Crafting Self: Promoting the making self in the creative micro-economy - APO
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Crafting Self: Promoting the making self in the creative micro-economy
Report Authors Thank-you to those makers in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Aus-
Professor Susan Luckman tralia who allowed us to get a visual glimpse into their studios and making
Dr Jane Andrew lives: South Australia — Doris Chang (Little Sister Co), Julie Frahm, Jordan
Tracy Crisp Gower, Bella Head, Kate Inglis, Jax Isaacson (Jax & Co), Pip Kruger, Tiff
Manuel, Craig Northam (BUCK!T), Karen Warren (Tootsie), Emma Young;
Other Contributors and Acknowledgements Tasmania — Emma Bugg, Phillipa Julien (Till Designs), Helen Mansbridge
We cannot thank Belinda Powles enough for her invaluable input (Pili Pala), Scott Van Tuill; Western Australia — Gill Cordiner, Adam Coffey
and assistance with the research project. Her steady hand across most (Future Shelter), Stephanie Hammill, Annemieke Mulders. Thank-you also
of the project’s timeframe was essential to its successful completion and to Michelle Young and Samantha Moody from Tjanpi Desert Weavers.
much of the enthusiastic and warm buy-in from the Australian craft and
designer-maker community. The project would also have clearly not been Report Design
possible without that strong support from the craft and design sector. Dr Melinda Gaughwin
There have been many people who have helped us on the way and to you
This research was supported by the Australian Research Council’s
a huge thank-you, and especially to the many makers, administrators and
Discovery Project funding scheme (project number DP150100485,
enablers who have generously shared their stories with us — a full list of
2015-2018). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and
everyone is included at the end of this document. Across the project,
are not necessarily those of the Australian Research Council.
we are incredibly thankful for the administrative and financial support
offered by Julie White and Emmeline Koh. The work of Tracy Crisp,
Tim Coventry and Jess Pacella was essential to bringing this Final
Report into being.
Within this report are a selection of responses and quotes taken from the
179 interviews conducted across 2015-2018. A number of photographs
ISBN-13: 978-0-6484622-0-0 Hard Copy
and breakout quotes featuring creative practitioners and their business
ISBN-13: 978-0-6484622-1-7 Electronic Version
or organisations were chosen to illustrate the report, to both highlight the
diversity within the Australian designer-maker sector and illustrate key Published by the School of Creative Industries,
points from the research. The authors thank those who granted permis- University of South Australia, Adelaide
sion for their photographs, images, words or artwork to be reproduced
within this report, and state that those featured do not necessarily share © 2018 Copyright is held by the authors
the views expressed within the report. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Photography
All photography by Rosina Possingham Photography unless credited
otherwise. http://rosinapossingham.com/#
2 3
Table of contents
1 Project Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Understanding Contemporary Australian Craft and Design . . . . . . . .17
3 Why People Make. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4 Where People Are Selling in the Australian Craft and
Designer-Maker Marketplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5 Social Media and its Impact Upon Contemporary
Craftspeople and Designer-Makers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6 Acquiring Craft and Design Knowledge and Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7 Making as a Living. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8 Running a Craft or Designer-Maker Business:
Creative Enterprises and Business Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
9 Outsourcing, Scaling-Up and the Impact of New Technologies. . . . . . 79
10 Work/Life Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
11 Race, Ethnicity and the Contemporary Craft and Designer-
Maker Sector in Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Craft and Designer-Making. . . . 95
13 Environmental Considerations and Contemporary Australian
Small-Scale Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
14 General Advice Arising From the Research: What things can
makers creating small businesses actively do to keep their heads
above water?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
15 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
16 Appendix 1 — Crafting Self Research Participants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
17 Appendix 2 — 'Key Moments in Craft in Australia' timeline . . . . 118
Image: Textile design by Phillipa Julien (Till Designs) 5
Phillipa Julien (Till Designs) “You’ve just got to trust in yourself, … keep your direction and go for it.” 6
1. Project Overview
The project focused on the contemporary
craft and designer-maker micro-economy,
which is at present experiencing unprece-
Aims and Methods dented growth as part of the larger upsurge
of interest in making as a cultural and eco-
Promoting the Making Self in the Creative
nomic practice. This research project has
Micro-economy (‘Crafting Self’) was funded
generated new insights into the changing
through the Australian Government’s
nature of contemporary creative work, and
Australian Research Council’s Discovery
both the tacit and explicit knowledge that
Project funding scheme (project number
individuals require to succeed as makers.
DP150100485).
In this project we recognise that not all
The primary aim of the project was to
handmade micro-entrepreneurs are at the
determine how online distribution is
same stage of their career or have the same
changing the environment for operating
origin story. Therefore this qualitative,
a creative micro-enterprise, and with it,
mixed-methods national research project
the larger relationship between public and
consists of three parallel data collection ac-
private spheres. A key research question
tivities: semi-structured interviews with es-
was: what are the ‘self-making’ skills
tablished makers; a three-year longitudinal
required to succeed in this competitive
annual interview monitoring of arts, design
environment? Specifically, the research
and craft graduates as they seek to establish
sought to:
their making careers; and a historical over-
• Identify the attitudes, knowledge and view of the support mechanisms available
skills required to develop and run a to Australian handmade producers.
sustainable creative micro-enterprise,
including the acquisition of making/ Across the four years of the project we
production skills, business skills and interviewed: 20 peak body and industry
acumen, personal capacities and deci- organisations, 81 Established Makers,
sion-making around self-marketing; and followed the progress of an initial 32
• Analyse the spatial and temporal ne- Emerging Makers as they sought to es-
gotiations necessary to run an online tablish their careers (Year 1 - ‘1-Up’ = 32
creative micro-enterprise, including the interviews; Year 2 - ‘2-Up’ = 27 follow-up
ways in which divisions of labour are interviews; Year 3 - ‘3-Up’ = 19 follow-up
gendered; and interviews, for a total of 71 interviews).
• Examine how the contemporary
The study was explicitly national, and
creative economy contributes to growing
we spoke to makers and peak organisations
ethics-based micro-economic consumer
in every state and territory. Underpinning
and producer relationships that privileg-
the selection criteria was the need to gather
es small-scale production, environmen-
as large a diversity of experience as possi-
tally-sustainable making practices and
ble, and thus to seek to capture a breadth
the idea of buying direct from the maker.
of people across: geography (urban, subur-
ban, regional, rural, remote); practice and
business model; age; race and ethnicity;
and gender. commendation by previous
8 interviewees. 9
Image: Scott Van Tuil's workshop
We make no claims that the sample was JamFactory, Sturt, Australian Tapestry
completely representative, but in its scale Workshop and Tjanpi Weavers. We also
and scope, it does capture a broad variety of sought to include representative examples
stories and knowledge. of some of the newer retail designer-maker
and craft market operators. Age Range of Established Maker
We identified potential Emerging Make Research Participants
participants through 2014 graduate See the Project Webpage: http://craftingself.
net/ or Appendix 1 at the end of this document 25-29 1
exhibition catalogues from art, design and for a full list of research participants who agreed 30-34 6
craft higher education programs around to have their involvement publicly identified
35-39 9
the country; these were either sourced from
Recommendations: As an ARC Discov- 40-44 14
publicly accessible sections of universi-
ery Research Project the primary focus of 50-54 7
ty websites or provided by the university
Crafting Self was on original ‘blue sky’/ 55-60 8
involved. These catalogues were requested
basic research, not to be government-fac- 60-64 4
from higher education institutions follow-
ing. However, arising out of the research, 65-70 2
ing disclosure of the intent of their use.
a number of policy recommendations did Unassigned 16
Where graduates provided contact details
as part of an exhibition catalogue, these clearly emerge through the study, namely:
details were used in our study. Where grad-
• Business skills development: Age Range of Emerging Maker
uates did not provide this information, con-
Consider extending the New Enterprise Research Participants (as of last
tact details were obtained through a public
Incentive Scheme (NEIS) to people not interview with them)
internet search using www.google.com.
on Newstart but also not currently em- 20-24 19
While we initially mistakenly presumed
ployed or receiving an income who are 25-29 10
that most of the recent graduates would be
committed to developing a sustainable 30-34 13
young, what was immediately striking was
business in this sector. Access should 35-39 11
how many craft returners there were; that
apply regardless of de facto or marital 40-44 14
is people returning to their love of making
status (see p. 75 for further discussion); 45-49 3
in mid-life having had other jobs and/or
50-54 0
brought up children. • Reinstate grant schemes to support
55-59 0
collaborations between industry and
Established Makers (generally those with 65-70 2
creative micro-enterprises;
over five years or more of making and sel - 60-64 3
ing) were cold-called having been identified • Provide funding to maintain higher
on peak organisation websites or through education studio practice:
dialogue with them, Etsy and other online Need to re-establish funding levels that
retail outlets, as stall holders in design enable high quality studio practice and
craft markets, or through recommendation hands-on learning if the making skills
by previous interviewees. necessary to grow the design craft sec-
tor, as well as enable the contribution
With the peak body and industry organi-
of craftspeople and designers to innova-
sations we approached all the ACDC (Aus-
tion in making in Australia, are to exist
tralian Craft and Design Centres) members
into the future.
across Australia, as well as other iconic
craft and design organisations such as the
Image: Ceramic vessel by Stephanie Hammill
10
Karen Warren (Tootsie) “Someone commented to me at a market, a few years ago now, crafting is cool again. Making things yourself is a lot more appealing to people again. … A lot of people are appreciating handmade items now and wanting to support local business and local sole business owner-makers.” 12 13
Tiff Manuel
“I think I was always generally
creative as a youngster — like
I always made cards, I never
bought a card. I would try and
make something as opposed to
buy something, and I saw the
value and joy that people got out
of receiving something made.”
14 15
Understanding
Rather they employ a number of tactics
in order to de-personalise their business,
Contemporary Australian moving identification of it away from them
Craft and Design and perhaps onto, for example, a disembod-
ied brand name.
What clearly emerges in this project’s fin -
ings is that contemporary makers are pur-
suing DIY (‘Do It Yourself’) or ‘self-starter’
entrepreneurial career paths. Not waiting
for opportunities to fall into their laps, they
have internalised the belief that they need to
make them for themselves, as is increasingly
required and expected of us as enterprising-
citizen subjects. Even the self-identified shy
or introverted makers, who would just rather
get on with their creative practice in splendid
isolation, learn the performative and discur-
sive skills necessary to present their story
and themselves as key to the value of the
artisanal or handmade items they sell.
The affordances of social media and the
baseline of needing to have a personal
website are key drivers here. Graduates,
through their higher education training,
and more established makers, through
either word of mouth networks, their own
writing/promotional skills, or targeted
training sessions offered by professional
and practice-centred associations, all vari-
ously are made to engage with the entrepre-
neurial self-branding required to operate in
this highly aestheticised, self-performative,
thoroughly Instagrammable marketplace.
But while such self-branding is recognised
as being ‘the norm’ or simply what’s required
as an entry-level baseline, not all makers
completely embrace the practice.
16 Images: Adam Coffey (Future Shelter) 17
and Jax Isaacson (Jax and Co.) working in their studios
er than design. We also get ‘textile artists’,
Area or Object of Making Design and Ceramics 1 What do we mean by
‘glass artists’ and so forth, especially among
Practice of interviewees Tinsmith 1 ‘Designer-Maker’?
our emerging maker cohort, and this is a
(Established and Machine Embroidery 1
Flamework Beads 1 direct result of the historical movements in The phrase ‘designer-maker’ is one in-
Emerging Makers)
Milliner 1 the field of craft education identified abov creasingly employed in the contemporary
Glass 16 Weaving 1 that align it further with art. As a result we craft and design marketplace, especially
Ceramics 15 Textiles - Knitting 1
encountered comments such as ‘at uni we among those seeking to make a full-time
Unassigned 15
weren’t taken seriously if a craft maker’, as living from their practice. It marks those
Jewellery 14 ‘Craftsperson’ versus ‘Designer well as ‘art has a higher sale value’. So while makers who may undertake original design
Metalsmith 12 Maker’ — What’s in a Name many research participants proudly claimed and prototyping themselves, but who, in
Furniture Design 9
their identification with craft, for others the order to scale-up their production in ways
Textiles 9 Contemporary craft is a splintering field
word ‘craft’ was seen a limiting, carrying not always possible for a solo hand-maker,
Design 5 marked by its burgeoning terminology:
a lot of baggage (especially slightly ‘daggy’ outsource some or all subsequent aspects of
Woodwork 5 ‘designer’, ‘designer-maker’, ‘maker’,
associations with either the 1970s hippy era production to other makers or machine-as-
Leatherwares 5 ‘artisan’, ‘artist’, ‘craftsperson’. Obviously,
or more ‘grandma-ish’ CWA or hobbyist sisted manufacturing processes.
Shoemaker 4 lingering tensions persist around the polic-
connotations). These makers thus sought
Furniture Design 2 ing of the boundaries between ‘art’, ‘craft’
to either align their practice more closely
The Contemporary Popularity of
Textiles/Jewellery 2 and ‘design’ as distinct fields of endeavor,
with art, or, moving in arguably the op-
Craft and Small-Scale Design?
Papermaking 1 bounded by their own rules, including
posite direction, chose to more strongly
Handpainted Accessories 1 around quality, legitimacy, expertise, au- While large-scale manufacturing is increas-
identify with design.
Textile Upcycled Accessories 1 thenticity and scalability. Today the fact is ingly moving to cheaper labour markets,
Upcycled Accessories 1 that much tertiary craft and design training making things — physical, material things
Soft Toys 1 is increasingly undertaken in university arts — is re-emerging as a popular, largely mid-
Fibre Artist 1 schools, with a growing focus on classroom dle-class activity; the same is true of buying
Graphic Design 1 learning, not studio practice. This ironi- unique handmade items. The demand for
Woodturning (pens) 1 cally means that even more so than in the bespoke, handmade ‘design’ (as distinct
Pyrography 1 early days of the roll-out of urban creative from ‘twee’) craft is clear in the growing
Furniture/Interior Design 1 industries policy as an economic growth number of designer maker markets across
Gallerist/Jewellery/Glass 1 imperative, the winding back of expensive the country, and the exponential growth
Jewellery and Object Design 1 studio time is today having the effect of of online marketplaces for the handmade.
Textiles 1 producing more makers with classical arts Mainstream consumer acceptance and the
Designer 1 backgrounds. middle-class desirability of such products
Furniture and Lighting Design 1 reflects, in no small part, a wider shift in the
A question we asked up-front in our developed world towards ethical consump-
Shoemaker and Leatherwares 1
project interviews was: ‘how do you iden- tion and environmental awareness. Along
Knifemaker 1
Design and Illustration 1
tify yourself?’ Frequently people sought with other increasingly popular micro-eco-
Illustration 1 to bypass much of this loaded debate and nomic practices such as the rise of highly
Yarn worker 1 simply have a primary identification with localised artisanal food production and
Glass Lampworking 1 their practice: ‘ceramicist’, ‘jeweller’, ‘met- farmers’ markets, and the commercial
Dog Collars 1 alsmith’, ‘furniture maker’. These are often,
but not exclusively, people more comfort- Image: Vessels by Scott Van Tuil
able identifying with the field of craft, rat -
18 19growth of fair trade items, buying
handmade clothing, accessories, gifts
and other items becomes part of a set of
ethical and self-aware purchasing be-
haviours. Contemporary handmade items
are positioned as an alternative to main-
stream consumer culture.
Across the study the idea repeatedly
emerged that people prefer to buy some-
thing handmade as an antidote to unsus-
tainable globalisation, or at least in order to
support local economies to which they can
meaningfully belong. This was especially
apparent among those with a stronger iden-
tification with craft. That people appreciate
things that aren’t mass produced and that
they can have a more meaningful relation-
ship with was a recurring motif, clearly
supported by their interactions with cus-
tomers. In an age of fast fashion, craft and
well-designed objects are part of a rejection
of disposability, of changing everything
every six months. So too, rare trades are be-
coming popular and offer a sense of a larger
story of making and connection to history,
community and family. Ditto repair cafes
and practices. What was seen throughout
the study was that people with the resources
to do so don’t don’t mind spending more if
they know where an object has come from,
and that they’re directly supporting some-
body’s livelihood.
Images: Helen Mansbridge (Pili Pala) works on her
jewellery and Bella Head's loom
20 21Whilst discouraging, this statement is not
2. Why People Make entirely unfounded. One of our participants
whose parents were both artists, recalls the
financial and associated emotional stru -
Within our cohort of research participants,
gles their family endured in the pursuit of
both emerging and established, we found a
creative careers. It was this that made him
wide variety of interests, work experiences
determined to establish his own strong fi-
and career development motivations.
nancial base and business acumen pursuing
another career, before later in life returning
Several of our participants identified the
to making and the development of creative
catalytic role that either their parents,
enterprise inspired by his grandfather.
grandparents or significant adults in their
life played in enabling and inspiring the
It goes without saying that the nature of our
development of their creative passion.
educational experiences plays a significant
For some, the exposure was watching and
role in shaping our lives. Choosing to send
working alongside grandparents in their
a child to school in education environments
sheds, sewing rooms, kitchens, studios or
supportive of creative making and creative
farms. For others, whilst their parents were
enterprise is significantly influenced b
not artists or craftspeople they were cre-
family attitudes and valuing creativity, mak-
ative in other ways; in their approach to life,
ing and the arts. Interestingly, and perhaps
an attitude of resourcefulness — of repair
not surprisingly, a disproportionate number
and making do, or the shed-based tinkerer.
of our interviewees attended Montessori,
Other research participants gained creative
Steiner or other non-traditional schools
insight and inspiration through their paren-
with a strengths-based approach to foster-
tal professional pursuits such as engineer-
ing and supporting an individual’s educa-
ing and architecture.
tional pursuits. But reassuringly for those
without the family economic resources or
While people would prefer to recall the
cultural histories that may see them at-
positive influence significant adults ca
tending such an independent school, across
play in their development, there were also
school types many of our interviewees cited
numerous people we interviewed whose
the influence of a ‘great teacher’ inspiring
intended pursuit of a creative career was
and supporting them in the development
strongly discouraged. For many this dis-
and pursuit of their creative making.
couragement started at school when need-
ing to choose between undertaking sci-
ence-based or arts-based subject streams.
Many recalled influential people in their
lives stating things like: ‘you can’t make a
decent living as an artist’.
Image: Craig Northam (BUCK!T) working with salvaged bicycle tyres
22 23We also interviewed many people who
did not have an education rich in the arts,
yet, despite this, they are now running
a creative enterprise. In most instances
there was often a life event that was a cat-
alyst for them to focus on developing their
crafting/making enterprise. Some of our
research participants’ creative pursuits
were inspired by travel where they were
exposed to people, artefacts, and in some
cases making processes that stimulated
and informed the development of the
products and enterprise.
For some the suppression of their creative/
making instincts during their schooling and
daily work lives became too much to bear.
Often the birth of a child and parenting was
enough of a break from the workforce to
enable them to develop the skills and spaces
in their homes and daily schedules to allow
them to create and make. For many this
was a transition from creative therapy, to
serious hobby, to creative enterprise.
The hands of makers from top of page (L to R):
Scott Van Tuil, Jax Isaacson (Jax and Co.),
Julie Frahm, Gill Gordiner, Jordan Gower,
Bella Head, Emma Young,
Karen Warren (Tootsie) and
Adam Coffey (Future Shelter)
24 25Jax Isaacson (Jax and Co.) “I think my work ethic and my enjoyment of the physical part of the job, that comes from growing up on a farm. I remember doing jobs [around the farm] when I was six and seven, driving the ute out into the paddock to round up sheep by myself when I was seven.”
3. Where People Are
media contact can be one mechanism by
which existing friends and previous custom-
Selling in the Australian ers look to reconnect, and recommission,
Craft and Designer- work from a maker. In this way, even on-
Maker Marketplace line, selling relationships frequently tended
to be both socially and geographically local.
Where our research participants
A number of the questions in the study
(Established Makers) are selling:
sought to identify the actual outlets peo-
ple were selling through. In particular, the
question: ‘Which of the following best de- Total:
scribes the current distribution methods for (in top 3
outlets)
your craft product?’ that we asked interview
Word of mouth 22
participants to complete themselves directly
Direct to retailers (other 17
onto the page. What is not evident in the than galleries)
figures presented here is that in approx - Direct to public from studio/ 17
mately half of the cases where people sold workshop/home
primarily through public craft fairs or street Public craft fairs 16
markets this was far and away their primary Online 16
outlet, often listed at 60% or above. Much Through a commercially 16
funded gallery or exhibition
of the balance of their sales was then made
Direct commissions 14
via ‘word of mouth’, often repeat custom-
Through a craft shop 14
ers (having first purchased off them at th
Through a publicly funded 10
market) or people who were aware of their gallery or exhibition
work through friendship networks. In this Wholesalers 10
way the majority of the people we have Street markets 7
spoken to are still selling ‘directly’ to cus- Trade-only fairs 1
tomers; if not directly ‘hand-to-hand’, then Other (co-ops/artist 2
generally within limited geographies and/ collectives)
or social networks. Perhaps ironically, the
desire for some degree of intimacy with the (NB. No response or percentage given = 20
out of 81. Where equal percentages provided
experience of buying is one reason for the
at 1st and 2nd all apportioned to top value,
rise of Instagram as a marketing and sales
with corresponding number of further levels
tool; makers reporting success in this space left empty. If multiples given at 3rd option
noted the importance of the personal ‘word data not included)
of mouth’ recommendations to ‘friends of
friends’ that are easily enabled via the af-
fordances of social media. Moreover, social
Image: Hand lettering by Doris Chang (Little Sister Co.)
28 29world are factored into the buying decision. • Great online tutorials and other resourc-
For others still, online sale sites lacked the es for sellers
Where People are Selling (Breakdown) personal touch and the facility for poten- • Great benefits if chosen as a featured
tial customers to ‘try on’ the highly tactile, seller or get some other boost like that
Main outlet 2nd most 3rd most Total: handmade product. • Might consider joining to be part of the
significant significant (in top 3 local Etsy physical markets
outlet outlet outlets) The Experience of Selling
Online 7 5 4 16 Online — Tips and Pitfalls Interviewees’ Perceived
Word of mouth 8 11 3 22 Limitations of Etsy:
Direct to retailers (other than 10 6 1 17 For those who have had success online (es-
• It’s too big — easy to get lost
galleries) pecially on Etsy), the trick has been to find
• People expect to pay low prices making it
Direct to public from studio/ 9 7 1 17 the right balance between the costs associ-
difficult to compete with cheaper m -
workshop/home ated with uploading the item for sale (in-
kets; also competing with markets with
Direct commissions 4 7 3 14 cluding notably photographing the pieces),
greater economies of scale (e.g. US)
Wholesalers 2 4 4 10 and the income to be generated from them.
• Perception that it is a saturated market
Trade-only fairs 1 0 0 1 Primarily, there are two divergent paths to
• Keeping it updated is time-consuming
Public craft fairs 4 2 1 7 take here: if it’s a one-off product, make it a
and fiddl
Street markets 10 5 1 16 high-end/expensive one to cover the costs
• Pointing people towards Etsy can
Through a craft shop 4 2 1 7 associated with photographing, describ-
mean lost sales because potential
Through a publicly funded gallery 3 7 0 10 ing, costing and generally listing it; if it’s a
customers are more easily able to
or exhibition
cheaper one, make sure it’s reproduceable,
Through a commercially 9 5 2 16 access competitors
including each listed colorway. For makers
funded gallery • Harder for people with less obvious
with insecure supply chains, including those
Other (co-ops/artist collectives) 2 0 0 2 products because of the limitations of
seeking to source environmentally (off-cuts,
the keyword search
recycling, etc.), guaranteeing a high level of
• Not good for one-off designs because of
(N.B Top three responses to the question having success online, very few stayed on product consistency is not easy; they tended
the time it takes to get the descriptions
regarding where Established Makers sell their Etsy and equivalent sites long after this ini- to lean online towards the faster-to-update
and images online
work. No response or percentage given = 20 out tial moment of hype. Instead, social media, Facebook and Instagram to advertise these
• If you don’t want to get lost in Etsy need
of 81. Where equal percentages provided at 1st products, rather than Etsy or similar store-
Instagram in particular, or simply direct to pay for advertising
and 2nd all apportioned to top value, with corre-
contact via email or from a business/per- like platforms.
sponding number of further levels left empty. If • Needs lots of marketing expertise
sonal website were the online mechanisms and time
multiples given at 3rd option data not included). Interviewees’ Perceived
leading most directly to sales. In spite of • Costs of running an Etsy shop mean
the hype of the global marketplace, as we
Strengths of Etsy:
When the project was initially proposed in that need a certain turnover to make
• Really easy to use, with lots of guidance
2014, Etsy and other online outlets for the know geography matters; especially when it worthwhile
about how to present work etc.
handmade were experiencing a moment the products you’re selling exist as physical, • Not good for small items like cards, be-
• Good alternative for an online presence
of exponential growth, coupled with the often fragile, items, not digital files. Those cause delivering a single card, for exam-
to support markets and other sale points
wider media hype that comes with the new. research participants who sought to shift ple, is too time consuming and expensive
• Trustworthy
Consequently, the possibilities for further their focus to other sales avenues offered • It is reductive — as one maker says:
• Easier to get traction than with than an
decentralisation of production as a result of a number of reasons for their lack of suc- ‘Everyone that I talk with, when I ask
individual website
online international retailing via ‘long tail’ cess with online selling sites. For some, the ‘oh where did you get these from?’, they
• Takes care of things like currency
(Anderson 2007) distribution networks was sheer number of sellers was seen as an im- always say Etsy, they never say the
transactions
an initial focus of the study. However, what pediment to the visibility of their products. designer’s name.’
• Can develop good networks with
we have actually found is that while some For others, sales volumes did not warrant
other makers
of the makers we interviewed were indeed the effort, especially when the costs of
postage from Australia to elsewhere in the
30 31Doris Chang (Little Sister Co.)
“Right now it’s very much
local; all of my wholesalers are
based in Adelaide. There’s been
a few times when people have
purchased items as gifts for
people overseas which has been
lovely, but on a wider scale right
now it’s very much local.”
32 33Scott Van Tuil “So that idea of knowing exactly where it’s come from — I love that idea of you literally owning or can hold a small piece of Tasmania.” 34 35
• Selling on consignment can be fraught. You • Cater to niche markets — address spe-
“How easy or difficult do
can tie up a large amount of stock, and thus cific community needs (for example, are
you find the following
materials, without control over its condi- there lots of young children in communi-
aspects of running your
tion or promotional profile and context; we ty, and few retail options?).
business?”:
even heard from one jeweller whose work • Increasing costs of the city mean that
Updating your online shop (%) was stolen (not returned) and melted down regional centres are developing. It is
when a retail venture closed. more feasible to afford a studio-sho -
• Benefit from economies of scale by selling front outside of urban centres, and you
in more than one place. can also then afford to take more risks
• A lot of sales are on consignment which • When people travel they like to
is difficult because the money has bee take something home that is unique
spent but retailers might not be pushing and has a memory attached to it.
the product. Beyond markets and high profile retail
• People coming to markets have a broad age
No. of Users
shopfronts, think about other ways to
range — cater to all of them, or look to one reach this tourist market (e.g. via maga-
that isn’t well-catered for. This can include zines and brochures in hotels).
the need for more men’s products at some
markets; men may not be there in numbers,
but people who buy for them are.
• Markets important for building up profile
as well as direct sales. Always have pro-
motional business cards for people to take
away – amazing how much business can be
follow-up contacts after an event.
• At markets need to have a range of
price points.
• The exposure from markets also
includes being on the websites, and in
Selling — General Comments: more so than outsourcing production email newsletters.
was, across the project, increasingly • Markets are also an opportunity to meet
• In the final year of data collection (2018) seen as the answer to many maker's with other makers, learn new ways of doing
and thus in a maturing and increasing- quests for balanced growth. things.
ly saturated market, we noted a small • Online sales don’t tend to work for • Leverage the ‘made locally’ which
increase in the number of people either highly individualised products. appeals to both locals and tourists, for
already using or exploring the possibility • Online doesn’t always open you up to example through having location-branded
of outsourcing distribution via a whole- new geographical audiences — limita- lines or other niche products
saler or other broker. tions include postage and delivery; the customised to location.
• Outsourcing business tasks (bookkeep- way Google searches direct people to
ing, marketing, social media, and even local sites; people don’t want to order
staffing markets, as well as distribution without seeing in real life first
Image: Textile design by Tiff Manuel
36 37Emma Young
“I can take little videos and photos of
processes and I think people really like
seeing that … they have a good following
and sure maybe not many people have
bought things, but then I really noticed
that at the end of last year I did three
different markets for Christmas and
every single one I had so many people
come and say I have followed you on
Instagram for the past three years and
I’ve always wanted a frog cake [glass
piece] and finally I am going to get
myself one.”
38 394. Social Media and its
this new and increasingly crowded market
what is clearly starting to emerge is the
Impact Upon Contempo- challenge of, and time commitment needed
rary Craftspeople to, develop and maintain an online presence
and Designer-Makers that helps them stand out from the crowd.
Successful creative self-employment is
clearly more than a case of ‘build it (online)
Many current makers still recall the pre-in- and they will come’. Indeed rather than be-
ternet craft marketplace where professional ing a licence for instant success and profile,
practice-based associations (not commer- having an online professional identity — not
cial operators) ran ‘professional’ craft fairs just for makers but more widely for workers
where stalls were run by, amongst others, across many creative professions — is now
potters, glass artists, jewellers, instrument simply a taken for granted starting, not end,
makers and textile artists, all of whom point. It is something you need to have as
handed their goods over to the purchaser a default; it will not necessarily build your
wrapped in newspaper. In this recent past reputation or sales, but existing online on
branding was a business card and, if you a professional website proves simply that
had a computer, a rudimentary website. you exist, are contactable. Being ‘Goo-
Today, image is everything, as is cultivat- gle-able’ professionally is a new baseline,
ing your own brand, even if that ‘brand’ offering evidence of the reality and legit -
is you. Now the norm is to have multiple macy of your professional identity. Oper-
social media presences, thus adding a layer ating in tandem with, but not effectively in
of complexity and increased demand upon addition to, your offline presenc
the time creative entrepreneurs need to
A concerning early tendency especially
spend working on their business, above and
among the emerging makers we interviewed
beyond the actual work of making. It is not
was the false security that having an on-
surprising therefore that the vast majority
line business identity brings with it. While
of our interviewees report significant hours
emerging makers were far more likely to
are spent creating and maintaining a pro-
report finding marketing ‘do-able’ as co -
fessional and engaging online presence,
pared with established makers, despite this
not to mention building and sustaining the
on the whole they clearly did not have the
networks which make these sites useful and
web traffic, sales or profile of those w
viable as promotional tools.
found this aspect of their practice more
For most within the Australian craft and difficult. The maintenance of social medi
designer-maker community setting up one’s profiles can take up much of the time ma -
own website and perhaps professional so- ers have to give to their business each week.
cial media presence is relatively easy, but in
Image: Bella Head takes pictures of her weaving thread
40 41The simplicity, especially for so-called least for Australian makers, emerged the processes of making, and thus potential- • Hashtags make Instagram easier to
digital natives, of creating online profes- as one of the stand-out findings of the ly a stronger connection with the product use than Facebook — ‘better reach’
sional profiles appears to be masking the research. In this stylised and design-ori- itself by providing some of the story behind • With Facebook it’s hard to get beyond
real challenges of building a reputation ented marketplace, Instagram is proving the work. Our participants were also pretty friends and to drive new business
or brand — particularly across multiple successful especially for those whose work skilled at using social media to tell a story without paying
social media, business website and retail lends itself to presentation in aspirational about themselves, and had cultivated the • Instagram tags can find new creatives,
website platforms — that converts to sales interior or modelled settings. For those skills required to present the kind of per- new accounts and they can find you; a
and not just ‘likes’. makers with a skillset that incorporates sonal statements increasingly generic in this way of exploring new stockists.
styling and photography skills alongside space (the connection of craft and design
“What social media platforms making, this aspirational styling in many with arts training is again of note given the
are you actively marketing/self- ways forms a significant part of the value longer history of artists statements as a pro-
promoting through?”: of the product being sold. filing genre). But interviewees also noted
needing to make decisions about how much
Early on in this project, the popularity of
Social media is seen as important in culti-
to share, and few featured their children or
Instagram over websites such as Etsy, at
vating in possible buyers a connection with
family in any of their marketing photogra-
phy (though pets seem fairer game!)
Social Media (%) Social Media —
General Comments
100.0
• The Instagram and Facebook combina-
tion is a common one for makers
80.0 • If you start an Instagram account, quick-
ly make links to Facebook and/or your
60.0 own website — people don’t want a sales
pitch in the visual environment so link
them to this elsewhere from the photo
No. of Users
40.0
• Post from Instagram to Facebook
and vice versa
20.0 • Managing all of the platforms takes a
lot of time — pick one or two and do
them well
0.0
• Differentiate between the platforms, use
some to curate, some to sell; also diffe -
entiate within platforms with personal
pages and business pages
• YouTube is good for finding new skills
and helping with problem-solving (in-
cluding social media and marketing is-
sues), overcoming for regional, rural and
remote makers some of the negatives of
being away from support organisations
Image: Pouch by Karen Warren (Tootsie)
and other makers
42 43Such information and guidance were
“How easy or difficult do you
sought through web searches, networking
find the following aspects of
with other makers and professional asso-
running your business:
ciations. Marketing generally, and social
Marketing”:
media in particular, were key areas that
makers reported wanting more support
Most respondents mentioned how much
and training in.
time and effort marketing (especially
online) takes and felt there must be
better ways to do it.
Marketing (%)
60
50
40
30
No. of Users
20
10
0
Images from top of page (L to R):
Textile design by Phillipa Julien (Till Design);
Illustration on card by Doris Chang (Little Sister
Co.); Necklace by Gill Gordiner; Glass by
Emma Young; Illustration by Pip Kruger and
Ceramic by Annemieke Mulders
44 45Julie Frahm
“I love Instagram, I really do, I like
it a lot. I kind of like looking at my feed
and just seeing what I’ve been doing ...
I'm kind of not there to sell my work,
I'm more there just to represent my
work because part of me feels like if I
don’t represent my work online someone
else is going to start representing similar
work to mine and claim it in a way and
I think no, I’d rather just be in control of
what I'm making and I'm putting it out
there and it’s acknowledged as mine.”
46 47Jordan Gower “You could see the people who really wanted to do art as a full time thing — they were the ones that were out there networking ... It’s a really social thing, you have to be seen or even send someone a message saying ‘I can’t go tonight’ just to let them know, just to get your name in their head.” 48 49
5. Acquiring Craft and
Regardless of their making origin story,
the makers we interviewed had a diversi-
Design Knowledge Skills ty of sites and modes through which they
have acquired and developed their craft-
ing and design skills. In addition to their
Since colonisation, the formal acquisition
innate interest and passion for making,
of craft and making skills in Australia in-
many of our research participants ac-
cluding via formal education in the ‘applied
quired their skills through a combination
arts’, has run in step with the modes of
of formal and informal education, train-
training and education in the UK. That said,
ing and mentorship.
many craft and making skills have been
handed down through the tacit exchange Whilst the sites of informal knowledge
of knowledge and teaching through applied exchange and learning are as varied as
practice in private and community spaces. the individuals in our study and relative-
ly independent from any policy infl -
In considering where, how and when
ence, an individual’s experience of for-
individuals acquire their craft and design
mal education, through technical college,
knowledge, it is useful to reflect on the pr -
university or other accredited education
files of practitioners developed by the Crafts
provider is significantly influenced b
Council, Creative Scotland, the Arts Coun-
federal and state economic and educa-
cil of Wales and Craft Northern Ireland in
tional policy, and the remit and pedagog-
the report Craft in an Age of Change (BOP
ical focus of the institution providing the
Consulting 2012). They identify four key
education at the time.
pathways into professional craft practice:
• Craft careerists: committed to the idea This report does not have space to pro-
of craft as a career, they move to start vide a detailed history of the education
their businesses shortly after finishing and training environment in Australia
their first (or second) degrees in craft supporting the development of crafts-
related subjects. people and designer makers. Suffice t
• Artisans: do not have academic degrees say, the restructuring of the higher edu-
in the subject but nevertheless have cation sector in the late 1980s, including
made craft their first career the absorption of many technical colleges
• Career changers: begin their working in which art and craft education and
lives in other careers before taking up training resided into the universities,
craft as a profession, often in mid-life. has highlighted the tensions and value
• Returners: makers who trained in art, laden differentiation between a universty
craft or design, but who followed another education involving what are considered
career path before ‘returning’ to higher cognitive skills and a more the-
craft later on. oretical approach, as compared to the
Image: Kath Inglis working in her studio
50 51kinds of training offered through a more to spend time on up-skilling or product education in the arts was a ‘lifestyle choice’,
hands-on education with a focus on man- research and development. Moreover, the the future of government supported educa-
ual and technical skill such as traditionally making skills of those now entering ad- tion in the crafts and applied art disciplines
offered by technical colleges (TAFE) vanced training programs (those that take does not look bright.
on university graduates) are seen as inferior
The absorption of visual art, craft and de- In the digital future, craft and design skills
to those of their predecessors as a result
sign programs from technical colleges into embedded and working in collaboration
of the loss of university studio and TAFE
the university system catalysed a change with industry are essential to innovation
courses. The result is that rather than fine
in pedagogical focus for many design and as Australia looks to develop high-end
tuning the advanced making skills of
craft-based programs. Alongside the gradu- advanced manufacturing. However, our
Australia’s top craft and design students,
al pedagogical shift occurred a tightening of capacity to grow pioneering manufacturing
much time is now spent more remedially
university funding mechanism and a conse- is profoundly threatened by the generation-
replicating the hands-on training that
quent rationalisation in investment in staff al loss of the often highly-embodied nature
once was the core of craft post-secondary
levels and student contact hours. In the of crafts and hands-on making expertise.
or TAFE education.
disciplines of applied arts or crafts where With this loss of practical making skills and
learning is structured around doing, this The rationalisation of investment in educa- knowledge of materials and their capaci-
diminution of time in the studio has had a tion and training over the years has run in ties further compounded by the closure of
significant impact on the calibre of making parallel to changes in the Australian eco- many key TAFE courses focussed on craft
skills acquired by emerging graduates. nomic and industrial landscape, with many and manual skills, and the winding back of
industries that once employed artisanal expensive studio training by schools and
The influence of this change in training universities, this deficit affects not onl
labour moving offshore such as the textile,
and educational experience and skills current industries, but also threatens future
clothing and footwear industries. One of
acquisition is made clear when comparing innovation and the growth of high-end
our interviewees, an emerging shoe maker,
experiences between our 1-Ups and our manufacturing at a time of profound glob-
lamented the fact that the closure of the
Established Makers. Commonly, our Es- al change enabled by advances in digital
shoe making course at TAFE in Adelaide
tablished Makers undertook their formal technology. Craft skills enable both niche
now made it extremely hard to access train-
education during a time when, relative to and mass manufacturing, including in the
ing and skills development in this contin-
now, there was greater support for govern- car industry, engineering and aeronautics.
ually in-demand area. Whilst many of the
ment investment in education and the arts. Materials innovation is occurring around
artisanal/craft-based courses survived the
In addition, during the formative stages of new fibres and smart materials (e.g. the
original transition from technical college
practice development they had the oppor- production of new fibres from algae).
to university, successive neo-liberal fund-
tunity to access a relatively better funded The skills of craft traverse into and across
ing cuts have seen government investment
range of arts funding programs than are on other fields of production, including ma -
in craft and manufacturing-focused areas
offer today. This loss of developmental and
depleted, despite the ongoing demand from ufacture, and vice versa; nurturing and ex-
hands-on expertise can only be compensat-
the artisanal sector as well as manufactur- tending such innovation into the digital fu-
ed for so much through individual entrepre-
ing, for these niche skills, especially when it ture is essential to Australia’s economy, and
neurialism, especially when those entering
comes to R&D and innovation. Within this to do this we need first to better understand
the craft and designer-maker sector today
policy environment and with a former Fed- the importance of craft skills to making in
are often too busy bringing in an income
eral Education Minister asserting that an Australia, as well as their capacity to sustain
the kind of micro-enterprises that were the
Image: Phillipa Julien (Till Designs) views
focus of this study.
her textile design
52 53Adam Coffey (Future Shelter) “A lot of makers that I see struggle with trying to align what they’re really good at and what they enjoy doing, with what makes money. You may go into something and it is really niche and then suddenly, say, after your 2000th knife are you really still into making knives?” 54 55
Emma Bugg “I really wanted this year to be about experimentation. It’s great to be able to make money from my jewellery, but I feel pressure to always be working towards a money goal, because obviously, we all need to live. But there’s freedom in having the grant — I can take time, paid time, away from needing to make commercial output to experiment.” 56 57
6. Making as a Living
employment can be at least partly ac-
counted for in terms of inequalities within
contemporary workplaces, especially when
it comes to accommodating employment
“I think if this was any
alongside care-giving responsibilities. For
other time for me in my life
some this dream is one they seek to pursue
and any other situation if we
with a life partner as a ‘back to the future’
were living anywhere else,
family workshop way of reconfiguring an
this could never have occurred,
idealised work-life balance in the twen-
it was amalgamation of time
ty-first century. Such a vision of reconci -
and materials and everything
iation of work and life speaks especially
coming together.”
to middle class, first world aspirations for
Jax Isaacson (Jax and Co.)
‘something better’ than the grindstone of
At a time of growing employment family unfriendly employment.
uncertainty, shrinking arts funding, and
But as has emerged in our findings as
a governmental policy emphasis on encour-
elsewhere (Throsby and Zednik 2010),
aging small business, self-employment and
ever-present economic precarity underpins
the development of a craft or designer
the sector which is significantly propped
maker micro-enterprise can seem like an
up financially by family savings, partner
attractive and logical option for makers.
earnings (and sometimes labour), retire-
Certainly what emerges in our research,
ment or redundancy packages, a willingness
as elsewhere (in other creative employ-
to make the financial trade-off to live wit
ment sectors and national contexts), is that
less, or multiple jobs to support needs and
self-employment is becoming ever more
lifestyles. Those of our interviewees whose
regularised as a response to wider so-
alternate source of income was related
cio-economic global forces; indeed estab-
in some way to creative practice such, as
lishing an online creative business profile is
gallery assistants or art teaching, expressed
a normalised default setting for emerging
less contestation for time between their
and established makers alike.
making practice and their ‘paid’ job.
The potential rewards of successful design
This often precarious self-employment is
craft self-employment are considerable:
therefore also masking considerable un-
making sales and money doing what you
and under-employment. The social and
love, on your own schedule, being your own
economic costs to individuals, families and
boss, and importantly having the flexibility
wider society of all this effort and risk-ta -
to organise one’s working day around the
ing are profound and require greater atten-
needs of significant others. For certainly,
tion as part of wider cultural and economic
the growth of home-based creative self-
policy making, for example around how
Image: Tiff Manuel's retail space
58 59self-employment and contract work fit
in alongside social welfare support struc-
tures, such as eligibility for unemployment
benefits
Importantly too, the relatively low incomes
many of the respondents make from their
creative practice means that very few are
able or prepared to take the financial risk
of scaling up their enterprise, or to contrib-
ute to a superannuation fund, at least not
from their craft or designer-maker work.
Maker Incomes
Some contribute from other employment
sources or have historically; others still Established Makers — ‘Annual income earned from craft practice’
(if selected two took lower option)
referred to their owned home as their su-
perannuation. The long-term and gendered
Income Bracket Number of Gender - Gender - Couple No
implications here are important to acknowl- Responses Female Male Response
edge. Additionally, across the four years of Below $10,000 24 21 (33%) 3 (20%) 0 0
the study, less than five makers had Income $10,000-$30,000 23 19 (30%) 4 (27%) 0 0
Protection Insurance. Most of these ‘yes’ $30,000-$60,000 18 12 (19%) 4 (27%) 1 1
respones to this question around income $60,000-$80,000 6 4 (6%) 2 (13%) 0 0
protection emerged in the final year of the $80,000-$100,000 1 1 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 0
study, often as recommended by an accoun- Over $100,000 4 3 (5%) 1 (7%) 0 0
tant and alongside setting up a superannu- No response 5 4 (6%) 1 (7%) 0 0
ation account around the creative practice. Total 81 64 15 1 1
People more likely to be in a position to
take up or have this recommended to them Established Makers — ‘Annual income earned from craft practice’
(if selected two took lower option)
tended to be male research participants
with young families. Income Bracket Number of Responses Number of Responses Number of Responses
– Year 1 – Year 2 – Year 3
Below $10,000 2 12 8
$10,000-$30,000 9 7 5
$30,000-$60,000 1 5 2
$60,000-$80,000 1 0 0
$80,000- 0 0 0
$100,000
Over $100,000 0 0 0
No response 0 0 0
Total 33 24 15
Images: Earrings by Emma Bugg and
illustrations by Doris Chang (Little Sister Co.)
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