CREATIVE WORKING LIVES Craftspeople and Designer Makers in the Contemporary Creative Economy Susan Luckman · Jane Andrew Creative Working Lives Series Editors Susan Luckman University of South Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia Stephanie Taylor Faculty of Social Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes, UK This series explores worker experience and working lives in the global sec- tor of the cultural and creative industries. There are rising numbers of aspirants to creative work and rising numbers of graduates and trainees, yet the available employment is increasingly precarious and complex. To address this complexity, the Creative Working Lives series presents original research from across multiple disciplines, including media and cultural studies, gender studies, social psychology and sociology, politics, labour studies, cultural policy studies, anthropology, art and design, and interdis- ciplinary research. The series provides insights on urgent global and national issues around contemporary cultural and creative working lives, addressing academics, practitioners, students, policy-makers and general readers with an interest in cultural and creative worker experience in a changing world. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/16401 Susan Luckman • Jane Andrew Craftspeople and Designer Makers in the Contemporary Creative Economy Susan Luckman Jane Andrew University of South Australia University of South Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia ISSN 2662-415X ISSN 2662-4168 (electronic) Creative Working Lives ISBN 978-3-030-44978-0 ISBN 978-3-030-44979-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44979-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020. This book is an open access publication. 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The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To the makers ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS So many people made this project possible. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project funding scheme (project number DP150100485, 2015–2018). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Research Council. We cannot thank Belinda Powles enough for her invaluable input and assistance with the research. Her steady hand and sensitive approach across the project were central to its successful completion and much of the enthusiastic and warm buy-in from the Australian craft and designer maker community. A number of other people were also essential members of the project team at various stages; a huge thank you to Tracy Crisp, Tim Coventry and Jess Pacella. At the University of South Australia we are incredibly thankful for the administrative and financial support offered by Julie White and Emmeline Koh, as well as the insights from and conversa- tions with colleagues in the Schools of Creative Industries and Art, Architecture and Design. A huge thanks too to colleagues further afield for their insights, feedback and encouragement: Stephanie Taylor, Mark Banks, Kate Oakley, Nicola Thomas, Karen Patel, Devon Powers, the team in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds and Julia Bennett at the Crafts Council UK. Clearly also, the project would not have been possible without strong support from the craft and design sector in Australia and for this we are eternally grateful. There have been so many people who have helped us on the way and to you a huge thank you, especially to the many makers, administrators and enablers who have generously shared their stories with vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS us. A full list of everyone who generously agreed to be interviewed is included at the end of this document. All photography in this book is by Rosina Possingham Photography (http://rosinapossingham.com/#) unless credited otherwise. Thank you to those makers in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia who allowed us to get a visual glimpse into their studios and making lives: in South Australia, Doris Chang (Little Sister Co.), Julie Frahm, Jordan Gower, Bella Head, Kate Inglis, Jax Isaacson (Jax & Co.), Pip Kruger, Tiff Manuell, Craig Northam (BUCK!T), Karen Warren (Tootsie) and Emma Young; in Tasmania, Emma Bugg, Phillipa Julien (Till Designs), Helen Mansbridge (Pili Pala) and Scott van Tuil; and in Western Australia, Gill Cordiner, Adam Coffey (Future Shelter), Stephanie Hammill and Annemieke Mulders. Thank you also to Michelle Young and Samantha Moody from Tjanpi Desert Weavers. We are indebted to Stephanie Taylor for her generous detailed feedback on a first draft of the book. A big thank you too to Miranda Roccisano for her diligent copy-editing, to Angela Brennan for saving the day at the eleventh hour and to the team at Palgrave—Lucy Batrouney, Bryony Burns and Mala Sanghera-Warren—for their encouragement, patience and support. We mourn and acknowledge the loss of two people who in various ways started this journey with us but who both died too young during the time- frame of the project: Dr Anna Upchurch, University of Leeds, and Tara Matthews, University of South Australia graduate and emerging maker. Your creativity and inspiration are sorely missed. Finally, to Rob and Mike for ‘keeping the home fires burning’ while we travelled the nation and, as always, for their love and support. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 Craft and Making Today: The Rise of Craft and Design Across the Global North 2 Crafting Selves Today: The Project and Data Informing This Book 11 The Project 11 Race, Ethnicity and the Contemporary Craft and Designer Maker Sector in Australia 18 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Craft and Designer Making 19 Chapter Overview 21 References 23 2 Meaningful Making in the Contemporary Creative Economy 27 Who Are Australia’s Contemporary Craftspeople and Designer Makers and Why Do They Make? 28 Makers: ‘Old’ and New 30 Career Changers 32 Returners 38 Enabling Ecosystems and Family Making Histories 40 Family Making Histories 41 Early Material and Tool Knowledges 46 The Impact of Educational Encouragement and Exposure 49 The Values and Personal Meaning of Small-Scale Making Today 53 References 60 ix x Contents 3 Educating for Enterprise 65 Craft in Colonial Australia 68 Formalising Applied Arts Education: Mechanics Institutes in Australia 71 Training to Support a New National Economy 73 The Rise of the Universities 76 The University Experience 78 Twenty-First-Century Craft and Design Education in Australia 80 Getting Down to Business: Professional Skills in Practice-Based Education 82 Drawing on Previously Acquired Transferable Skills 87 Creating and Communicating Personal Narratives 90 Crafting a Career Progression: Filling the Skills Gaps 91 New Enterprise Incentive Scheme 91 Shared Spaces 93 Asking for Advice and Support 95 Personal Qualities 95 References 97 4 Establishing a Crafty Making Future: What Does a Career in Craft Look Like Today? 101 Describing a Creative Career 103 The Realities of Maker Incomes (from Making) 111 Creative Work and (the Lack of) Business Savvy 117 References 122 5 What Does ‘Handmade’ Mean Today? 125 The Emergence of the Designer Maker and Contemporary ‘Craft’ Scaling-Up 126 Moving from Maker to Employer 133 Digital Making Futures for Small-Scale Production 139 References 147 6 Selling Craft and Design: The Cultural and Economic Intricacies of the Contemporary Artisanal Marketplace 149 Where People Are Selling in the Australian Craft and Designer Maker Marketplace 152 Etsy and Online Selling in Australia 154 Contents xi The Desire for Face-to-Face Interaction and the Rise of Curated Designer Maker Markets 159 Craft, Design and Local Economies in a Global World 161 Localism, Craft and Contemporary Exchange Economies 169 References 171 7 Craft and Design in an Age of Climate Crisis 173 Materials