I’m a closet crafter. I make things for myself and for the benefit of a few unlucky friends and family members. Being an avid reader of Craftzine I get a sense that many cities have a rabid craft scene with large groups of crafters and year round craft fairs. Not having seen much about a Dallas craft scene I searched Etsy, a handmade online market, for Dallas crafters and with little effort discovered that Dallas has a great crafting group with a variety of fantastic items for sale. Stephanie Hindall, of Tefi Designs, started Etsy Dallas.

Teresa Burkett: How do you define a person who is a crafter? Is a crafter a blending of an artist and an artisan? I tend to think of crafters as people who are creating beautiful pieces of art that most times are used in a practical everyday way. A beautifully made purse is something that I use in my daily life and it was designed and made by someone with a particular vision in mind, and I would say this person is a crafter. I’m just curious about how you see your role. Do you see yourself as an artist, and how as an artist are you specifically a crafter?

Stephanie Hindall: This is just my opinion (and like assholes, everyone’s got one on this topic), I think the word ‘crafter’ refers more to an artisan than an artist, someone who creates by hand meaningful and functional art like a purse or votive candle. I consider an ‘artist’ to be what we traditionally think of: Picasso, Monet, Pollock. Now, a ‘designer’ is a term that is now being used a lot in the handmade craft scene. To me, a designer is where I put myself. I design jewelry, and then I craft it by hand. No one makes it for me so I’m not a “designer” like say Coco Chanel, I make it myself - I design, then I craft. I don’t mind being called a ‘crafter,’ but there are still a lot of stigmas associated with that term that conjure up images of grandma in her rocking chair darning a doily or knitting an afghan. That is definitely not me. Not yet.

TB: I see an evolution in the idea of a crafter. I love to sew and like making quilts, clothes, purses, etc. that I have designed. And part of what I love about it was the conceiving of an idea and choosing a color palate and materials and then watching my idea grow into the final product. But when I was growing up I hated when my mom said things like, ‘Oh, can you wrap this package, you’re so crafty.’ For some reason I had in my mind that someone who was crafty was gluing noodles onto cardboard or making frilly tea cozies. Now I see all these people making such amazing and beautiful things, even tea cozies, and I think, ‘Hey, they are crafters and that word doesn’t make me think of a stuffy old lady’s house.’ Okay, that is a bit rambling, but hopefully you can make sense of what I am driving at here.

SH: Rambling is awesome.

Ah! You touched on the very subject I broached in my answer above. Yes, the term ‘craft’ is definitely making a social leap from grandma-to-cool (my phrase), but I have found that a lot of this new-fangled way of thinking is mostly within the handmade community. Regular people who shop at Macy’s or Target for clothing, jewelry and home goods still think of tea cozies when they hear ‘craft,’ so they shy away from buying handmade. Interestingly enough, there is even a campy movement that is making grandma’s crafts cool and ironic. Sort of like, “It’s so bad, it’s good.” I have a handmade vintage pearlized Jesus bust on my mantle, so this hip and kitschy ironic movement is not lost on me.

TB: You went to school in Austin. As far as craft cities go, Austin seems to be a great city for supporting and promoting crafters. Did you find a community of crafters here easily, or did you have to go searching for them?

SH: There was no craft movement when I was in Austin (1993-98), that all hit about 4 years after my move back to Dallas. When I started getting involved in shows in 2005 and meeting other local artists and crafters, I began looking for a community I could belong to that would inspire me, and one in which I could also inspire others. I encountered both a world that was sort of cliquish and closed off, and also a world of artists and crafters like me looking to belong to something larger than themselves. No one was really leading this large group of talent, so I shrugged my shoulders and stepped up to the plate. In 2007 I founded Etsy Dallas, an independent volunteer-run group of Dallas artists and crafters, which has grown to be the leading force in the local handmade movement. This group offers an amazing amount of support for its members and others in the community, and I have made some invaluable connections and friendships as a result. And, my little jewelry-making business has seen more success that I could have ever thought possible (as I hold down a “real” full-time career and raise a little baby boy!).

TB: What an achievement, to see a need for a craft group and then to make it happen. You seem to have a great sized group and a lot of variety in what people are making. When Etsy Dallas formed what did you all have in mind for the group’s purpose?

SH: In September of 2007, when I sent out cold emails to local people selling on Etsy.com, I envisioned a small team of crafters and artists who would meet for coffee, hang out and craft together, and hold small trunk shows here and there. But instead, the response was astounding with so many people replying, “I’ve been waiting for someone to organize this!” My husband compared me to Richard Nixon when he said I had tapped into the “silent majority.” While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s never fun being compared to Richard Nixon.

So was it from Etsy Dallas that the idea for the Jingle Bash was formed?

The 2008 Jingle Bash was our fourth craft show, and largest to date. Our first show was in December 2007 with 10 vendors. Then we had a Valentine’s Day show with about 25 vendors. Then the Beer-B-Q, a craft show/house party combo that had about 20 vendors. Tim DeLaughter and family came out to the BBQ and I thought, “Okay, I am officially sort of cool.”

What was the last thing that you bought on Etsy, Dallas or otherwise?

I buy items on Etsy all the damn time. It’s ridiculous. Of late, I bought some Japanese fabric from a seller in Tokyo, a personalized stamp from a seller in Wisconsin, and a baby gift for my cousin from a seller in California. And that’s just this week.