Why crafting is important to Pickaway County

While “National Crafting Month” happens each March, there is no doubt how important crafting is on a local level all year long. Not just here in Pickaway County, but across the United States of America. Whether you’re planning a D.I.Y. project around the house or found a new passion, crafting is necessary to making that project happen. Crafting is when a person makes or constructs something with “care or ingenuity”.  It is defined as combining or repurposing materials to form something new.  Sometimes it’s something like yarn crafted into a sweater or wood pieces crafted into a chair, but it can also be taking vintage buttons, keys, or old window frames from a local antique store like Two Old Broads and a Geezer or Rosena’s Treasures and creating something new. Crafting can be art, function, utility, practical, chic, and so much more.

In honor of all those crafters out there, here are highlights of crafting.

Crafting is Popular

Online, in homes and local small business are booming because of talented crafters selling their one-of-a-kind wares and because folks are searching for unique items for themselves or as gifts. Crafting is even represented in reality shows, social media, and entire television channels because it’s so ubiquitous. Humans are the only species on Earth to both use tools and make art, both of which are components of types of crafting. In fact, Saint Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying, “He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.”

Crafting is Helpful

Crafting is one of the most rewarding hobbies, because it directly involves creation. Creating something from something else is beneficial because it stimulates the reward center of the brain, releasing feel-good brain chemicals. Essentially, the brain recognizes that crafting is “successful” by nature of creation, and inspires the brain to continue this helpful activity.

Additionally, crafting is helpful financially. Crafting a headboard for a bed using bought supplies can be much cheaper than buying a headboard from the store. So whether in the brain or in the wallet, crafting is helpful. If you repurpose items to help make your crafts, it also helps keep more out of landfills.

Crafting is Fun

One of the most important reasons to craft is that it’s entertaining. There is a simple joy in creating. Crafting a scarf for a loved one is rewarding, and can be a thoughtful gift, but it comes at little sacrifice because the act of crafting is often very engaging and fun. To those who don’t know: try it. Find a new craft to try, like shadowboxes or hand-made pressed-pulp paper.

Crafting is a well known and widely loved hobby because it combines the innate human desire to create with the rewards of having a physical product. Sometimes the craft is useful, and sometimes it’s purely for decoration, but it was created, and like the famous saying goes, “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

We want to share your craft

If you are a local crafter in Pickaway County we would love to feature you and/or your “craft” in a future issue of the Pickaway Cultivator.  Email [email protected] to request more information.  There is no charge to be featured!

Image by Tiny Tribes