Who is the typical woodworker? Most people would say an older retired man, but that stereotype may be changing these days. According to an article by Amy Bartner at indystar.com, young woodworkers such as Indianapolis’ Allison Ford are embracing crafts such as woodworking in larger numbers and selling their wares at art show “revivals” like the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange.
Allison Ford is a thirty-one year-old woman with white-framed glasses, a nose piercing, thin-legged jeans, and a love for vintage jewelry. She looks more like someone you would expect to see at a club listening to a local band than in a wood shop. But, she has whole-heartedly adopted the hobby of her grandfather. She uses his old tools and leftover scrap wood to make her jewelry: bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings. She showed and sold her work at the third annual INDIEana Handicraft Exchange in Indianapolis on June 13.
According to Eric Nolan, another artist who sold work at the show, there are a greater number of younger people getting involved in handmade crafts such as woodworking. He cites the fact that people want handmade pieces of art by local artisans and claims that more young people are sharing the practice with older people. It may also be a part of the backlash against the “cubicle culture” enforced on young workers and the obsession with computers and other electronic gadgets these days.
Young artists like Ford and Nolan call shows like the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange an art show “revival.” In it, the pieces become more handcrafted, more local, and less expensive. The INDIEana exchange has become larger every year, attracting several thousand last year and becoming biannual this year, with another show coming in early October. Similar shows are cropping up in other places such as Windsor, Ontario, and Seattle.
Ford is an example of a younger person who understands the joys that woodworking gave her grandfather and sells her work at local shows. This may be the beginning of a growing trend.
