Making Matters

'A celebration of the overlooked artistry in crafts practised across the world'

THE TIMES

'Clare Hunter is out to reclaim the joy of making for the masses... no act of creativity is too humble, too ephemeral, for this hymn to the sensory wonder and connectivity of the homemade'

OBSERVER

'Making Matters is an open door to the power of craft. Now inspired, I'm off to get creative'

DAILY EXPRESS

As children, we made things: snowmen, paper boats, eccentrically costumed plays. That making fired our minds and imaginations—it altered our small worlds and shaped who we became. But as adults, it is hard to find the space for creativity and to remember its power.

Exploring craft traditions and forms of making from across centuries and cultures, Clare Hunter encourages us to engage with the world afresh. To use our hands again, to see beauty in unexpected places, to play and protest, and to embrace imaginative possibilities. From paper crafts to wonders made from light and snow, she searches for creative delight—making lanterns, puppets, and pinhole cameras.

Inspiring and fascinating, Making Matters celebrates individual and collective creativity. It blends history, culture, and politics with rich storytelling, wonderful characters, and tales of remarkable objects. Read this, and then make something.

'In an era of screens and machines, what a joy it is to read Clare Hunter's inspiring new book, which summons up the creative delights of making wonderment with our own hands'

Justine Picardie, author of Miss Dior

Making Matters celebrates the joy of the handmade in all of its wonderful variety. In a fast-paced world, it is a timely and beautiful exploration of making traditions. I loved it!

Kate Strasdin, author of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes