Perri Lewis originally brought her crafting skills to the world via The Guardian and her fantastic blog, Make and Do with Perri, but now she's compiled all her most useful knowledge and experience into Material World -the modern craft bible. It really does feel like the embodiment of a new era for 'craft', steering completely clear of anything twee- you won't find a tea-cosy in site. Katie Antoniou chatted to Perri about the various themes she explores in the book, from fashion to feminism, blokes who craft and where to buy the best handmade presents this Christmas.
KA:What's the first thing you can remember making?
PL: My first proper piece of craft was a cross-stitched thank you card for my Nana: it was thanking her for the awesome cross stitch kit she'd just bought me! I remember making a pin holder at school in year 7 (which I still use today) and a crappy scarf from nylon wool (that I definitely don't use).
KL:You were lucky enough for craft to have been a family affair for you, with your grandmothers both being avid crafters and your dad actually illustrating Material World- do you think all children should be being taught more craft at school?
PL: I think they should. I'm genuinely shocked when my friends (who are all pretty clever, and at least have kind of common sense) tell me they pay people to sew buttons back on for them. It's so frickin' easy when you know how! But I also think craft should be taught in some way because of how intrinsically rewarding is it. Making something with your hands is so satisfying - unlike most tasks in modern life there's a very definite start, middle and end. Once you're done, you can sit back and bask in the warm glow of satisfaction that it gives you to have completed a task from start to finish. When else do we get to do that? (While we're talking about my dad, by the way, he was also the person who taught me how to use my first sewing machine. His mum, my Nana, made sure he knew how to make stuff from a young age, so he's always been able to sew buttons on and take up trousers. What a legend.)
KL:You interviewed some real craft idols for your book, including Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Rob Ryan, and representatives from iconic institutes like Liberty. Do you think it's important that people are educated about the role of craft in the worlds of Art and high fashion, rather than just associating it with grandmas and tea-cosies?
PL: Absolutely. Because for the most part, crafters and artists are using very similar techniques - they stitch in the same way, use paper in the same way. The only difference (which is something I picked up from interviewing the likes of Grayson Perry and Rob Ryan) is the intention behind making that stitch - crafters do it to make something look pretty; artists say they do it to communicate something much more than just beauty. And it's definitely important when it comes to fashion. I like to think that, when you realise you're using a similar technique to make a dress or sew on a button as fashion designers, you really appreciate how talented they are and how much effort goes into making a garment. I find it so much harder to buy cheap stuff from Primark now that I know what it takes to cut the pattern, stitch the seams and do all that intricate beading. And, of course, by making craft desirable, like art or fashion, you help it survive, because people want to pass down the skills.
KL:There's an interesting section in your book on craft and feminism, as well as a dedicated mention of prolific male crafters. There seem to be many male personalities who are successful, professional crafters- for example milliners like Philip Treacy and Piers Atkinson or designers like Michael Van Der Ham- but we rarely come across men who admit to crafting as a hobby- why do you think this is and is it likely to change?
PL: I think it's because, no matter how many craft books are written by awesome young men and women, how many headlines are written about craft being the big, new, cool thing, it's still so ingrained into our heads that it's a hobby for old women. That stereotype is still so powerful. (It certainly doesn't help when journalists and sub editors rely on cliched headlines for craft stories - 'move over grandma - there's new knitters in town', for example.) Plus, there's the fact that men who make stuff always seem to be considered on a different level - they're not sewers, they're artists, they're not seamstresses, they're designers. It's like the chef vs cook label, where women, frustratingly, are very often described at the later. Will it change? I don't know. In certain fractions of society I reckon craft will always be considered something that women do. But as more and more men come out and admit they rather like stitching, knitting and making, the rest might not get so many stares when they whip their embroidery out on the train.
KL: You pay tribute to Lady Gaga for being a craft pioneer- if you could make something for the star, what would it be?
PL: Oh a hat, for sure. I'm a huge fan of hats - the bigger, the weirder, the more outrageous the better. I'd love to train as a proper milliner one day and have my own hat salon. Imagine being the Miss Cakehead of the millinery world!
KL:What are your top London destinations for crafters hunting for reasonably priced supplies?
PL: I'm a big fan of Muculloch and Wallis - it's got three floors of stuff, so feels a bit like a craft department store. For anything millinery it's Atelier Millinery in Kingly Court, for screen printing and paper it's Cowling and Wilcox on Broadwick Street (or Cass Art, around London) and for knitting I like Prick Your Finger in Bethnal Green (co-founder Rachel Matthews was the head of knitting group Cast Off back in the early 2000s, who got thrown out of the Savoy for knitting too loudly). But I actually get most of my craft supplies from the highstreet. I trawl the sales looking for cheap jewellery, clothes and accessories to cut up an reuse (think belts for the buckles, bags for the handles and full length skirts or dresses for the fabric).
KL: In your book you recommend craft as a a way of combatting stress- what's your favourite craft to turn to when you want to relax?
PL: Anything that I can do without a pattern, like cross stitch, embroidery or freehand crochet. The moment I have to follow instructions for it to look good I lose all those mindfulness benefits. (It's why I'm probably the least stressed out member of Knit The City guerrilla craft group in the run up to an installation - everyone else makes these amazingly detailed creations, while I freehand crochet everything.)
KA: If people want to buy handmade presents for christmas this year, where would you recommend they shop, both online and in 'real life' ?
PL: I remain a huge fan of Etsy, especially now you can see prices in pounds not dollars, and search for sellers in the same city or country as you. Folksy - Etsy's UK based rival - has got much better over the past year or so and the quality of products being sold is higher than ever. For more pricey stuff I like Papa Stour and Seek and Adore, and I'm a massive supporter of Fine Cell Work, a charity who teach prisoners fine needlepoint skills and have them make the most beautiful (and some very contemporary) cushions, patchworks and tapestries. When you buy one, you fund the charity's work, and the prisoner gets cash too so they can start savings or pass money to their families. In real life I'd recommend scouting out the awesome craft fairs that pop up across the country around December - Bethnal Green's Bust Craftacular and Brixton's Crafty Fox Market in London, for example. Keep an eye out on your local craft group because there's every chance they'll be putting something on this December.
KA: What's your next project?
PL: At the moment, craft-wise, who knows? If I have some stonking ideas for another book that I could really get my teeth into, I'd do that. But before I do anything related to another book I'd better plan a wedding first (despite suffering six months of waiting on me hand and foot while I wrote the book in my evenings and weekends, the boyfriend wasn't put off and proposed a couple of months ago. He's a proper good egg.) I'm starting a new job soon, and now the book is done can finally get back to freelancing again - I've really missed writing one-off features. And I might make some stuff. Not for work, or for a book or for a feature - just for fun, for me, because I want to.
