Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design,   ISBN:9781568987873

Customer Rating: 

I loved this book! It has an interesting timeline on how handmade work and arts and crafts have developed in recent years. The specific artisans that are featured are very interesting, and the photos of their work are outstanding! The focus isn't on the "traditional" arts and crafts so much as how people have developed their own non-traditional take on arts and crafts. There are some very creative things in here!

Customer Rating: 

I think I first heard about Handmade Nation on a podcast I'd downloaded to my iPod. How ironic that technology introduced me to Handmade Nation. As an artist and craftsman, I've been making and selling my creations since I was a teenager and walked my handmade dolls and bears 2 miles down the road to the local gift shop. But now...now, is a great time to be a part of Handmade Nation. There are so many opportunities for artists of all kinds, and this book provides short profiles and great photographs on many artists. It also has a philosophical angle, a life-style angle. So, we get a glimpse into how creating things is a part of the way these artists view life, their life and their relationship to others. I find that most interesting. Some of the work profiled is not as strong, artistically, as others, but I'm not sure that is what the book is about. There are other books out today that profile the best in arts and crafts. This book is more about a movement, though honestly perhaps the movement is just able to be publicized more in this decade than in was in the '70s when I was shlepping my felt dolls down the street. We had art fairs and such then too, but oh, how great it would have been to have had the Internet! Scanning! Email! This book is worth getting, because it may be difficult to view the movie on which it was based. I've tried to find viewing places and time, but none are in my area, yet. So, if you are into crafts, and want a nice coffee table book, and want to support the authors who have sacrificed a lot, I believe, to bring handmade nation to the public, buy this book.

Customer Rating: 

I just bought this book and read it cover to cover in one sitting and loved it. What an inspiration. It makes you want to run to the studio and create, create, create! Beautiful design, excellent documentation and a great range of 'makers' to learn about. A must read for anyone remotely creative.

Customer Rating: 

Today's craft world is now a linked culture of punk, artistic technique, and DIY philosophy, and HANDMADE NATION trades the new wave of craft sentiments that incorporate community connections and ideas in its process. From logs and galleries to craft fairs and teachers, over twenty artists from across the country discuss their lives, works, and community connections. HANDMADE NATION: THE RISE, DIY, ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN is a key acquisition for any art collection as well as for general-interest libraries specializing in crafts history and culture.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Customer Rating: 

delightful to behold,
magical in its simplicity
all around good read and well done images to boot