A Birthday Gift
Macrame is quickly becoming the on-trend gift of the season and with Spring upon us, now is the time to get on board with this boomerang craft. I recently started looking into macrame as I was plotting a birthday gift for that pesky sister of mine who gives great gifts. I was looking for something cool, interesting, crafty and unique. Jane and her husband Kevin love art, crafts, nature and projects, so this presented a few different ways to approach a macrame gift.
After some research, I had narrowed it down to an artistic macrame wall hanging or a hanging planter sling. In the end, I decided to go with the plant contraption because it checked the crafty and nature boxes. You never really know what a person will want to display in their home, so the planter piece felt like a safer choice. I figured that she could hang it on her patio or in her bathroom if she didn’t love it. With that said, there are some amazing wall hangings out there. Modern macrame is not the dusty knotted owl of the 1970s.
I opted not to go with a macrame hobby kit, because the last thing Jane needs is me imposing another form of artistic expression on her. However, I have another friend who I wouldn’t hesitate to give the gift of a craft project (you know who you are). It just depends on the person. I would have considered giving Jane a macrame class that we could take together, but her schedule is pretty intense at this time of year. So, timing factored in.
I found the macrame planter sling at Hot House Market and the plant itself at a local shop called Onatah. Walking into Hot House Market was like walking into the dream closet of my teenage years. Although it is hard to come to grips with the fact that the fashion of my youth is now “vintage,” it is a fascinating shop that has some great pieces. I’ve got my eye on a bar cart.
Onatah is a cross between a greenhouse and a boutique that makes curated simplicity look easy. You pretty much feel like you’ve wandered onto the set of a photoshoot when you’re there. The owner of Onatah happened to be making a simple macrame plant holder when I stopped by. In true treat yourself form, I had to buy it.
Why Macrame?
I waded into the depths of macrame googling thinking that I had missed the macrame craze of the 1970s (being that I was but a baby toward the end of that decade). However, I found that there were macrame remnants and macrame adjacent knotted crafts scattered throughout my childhood. I’m pretty sure my mom had a couple of macrame purses and belts that made the transition into the 80s. My other sister, Laura, (also infinitely more crafty than me) was a prolific maker of colorful, knotted friendship bracelets. There was also the nautical sailor’s bracelet that I got at the beach one year. The kicker was the hemp jewelry craze of the late 90s. I was a big fan of the knotted hemp choker in high school, which will haunt me forever in my formal senior photo. Nice one Shannon.
All of that research got me thinking about our need to knot. I’m the worst kind of crafter, the kind who buys all of the supplies, never finishes the project but can’t bring herself to part with all of the stuff (otherwise known as a hoarder). I am speaking specifically about the tote of yarn in my attic left over from my short-lived crochet hobby. I know this about myself, but every couple of years I will try out some other craft or buy a coloring book to keep my hands and mind busy until I abandon the work.
Instead of temporarily taking up an ill-fated hobby sure to end in mediocrity and wasted resources, I reached out to a local macrame artist to get her story. I’ve never reached out to anyone that I didn’t already know on social media and ask to meet in person. Sara Frizzell was my first. She is an Indianapolis-based macrame artist, and she was kind enough to meet me for coffee one morning a few weeks ago. I walked into the coffee shop to find a stranger with a friendly smile and a hug waiting for me.
A True Macrame Artist
Sara is that naturally cool, bohemian friend who you are always slightly jealous of, but you don’t really resent her because she’s so great. As we talked I found myself wishing that we were drinking wine instead of coffee at 10:00 AM on a Monday. There is something about coffee that implies professional boundaries. You share a glass of wine with someone you want to hang out with and let your guard down around. Sara quickly became the latter.
Sara grew up in the middle of the macrame craze of the 1970s and comes by her skill set through natural artistic ability, practice and probably genetics. Her mother was quite the macrame artist in her day. Sara is a devoted mother of four, one of whom, Rowan, is showing a burgeoning interest in macrame.
Sara is the owner of 317 Knot Studio and is a true fiber artist. She has been doing macrame for about two years but has always been into the fiber arts. From knitting to crocheting to weaving, she’s done it all. Her work is amazing and she invests in quality materials. Until macrame, it was all just a hobby. She made gifts for her friends and loved ones.
When a person reaches a certain level of skill, it almost feels like it can’t just be a hobby anymore. It needs to be shared with a broader audience. Sara’s pieces are amazing and she often develops her own patterns. Imagine the creative vision that a person must possess to start with a piece of driftwood and some rope to create something like this.
While Sara is still making her beautiful macrame art, she has found joy in sharing her love of macrame via teaching. She has led several workshops around the city and makes sure all of her students leave with a completed piece. With experiences being all the rage these days, her classes would make for a great activity at a girls’ night gathering, birthday party or book club.
We seem to be in the middle of an arts and crafts revival in this country. The fact that Etsy exists is evidence of this. Perhaps it parallels the backlash against the heavily branded cookie-cutter focus of the early 2000s. We have beautiful boutiques and shops dedicated to selling handmade goods. Craft fairs are cool again. If that isn’t a revival, I don’t know what is.
After meeting with Sara, I have come to the conclusion that we buy handmade goods not only because they are beautiful, but also because we want to possess a piece of the passion these artists have for their craft. I am sold on Sara’s craft because of the care and consideration that goes into each of her pieces. I can’t wait to find her at the next craft fair and snag one of her wall hangings for myself.
You can visit my handmade gift ideas page for links to some great macrame gifts.
Photo by Sarah Vombrack on Unsplash