23 Nov Craft Crush #11 Perri Lewis
As the Craftivist Collective we love to showcase fellow craft-lovers who inspire us to keep crafting, teach us new craft skills & new ways of thinking and challenge us in how craft can be done, seen & have a positive mark on the world. These people keep me and the Craftivist Collective moving forward and growing and basically I have a big Craft Crush on them for that reason & want to celebrate their crafty brilliance with you so you can be inspired by them too.
Craft Crush #11 is…. Perri Lewis!
At first glance Perri is one of those people I would admit to maybe avoiding because she is annoyingly talented in so many fields & makes me feel inadequate and intimidated by her achievements (something I’m working on addressing don’t worry). But as soon as she emailed me years ago asking to meet she put me at ease and showed how passionate she was about supporting crafters and showcasing craft as a wonderful tool for personal transformation as well as a tool to bring more beauty into the world. When I met Perri for the first time for a coffee near Selfridges I immediately had a #CraftCrush on her – not only because she was wearing a super-cool sewing machine necklace on but because she was so friendly, authentic & keen to learn more about our approach to craftivism & our plans. She was overly humble & wanted to know how she could help us engage more people in craftivism. Perri is one of those people with the wonderful combination of practicing what she preaches, her writing is always challenging but in a loving way to the reader (the best combination I think), she is an energetic ‘doer’ and I love keeping an eye on what she is doing & writing, plus Perri makes time (in her extremely busy schedule!) to support you in anyway she can if she believes in you & your work. She is a truly inspiring person.
our Current #CraftCrush Perri Lewis
Name: Perri Lewis
Website: makeanddowithperri.wordpress.com // theymadethenews.tumblr.com
What do you do? I’m a journalist and editor, an author and, and since September, the creative director of a start up called The Amazings. I report on anything that has a link to design, style, creativity and the handmade.
What are your first memories of crafting? My nana and gran making stuff. I loved their collections of buttons, beads, threads and wools and would happily play with these instead of my toys.
What inspires you? People with talent, and well-executed design.
Who do you have a craft crush on? Natalie Melton (and the team) at The New Craftsman. I love how they’re bringing traditional designer makers to the luxury market – it’s initiatives like this that are going to save heritage craft skills from decline.
What three things could you not live without? The internet (oh how I love my email, my Twitter feed and my Feedly), my friends and family (I’d not be here if it weren’t for them) and fake bacon from Quorn (it’s how I’ve stayed vegetarian for the last 15 years).
How has craft been a positive influence for you, your community or society at large? Making stuff can be just as powerful as meditation. Dedicated crafters have always known this, but now people like Betsan from Stitchlinks are trying to prove that this is the case. In this super-stressful world, we all need to stop and breath a little more often: stitching, sewing or making is one way to do that.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? That everyone gets a copy of Dr Seuss’s The Lorax. Everyone from Obama to my seven-year-old cousin could learn something from that book.
Have you got any words of encouragement for our readers about the power of crafts? Remember to enjoy the process of making just as much as the thing you’ve made – you’ll reap just as much happiness from it, maybe even more.
See our other Craft Crushes here. Who’s your Craft Crush? Let us know in the comments section 
No Comments