Arts and crafts is considered by some as a pastime exclusively for young people, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In 2020, the global online art market was valued at US$5.9B – and that’s not even taking into consideration in-person events.
The arts and crafts industry is expected to grow another 3.3% by 2028, and that may be, in part, thanks to the pandemic – in August 2020, Hobbycraft reported a 200% increase in online sales from the start of Covid.
When freedoms to move around as we liked were taken away, many turned to old crafting hobbies or looked for new ones to keep them busy – and now life has returned to normal, more people than ever are looking to continue their creative outlets.
Finding local artisans
Enter Wecandoo – a platform that plays host to local artisans who curate and deliver unique craft workshops in person. The company was created by Edouard Eyglunent and his fellow cofounders seven years ago in Paris, and it has now launched in the UK.
The website works as a search engine for in-person crafting workshops. Users can search the site for specific types of workshops or ones happening in their area, and then book onto a session directly.
“The aim of Wecandoo is to support makers in their daily job and to enable the general public to give it a go with professionals who have the proper equipment, a proper studio and proper skills,” says Eyglunent. “We want to connect these two groups together in a fun moment, which is the workshop.”
To be featured on the site, Wecandoo has ten rules – with the key one being for artisans to have a studio and not doing it from their living room, for example. They should have two years of experience or a degree in the craft that is applied during the workshop, and it has to be a registered company.
The crux of a workshop must be to transform a raw material – meaning it can’t simply involve assembling beads on a string to make jewellery, for instance. Crafters would need to be actually making the beads in question.
“I’ve always been in love with crafts,” says Eyglunent. “Since I was 11 years old, I would go to a maker’s studio every month and spend one or two days just watching and learning. I learnt how to fix an engine in a car and make a cabinet, for example.
“I always loved it for two main reasons. The first one is the people – I just love passionate people. I feel like I’m getting fed by their energy and the way they look at life and creative problems.
“The second part would be the craft itself. I’ve always been passionate to see how you can transform a block of clay into a pot, for example. It’s just amazing – it’s pure human magic at work.”