"Mending: An Ancient Craft for Modern Times"
Traditional DIY basics like clothing repair have become covetable knowledge again. With the fast-fashion machine on notice, could this be mending’s big moment?
Dear Friends,
In our increasingly wasteful culture, a lost button, torn hem, or small hole often means the item will be thrown out—in large part because the fast-fashion industry has made it so easy (and so cheap) to simply replace our clothes, rather than attempt to repair them. But the environmental cost of this convenience is staggering: The U.S. alone now generates nearly 17 million tons of municipal textile waste annually, nearly 10 times what it was in 1960.
In response, there’s a growing movement to learn (or re-learn) and share traditional skills like mending and darning. The surprising part? This hopeful trend is led primarily the younger generation, including some up-and-coming designers. I hope you’ll enjoy reading, “Mending: An Ancient Craft for Modern Times,” written by
.Tell us your stories: You hear from us every week, and now we’d like to hear from you, our valued readers. Is there some item you’ve owned and loved forever because it’s still useful—and repairable? What wasteful purchase do you most regret? Share your Repair Rants & Raves with us in our new reader survey. It only takes a few minutes, and we’ll share the best stories throughout the rest of the issue. More details can be found on the survey itself, and below.
“The Art of Repair” will continue through mid-November, thanks in part to our sponsor for this issue, the Culture of Repair. Each Friday, we’ll release a feature story, short article, mini-documentary, photo essay, or podcast that relates to our mission—to “create a world built to last.” So please, stay tuned.
In the meantime, I hope you'll always find something intriguing to read, watch, or listen to within our pages. We welcome your thoughts via email, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Thank you for reading and sharing our stories, for donating to our cause as you can, and for being such a loyal part of the Craftsmanship community.
Sincerely,
Todd Oppenheimer
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Craftsmanship Magazine
Craftsmanship is a reader-supported publication. To help sustain our ad-free, independent journalism, please consider a paid subscription here on Substack.
Fall 2023: The Art of Repair
In a culture addicted to novelty and fast profits, the humble art of repair has declined almost to the point of extinction. But it’s not too late: In this issue, we’ll delve into the history of planned obsolescence, and the reemerging ethos of restoration. From the patient hands of watchmakers, piano restoration experts, and veteran appliance repairmen to the story of a young French woman who got her country to ban planned obsolescence, we’ll explore what it really means to create, maintain—and truly value—a world built to last.
This issue is supported in part by a grant from the Culture of Repair.
Interested in sponsoring an upcoming theme or project? Contact us at publisher@craftsmanship.net.
Share Your Own “Repair Rants & Raves”
We’re all surrounded by our collections of “things,” and some of those items are more sustainable than others. Whether it’s the heirloom chair you refurbished to help it last another 50 years, or the kitchen gadget you bought online that fell apart a week later, we want to hear about the belongings you love most—and those you love to hate. Tell us about it in our 5-minute Reader Survey, and we'll share the best entries throughout the Fall issue.
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Follow the Craftsmanship podcast for informative, entertaining audio versions of our most popular stories, along with special interviews with master artisans and other experts in craft. You can play or download these offerings directly from our website, on BuzzSprout, and on popular streaming services such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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