Everything Old is New Again – Lost Arts Become Today’s Hobbies

olympia sewing class
Olympia is a wealth of hobby classes and opportunities
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By Kathryn Millhorn

rivers edgeDon’t throw the past away, you might need it some rainy day, dreams can come true again, when everything old is new again… wrote Peter Allen in his famous song.

Life seems to move in cycles, be it clothing, politics, baby names, hairstyles, or hobbies.  What was the height of fashion is often decried as tacky before making a full, celebrity-endorsed rebound.  Good, bad, or otherwise, there is nothing new under the sun.

olympia sewing class
Olympia is a wealth of hobby classes and opportunities

In 2009 Forbes magazine asked the question, “Have old-fashioned hobbies gone out of fashion?  Quite the contrary: It turns out that traditional hobbies are simply evolving, not disappearing…Maybe it’s because of high unemployment, which can result in idle hands.  Or could it be a sense of nostalgia that leads us to desire something more tactile in a virtually run world?”

Whatever the reason, Olympia is a hotbed of crafty geniuses.  Want to make sweaters for lamp-posts?  Done.  Drink craft beer while knitting?  Got you covered.  Create jewelry for friends and family from the comfort of your own home?  Easy!  Fly a miniature helicopterDance the night away?  Walk a tightrope?  Check, check, check.

Forbes goes on to say that “while many of the hottest hobbies are new riffs on old traditions, there are some plainly traditional crafts, such as sewing, that are experiencing a renaissance–driven in part by modern necessity.  The act of sewing itself hasn’t changed, but the reasons for doing it have. While affordable ready-to-wear made at-home sewing [was] a dying hobby in the 1980s and 1990s, the popularity of fashion competition shows like Project Runway–combined with dwindling incomes–has once again made sewing one’s own clothes an attractive alternative.”

olympia sewing class
(re)fabulous and shops like it are open to anyone and everyone, regardless of age or skill.

Locally, crafters are all ages and skill levels.  On the west side, (re)fabulous offers training and so much more.  As they explain, “(re)fabulous is the place to play and find the creative in YOU. We are committed to green-inspired projects with such a passion that it will make you think twice about what you are tossing out. We offer classes, community and inspiration mixed with an example of how fabulous repurposed creating can be.”

Their training includes everyone aged 4 and up and occasionally culminates in a fashion show spotlighting the results.  The next such event takes place on October 12 and showcases items made by local tweens and teens.  The designers themselves will walk the runway, with hair styled by Dell’s Hair Design.  The evening will be a fundraiser for Community Youth Services Haven House, an Olympia youth shelter for 12 – 17 year olds.

Four local students will be amongst those showing off their items.  Alina Benson, 14, attends Olympia High School and has been sewing for four years.  She learned with her grandmother and created a sunny yellow dress made entirely from bed sheets.  Eleven-year-old Karena Meinhardt goes to Holy Family School and grew up wanting to be a fashion designer.  Her two-piece pink and black outfit is the result of two years as a sewer, mostly through classes at (re)fabulous.  Erin Joe is 12 and attends Jefferson Middle School.  She watched her mom sew for years and this is her first event through the studio.  She’ll wear a knit hooded dress with a belt purse in dark blue.  Finally Genevieve Nguyen, 10, of the Olympia Waldorf School made a blue and green dress.  She not only crafted the item but designed the pattern herself.  All four girls are excited to learn—and do!—more though the studio.

olympia sewing class
Sewing students will host a fashion show on October 12 to benefit local charities.

Local pattern designer Rebecca Anderson finds her classes contain many younger members these days.  “I’ve noticed that young sewists are interested in making their own clothing as a creative outlet.  It expresses individuality and is fun.”  On an outdoorsy note, gentleman farmer Dave Toht (author of ‘Backyard Homesteading’) says that “I find young families much prefer a big garden and a flock of chickens to a meticulous lawn. They like the fun of growing their own.”

Whatever the reason, hobbies once considered dead or dying are now experiencing a healthy rebirth.  We’re blessed that living somewhere like Olympia makes trying a new hobby easy, fun, and affordable.

 

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