Crafts 296 Spring Summer 2023

In this issue of Crafts Magazine, meet the makers using craft to forge meaningful connections. Cover star, Aamu Song – co-founder of Design Studio Company – travels the world with her partner Johan Olin to learn about age-old techniques from master artisans, while Cecilia Charlton creates textile artworks that weave together narratives spanning space and time.

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei shares why he treasures his 40-ton collection of buttons for the memories that they trigger, couturier-to-the-stars Sabyasachi Mukherjee collaborates with thousands of craftspeople across India to create his intricate garments, and take a walk on the wild side with the potters digging deep for their own clay.

Meanwhile, artist Theaster Gates contemplates the metaphysics of making, and furniture designer Sebestian Cox champions rewilding. Our critics and writers delve into the tumultuous history of tartan, the queer activists using craft to change lives, the crafty origins of the word spinster and a new digital home for the Benin Bronzes.

Finally, the magazine spotlights the craftspeople cultivating their own materials in an effort to regain their bond with the earth – from harvesting indigo and raising sheep, to experimenting with mushrooms, plant roots and insects.