arts and crafts Archives

For the last couple of weeks I have been conducting my own ‘social experiment’.

I have been asking my friends, family, acquaintances and strangers … “What are your hobbies?”. The responses have been varied:

Avoidance; “Nix, why do you ask these random questions? It’s too weird, I’m not going to answer.”
Confusion; “Does online shopping count as a hobby?”
Defensive; “Nix…not everybody needs a hobby”

And it is true. Not everybody needs a hobby. But, admittedly I do find it a little odd when someone has absolutely no hobbies…

Conducting this ‘social experiment’ has made me realise how much I love learning and hearing about other peoples’ hobbies. By asking such a simple question, it immediately provided me with such insight into their personalities and characters.

My barista whose hobby for 20 years has been making puppets, a guy I met at a party whose hobby is competitively riding ‘Penny Farthings’ (no joke, he learnt how to ride one in Tasmania), the taxi driver who told me she loves playing the harmonica…then proceeded to whip one out of the glovebox (again, I promise you this happened).

Hobbies are highly personal. They are essentially are a form of self-pleasure. And can be so satisfying. Whether it is making things, collecting things, learning things…they offer an opportunity to develop yourself and knowledge base.

A common misconception is that hobbies are reserved for retirees. This is not true. Hobbies have SO much to offer. Instead of depending on external sources of pleasure and entertainment, a hobby is something you can do from within and it allows you to have dedicated time by yourself…you can switch of and unwind. Experimenting and trying different hobbies also acts as a means to discover a talent that may have lied dormant…you never know where it could lead you – think of all the artists, chefs, music and etc who have transformed a hobby into a career!

However, I believe that the best part of having a hobby is it can connect you to like-minded people with similar interests. It can then offer you a sense of belonging or a community. With our lives at such a crazy fast pace, I wonder if the importance placed on having hobbies is getting diluted…

Whilst I have a few hobbies…I believe that about a month ago I found ‘the one’…

WEAVING.

Inspired by New Friends, Brook & Lyn and Mary-Ann Moodie, I purchased a small hand loom and have not looked back. It is the perfect hobby for me; tactile, colourful, patterned and aligned with my ‘global boho-chic’ design style! I weave during my lunch breaks at work, I weave whilst listening to Frank Ocean, I weave on Saturday nights whilst drinking peppermint tea (yes, it has become a bit of a social-life killer). I find the process highly meditative, it allows me to calm my mind and focus on the ‘now’.

I am determined to continue this hobby, so that when I am ‘Grandma Nix’…I will dominate all the other grandmas in the arts and crafts group.

I can’t wait until I get a little better at weaving and can make my own loom. Oh god, I sound like such a nerd!

See a roundup of some beautiful weaving , it is what I aspire to…