The Magic of Being a Craft Evangelist

I love getting to be a craft evangelist, and I recently got to share a day of crafting with my coworkers, which was amazing.

One of the wonderful things about life right now is that it’s possible to work (in some careers, anyway) completely remotely. It’s great to be able to live and work anywhere, but not so great that you can work with people for years and never meet them face to face.

One of the main companies I work for, Sway Group, is completely remote: there is no “home office,” instead the more than 30 home offices where we all do our jobs every day. We meet up regularly through video calls, but it’s not the same as being together.

So once a year or so everyone gathers for a couple of days so we have a chance to get to know each other outside of work.

I recently got to attend my first such retreat, and it was amazing.

Sway is completely female-owned and female-run, which is a beautiful thing every day but was especially lovely when we were all together.

I already liked all my coworkers, but now I know them all to be kind and smart and funny and creative, and just the people I want to work with to help, in my small way, to build this amazing company.

Crafting with Friends

The best part for me was that I was asked to facilitate a craft for everyone.

I knew just what I wanted to do — something that required little in materials or skill, that could be done quickly or savored, picked up and put down over the course of our time together and taken home and completed without help if need be.

It had to be embroidery.

These little hoops (full tutorial coming soon) were magical.

Not everyone made one, which is fine, and not everyone who tried was super into it. But there were a handful who totally loved it.

One woman who had been wanting to try hoop art made three projects and they were beautiful. She even learned how to make French knots!

Another made a simple design first, then drew a gorgeous bird to embellish. I can’t wait to see how that one turns out.

On Being a Craft Evangelist

Several people were surprised by how calm they felt while stitching and remarked that they may have found a new hobby they’ll continue with.

That’s huge.

It makes my heart so happy to introduce crafts to people. To have them enjoy it in the time we are together is one thing (and it’s a great thing) but to introduce people to a craft in such a way that they want to keep doing it?

That’s life-changing.

They now have an easily accessible means of creative expression and stress relief, the ability to make beautiful things for themselves and others, and the confidence boost that comes from successfully completing projects.

I am so proud of these ladies for being open to trying a new thing. It was inspiring to me how willing they were to try and how great their results were. The low-pressure environment definitely helped, but I could only do so much, and they really didn’t need a lot of encouragement or instruction even. They dove right in, and it was beautiful.

They inspired me to get back to blogging, to crafting, to trying. I hope (and plan!) to post more regularly, and to include more patterns, tutorials and resources for all sorts of crafts, making it easier for you to dive into a crafty genre, whether its stitching or knitting or crafting with your kids.

I have said it before but I truly believe creativity is and should be accessible to everyone. I am here to be your craft evangelist and enabler.

What do you want to make today?