blogger Tilly Walnes offers Love at First
Stitch, a dressmaking how-to.
At STC Craft, an Abrams imprint,
publishing director Melanie Falick also
sees nostalgia as a driving force in the
market. “In an era when the speed of
communication is breakneck and access
to just about anything we want to buy is
at our fingertips,” she says, “it’s not surprising that an appreciation of the slow
pace and quiet of many crafts is being
celebrated.” This theme shows up in different guises on STC Craft’s upcoming
slate, in titles like Handcrafted Christmas
by Susan Waggoner (Oct.) and Gertie
Sews Vintage Casual (Sept.), Gretchen
“Gertie” Hirsch’s guide to techniques for
constructing wardrobe staples of the
1940s and ’50s. Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar
1950–2000 by Roderick Kiracofe (Sept.)
offers a glimpse into the history of the
craft via the author’s extensive private
collection. And Artist Lisa Occhipinti’s
Novel Living: Collecting, Decorating, and
Crafting with Books (Nov.) celebrates the
physical book.
Crown’s Potter Craft imprint also has
a title for bibliophiles. From Charlotte
Rivers, a design author and the blogger
behind Lottie Loves, comes Little Book of
Book Making: Timeless Techniques and Fresh
Ideas for Beautiful Handmade Books (Aug.),
which profiles 30 bookbinders and offers
tutorials for those who want to learn the
craft. Among Potter Craft’s other forthcoming books are A Beautiful Mess: Happy Handmade Home by Elsie Larson and
Emma Chapman (Aug.), the bloggers
behind the site A Beautiful Mess, and
Candy Aisle Crafts by Jodi Levine (Aug.),
a longtime staffer on various Martha
Stewart projects.
Tailored to Fit
Many publishers have enjoyed success
offering titles to both beginner and sea-
soned crafters. “DK has always published
a large range of hobby and craft titles,”
says Mary Ling, publisher of DK craft,
gardening, and children’s books. “It’s our
primary goal [not only] to continue pub-
lishing new trendy titles in the tradi-
tional disciplines, but also to spot emerg-
ing trends with longevity and pick up on
those.” The publisher recently launched
DKinVideo, a You Tube channel featur-
ing crafting and how-to videos.
Fall titles include Winter Knits Made
Easy by Jane Bull (Aug.) and Quilting by
DK Publishing (Oct.). Ling says Quilting
appeals more to those who want to learn
techniques related to a reemerging trend,
while Bull’s book is aimed at readers in
search of specific projects. The publisher
is reaching out to library accounts and
craft and hobby stores to build British
author Bull’s profile in the U.S., having
already worked with her on titles Crafty
Creatures (2013) and Crafty Dolls (July).
Storey Basics, an introductory line
;e book that millions of SCRABBLE players
consider the only
August 2014
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