Trends – Makers and designers

[Lisa Schofeld]

Whilst there have always been creative people and groups around, makers and designers, there’s been a resurgence in hand crafted items since the G.F.C. (Global Financial Crisis in 2008). It triggered many to return to crafts long forgotten since our grandmothers were young. The idea that if you are going to do something or spend your hard earned cash it should be bespoke and handmade. People started looking to 2nd hand stores and dump shops to salvage discarded objects and upcycle them into something new and trendy and then the trend emerged and took hold with TV programs like ‘American Pickers’ and ‘Storage Wars’. Today the trendy thing to do is to head to the Jungle Tiki bar in Brisbane and learn Macrame whilst sipping on cocktails. Libraries have become meeting places for creative groups, my own knitting and crochet group “North Brisbane Knitters and Crocheters” regularly meets in different libraries around town where members can sit and knit (or Crochet), chat and make new friends and share knowledge and ideas. Our group has also provided projects to be displayed in the library to promote books on hand crafted items. Libraries are no longer book repositories but venues where people can meet, collaborate, design and develop new skills. It’s important for us as we enter the industry to not just focus on information but also about the spaces in the library where people can come together in a community hub. The library should be the heart of the community, a welcome respite from the hectic lives we lead, somewhere quiet to escape in a book.
Why not have a look at the TTG Library Writers Group that has been meeting at the Tea Tree Gully Library since 1991, a mixture of writers both published and unpublished come together regularly to help each other improve there writing skills and share their passion for the written word. Caloundra public library partners with the:
– Caloundra Embroiderers Guild
– Busy needles Knitting group
– Fantastic Storytellers
– Fred Fletcher, Aboriginal Elder, Birra Gubba People
Calloundra library provides a venue for many creative groups which allows them to engage and collaborate with the local community.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Lisa Schofeld.

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