This post was mentioned on Twitter by kateconsumption: RT @craftivista: Definitions of craftivism, do you have one? http://bit.ly/TaI2d (Feel free to RT!)…

I feel knit graffiti is a form of craftivism in that yarn in being used to make a social statement about how it can be used differently, on the street and not confined to one purpose or gender or age.

Just my humble take on it though
regards Corrine

Though I’m not much for labels, I kind of like this one because it works so well within the indie-craft movement in general, which seems to rally around a vaue of “independent, but together to act-towards-good stance” regardless of any other external groupings of the participants (e.g., political groupings, religious groupings, demographic groupings, etc.). However, in the recent online discussions mentioned it has been suggested otherwise (e.g., political affiliation does matter). So it would be prudent to call this out for sure.

If it were up to me, I’d vote for inclusion all the way (i.e., political/religious/demigraphic/etc. grouping doesn’t matter — craftivism welcomes anyone that wants to act-for-good). Why? Well, inclusion is itself and act of good and opens us up to:

– Listening to different points of view.
– Learning from each other.
– Honoring independent thinking.
– Negotiation.
– Being the change we want to see in the world.

For example, though craftivist participants might not agree with me about an issue, if participants value inclusion (along with rational, respectful, and non-violent communication), they’d welcome counter opinions; maybe even seek them out. We’d debate, respecting each others points. We might change our minds or emerge from conversation with new information and ideas. Then, we’d share our crafty ideas to bring good into the world and we’d set about supporting each other’s journey. Each of these acts (listening to each other even when we disagree, sharing with each other, helping one another) are all acts of good — just like the act of making-for-good. In my opinion, craftivism should be about how craftivists act towards each other AND crafting-to-act.

Some other values I hold (that might be worthy of the “list”), include: Quality over quantity, authenticity, DIY as a lifestyle rather than a trend, independent thought, mutual respect, sharing, and learning from each other.