Society tends to operate according to what I have scientifically decided to call the slingshot effect. Once an idea, aesthetic, or belief reaches a mass audience, the trendsetting population reaches back in an opposite direction.
My thesis is broken down into two categories:
The Rebellious: The trendsetting population who defy the current norm in search of a sense of individuality. The second everyone else is doing “it”, it no longer feels like theirs. So off they go looking for something that does.
The Subconscious: Slower to change than The Rebellious, this group doesn’t quite realize why they are craving something different. They just know the norm has begun to feel boring, overdone, and unsatisfying. So they start to reach for something else.
I sense both populations constantly. With endless exposure to what other people are wearing, doing, thinking, it’s become increasingly difficult to find something that actually feels like our own. Similar to the increasing popularity of vintage and antique pieces, that one-of-a-kind item feels more valuable than ever.
At the same time, we’ve observed an increasing interest in the analog. Vintage cameras and grainy photography. Discmans and VCRs. Your favorite new album released on cassette. It’s a psychological phenomenon I’d like to investigate more thoroughly.
Until that time comes, I’m sat here reflecting. In the age of Artificial Intelligence, while we collectively try to understand how drastically it might reshape our lives, we seem increasingly drawn to reminders of what computers are incapable of.
Pressure, texture, physical contact. Our senses alive all at once, able to experience an earth that existed before iPhones did. As AI becomes progressively embedded in our lives, perhaps it makes sense that we participate in the slingshot effect. Not behind a screen, but in things we can literally put our human hands on.
Craft seems to answer both impulses at once. It grounds us in something physical, while giving us back a sense of ownership. What better way to quiet the anxiety of a robotic future than to spend a little time resisting it? And if uniqueness is what you’re reaching for, why not make the thing yourself?
True to L’étude form, I took this not only as an opportunity to reinvigorate DIY, but also as an excuse to discover more founders and creatives.
Please read, enjoy, and then slam your laptop shut and use your hands for whatever good you can dream up.
Patterns with Manon Aguilar
Manon Aguilar singlehandedly reinvigorated my love for sewing. Her designs are simple enough to recreate, yet creative enough to feel one-of-a-kind. You can begin with a simple rectangular clutch before graduating to something like this more intensive trench. Options allow you to choose your own adventure, each leaving you with a piece that is uniquely yours.
Lighting Sculpture with Luciana Perezre
I discovered Luciana Perezre’s Como Demo via the workshops she hosts in NYC. Rumor has it there are unannounced dates in LA too, shhhh. But the good news if you’re based in neither city: Como Demo carries its Paper Lamp Kit and Online Course so you can craft your own lighting design from the comfort of literally anywhere. A conversation piece made with your own hands. Can you imagine?
Clay Jewelry with Riley Hill
Based in Vancouver, Riley Hill both makes her own jewelry and teaches you to create your own with silver clay. The perfect complement to your Simuero stack. The Oh Okay starter kit includes all the pieces you need, plus gemstones, to begin your handcrafted journey. An iconic gift or a meaningful keepsake.
Beadwork with Raquel Navarro
Rockii Studios sessions take place in a greenhouse in Silver Lake. Need I say more? Freshwater pearls, glass, ceramic, metal beads, pendants. And doing it all alongside friends, old and new. Save this for your next trip to LA.
Let us know what you’re making next. And then, seriously, laptop shut.
Speak soon,
Kelly