Summer DIY Inspiration From Women Artisans Who Have Turned Their Crafts Into Serious Business
"If I were to track my initial love of experimenting with colors, it all began with my homemade lava lamp business that I started in third grade," says Kalen Kaminski, founder of the hand-dye design company Upstate. Kaminski is part of a group of established young designers who are continuing to make waves in the craft landscape. In 2011, Kaminski founded her company as a creative escape from the confines of her job. "As a one-off, I made large raw silk wraps using natural dye techniques," she explains. "It was a pleasant surprise that they were positively received, and immediately sold out."
A year after Kaminski transformed her childhood love of oils and pigments into the beginnings of her current business, Emily Katz was discovering the art of macramé. The textile technique, which uses a series of knots to create wallhangings, plant holders, and the like, is typically associated with 1970s hippies. In 2012, while Katz was on a trip to reconnect with her mother, macramé happened to come up. Katz asked her mom if she would teach her the technique, and the rest, as members of the makers community might say, is DIY-history. Katz was on the forefront of the macramé renaissance, something that has been seriously aided by her online supply store, Modern Macramé.
In the early 2010s, when Kaminski and Katz both started out, craft was in a considerably different place. Instagram was a nascent form of social media, not yet being harnessed to make professional connections and share images far and wide. Yarn bombing was in the throes of its own, well-publicized heyday, but other fiber arts hadn't necessarily received the same type of renewed recognition that we take for granted today. Block Shop, which is known for its hand-printed Indian textiles, opened around this same time. In 2013, sisters Hopie and Lily Stockman launched the company's website, which has been thriving ever since.
Flash forward five-plus years later, and women like Kaminski, Katz, and the Stockman sisters are expanding their businesses in innovative ways. Kaminski is launching a new plant-based dye kit, while Block Shop just debuted a new line of rugs. This month Katz publishes her first book, Modern Macrame: 33 Stylish Projects for Your Handmade Home. "I wanted to make a craft book that's not a craft book," Katz explains when reached by phone to discuss her work. "I want to reinvent the vision of what macramé can be, so that it's not just seen as hippie boho-chic.“
Katz's book, which includes step-by-step visual guides to making a series of projects, includes images shot in 19 different homes. A quick leaf through this tome provides clear summertime DIY inspiration. Luckily, Katz has just embarked on a three-month nationwide tour to promote her book and teach workshops around the country. But for those looking to dip their toes into the crafting waters this season, Katz has a little bit of general advice. "Often times, people have a really set idea of what they want to make," she says of the students she encounters. "But especially during the summer, it’s great to let loose a little bit. The main point is to enjoy this time, whether it is spent with family or friends, or is more of a quiet moment for yourself."
Kaminksi has similar words of wisdom to share. "First off, don't be intimidated," she says. "It's all fun. With my kits, if you can make a box of pasta, you'll be able to master a DIY dye project. The steps could be completed in an hour, but there's no stopwatch while you're experimenting. My pro tip is to be aware that each fiber absorbs color differently. For example, depending on the fabric content and pH balance of water, the rose dye in my new kit can range from light pink to peach to mauve." To avoid disappointment, Kaminski suggests that novice and veteran dyers alike always start with a test swatch. She also recommends that dyers stick to natural fibers such as cotton and flax, as opposed to polyester and rayon.
Block printing is also a prime DIY activity. "You can block print with the simplest tools, and it's a wonderful group activity," says Lily Stockman, who attributes the current interest in DIY as a reaction against too much screen time. "All you need is a table, a pan of ink, some blocks, and paper or fabric to print on," she adds, noting that children's building blocks and potatoes can work just as well as any formally carved piece of wood. However, as is true with any craft, block printing comes with its own set of caveats. "Make sure your printing ink is thin enough so that you don’t end up with big globs that smudge along the edges," Stockman advises. (A full step-by-step is findable here.)
So what exactly do women like Stockman and Kaminski have planned for their own summer DIY projects? Stockman is putting together an indigo block printing summer solstice party at her compound in Joshua Tree, while Kaminski has more itinerant plans. "I'm about to drive across the country, and will have my eye out for earth matter—tree bark, soil, seeds, flowers, plants—that I can turn into a pigment to use on fabrics," she shares. "I would love to make a larger-scale installation of fabric with found colors I’ve concocted from my travels." As you wander in search of new spaces or cooler climes this summer, what if you hand-crafted your own souvenirs?
