a waiter. They were presented to me like a plated assortment of dips, with pigments ready to be wetted on a large dish and various-sized brushes wrapped in a napkin like clean utensils. As I began painting, my friend picked up a piece of the charcoal she ordered and began to sketch. \u201cDid you know I almost went to art school?\u201d She asked. I didn\u2019t. We went on from there, sketching and painting for the next two hours as we caught up on the last 12 months of our lives.<\/p>\n

    This is a night at Happy Medium, an \u201cart cafe\u201d that offers classes and programming around arts and crafts activities, inviting attendees to develop new skills or revisit old creative pursuits. \u201cSocialization culture, particularly for adults outside of school, has become really centered around eating and drinking,\u201d says Tayler Carraway, a co-founder of Happy Medium. \u201cI think we\u2019ve been successful because we\u2019ve provided another option for people to do something with their friends outside their house.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Photo: Courtesy of Happy Medium<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Seated across from one another, the tactile activities required us to be off our phones for the entire night, and we weren\u2019t interrupted by ordering or consuming food and drink. It didn\u2019t matter that my watercolors looked like the work of a four-year-old. In fact, the whole evening\u2014aside from the hipster aesthetics and Greenpoint crowd\u2014felt like an adult playdate: two friends hanging out and doing crafts, like it used to be when we were kids.<\/p>\n

    Happy Medium is just one of a variety of spaces that have popped up since Covid that offer individuals a place to gather, learn, and participate in small craft projects in a low-stress and no-commitment way. According to a report from Eventbrite, in 2024, craft workshop events soared with a 44% rise in crochet events and 34% in jewelry-making. General interest in collage, crafting, and pottery-making events has also increased.<\/p>\n

    \u201cCan I just say: the Brooklyn man loves to be a woodworker right now,\u201d Isabelle Rieken says. She\u2019s only half-kidding, and as part of the duo behind NY-based Craft Society, she would know. She\u2019s observed as young women (and men) join the Craft Society\u2019s programming of lessons in net bag weaving and mulberry paper-lamp making, hosted at small boutiques and restaurants. Craft Society provides an alternative space for gathering, hosting anyone from craft-curious individuals to couples on their third dates. \u201cPeople love to chat at these, which is awesome,\u201d says the other Craft Society co-founder, Noa Mellul. \u201cOnce they\u2019re in the zone, they\u2019re all getting to know each other, talking to their neighbors, and exchanging Instagrams at the end\u2026 People get to make new friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Photo: Kitty Huang \/ Courtesy of Craft Society<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    It\u2019s easy to understand why spaces like this began emerging after 2020. During lockdown, many of us were stuck at home, feeling like the only thing to do was stare at a Zoom screen and then doomscroll TikTok dance trends. Some took solace in old activities, and others searched for new hobbies after becoming embarrassingly aware of how few pastimes they actually had. In general, many people were looking for something that did not involve a screen. The desire persists as work from home continues, and individuals\u2019\u00a0screen time increases. \u201cWe call it digital fatigue,\u201d says Carraway. \u201cWe\u2019re so hyper online all the time, and these offline experiences have disappeared. So hopefully we\u2019re bringing that back from the social aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    At a collage night with RecCreates Collective, inside a warehouse near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the night began with prompts from founder Liz Chick, who asked us things like, \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite natural wonder?\u201d (The event\u2019s theme was climate change\u2014to get the conversation flowing.) As it turns out, though, we didn\u2019t need prompts. Even without alcohol\u2014which very few of these places provide\u2014our table had no problem finding things to chat about despite our different life stages; a first-year student from Columbia was happy to chat with a woman visiting NYC from Savannah. The way that booze can provide social lubricant is, in many ways, replicated by the process of doing something with your hands.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cA beautiful thing about it all is that crafting is a built-in icebreaker,\u201d says Leah Smith, co-founder and strategic lead at Chicago Craft Club. \u201cAll you have to do is say: \u2018What are you working on?\u2019 And then the conversation just goes from there.\u201d Unlike the typical crafting model, most of Chicago Craft Club\u2019s programming is BYOC<\/em>:\u00a0Bring Your Own Craft. This provides a less structured environment, emphasizing connection and knowledge sharing more than skill development.<\/p>\n

    When the original Arts and Crafts movement emerged in late 19th-century Victorian England, society was at a similar inflection point regarding technology. Nearly 150 years ago, in response to the technological boom and effects of the industrial revolution, there was a desire for high-quality objects created by an artist\u2019s hand. Now, one could argue that the current state of the world, with the increase of AI and mass production, has resulted in a renewed desire for handmade items and a higher value placed on these simple, old-fashioned crafts. The rising popularity of crafts and these types of spaces may be a response to this new type of over-industrialization.<\/p>\n

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    Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Craft Club<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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    Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Craft Club<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

    \u201cPeople are returning to individuality,\u201d says Mellul. \u201cAnd I think they\u2019re excited to be able to be like, \u2018I made this thing\u2019 and not, \u2018I got it on Amazon.\u2019\u201d That\u2019s one of the reasons Craft Society focuses on functional crafts, not just things that add to clutter. This also increases confidence and competence among attendees who realize that the small, fun project they\u2019re doing now is also a skill that can be developed. \u201cOne of my favorite phrases when window shopping is just going, like, \u2018I can make that,\u2019 which I do way more than I should,\u201d adds Rieken.<\/p>\n

    At Happy Medium, this sentiment is echoed\u2014and growing. Their \u201cBuild a Chair\u201d workshop is already highly popular, but with the additional space at their Brooklyn location, there are plans for more home decor and furniture classes. \u201cIt\u2019s only in the last 100 years that we’ve been able to afford mass-produced items. Those kinds of home ec. skills\u2014like building your furniture, making your quilts, or repairing things in your home\u2014have kind of disappeared. It\u2019s not taught anymore,\u201d says Carraway. \u201cI think you get a lot of satisfaction when you make something and own it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Photo: Liz Chick \/ Courtesy of RecCreate<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

    Just because something is functional or skill-building doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it has to be so<\/em> practical. Take one of RecCreate\u2019s most popular offerings, \u201cCake Club.\u201d They partner with a baker, and RecCreate provides everything from the cake to the sprinkles, so all you have to do is show up. Attendees learn the basics of cake decorating tools and techniques throughout the event. The expectation isn\u2019t to walk away with a Pinterest-perfect cake but to engage with a new set of tools and canvas. It\u2019s a good reminder of the joy in creating as an act in and of itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cPeople want a return to innocence\u2014like playing and not being too serious,\u201d says Mellul. At one of her favorite events, a paper puppet-making class, this concept rang particularly true. \u201cThe average age was 45, and it was so awesome to see these grown adults making silly little paper puppets.\u201d<\/p>\n

    There are very few places where you can try out new things without the potential cost to your ego or a considerable cost to your wallet. These social art spaces strive to provide the atmosphere for precisely that. Plus, in a world where every hobby can easily become another revenue stream, places like RecCreate and Happy Medium emphasize the beginner experience, cultivating a place where you\u2019re encouraged not to commodify the fun. \u201cA lot of this is just play,\u201d says Laura Mattfeld of Chicago Craft Club. \u201cIt sounds silly, but [let\u2019s] play alongside other adults and be goofy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

    Source URL: http:\/\/vogue.com\/article\/craft-parties-trend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Living It\u2019s My Party, and I\u2019ll Craft if I Want To By Sylvie Florman November 21, 2025 A craft meetup hosted by RecCreate.Photo: Emma Scholes On a warm September night, I sat at a crowded Greenpoint, Brooklyn spot and browsed the menu. It was a similar scene to many nights I\u2019d had before, but this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":722473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-722472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=722472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/722473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=722472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=722472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=722472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}