While in craft circles like knitting there are numerous possibilities to create social interaction around the work, graphic design offers relatively few outside of the scholarly experience.
Tracing back to the domesticity of knitting, that mostly arrived to households in the 19th century, knitting often became a joined activity for women, meeting every week in alternating homes, and crafting together, the social interaction as important as the work. Knitting, as well as other textile crafts and traditionally feminine crafts, seems to be reclaimed by modern feminists, using the femininity of the technique as a starting point for design and fashion projects. Additionally, since the feminist ideologies often align with the interest in those feminine crafts, the social gatherings of knitters and crafters often serve as groups to discuss these ideologies and ideas, and can lead to groups venturing into social and political territory additionally to fashion and design, and naturally also combining the two. “And while there are plenty of knitting groups based purely on fun and socialising around the world, like the Stitch ’n’ Bitch Groups, pub-based groups and LGBTQ-specific gatherings, knitting-based groups have also long been hotbeds of activism and progressive causes. Even though knitting circles remain the butt of many jokes, these spaces have radical implications.” (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200630-how-knitting-became-cool)
In the graphic design field, there seems to be (at least to me, geographically confined and not all knowing) a lack of those gathering opportunities. I am deliberately choosing to not call them networking meetings, since the economic implications of networking do not align with the purely social ideas of craft circles and gatherings. One project that seems to combine the two aspects is Lola’s Club, a portuguese project offering design club meetings every month, where members or strangers can join for 3 hours to work on their individual projects, while connecting with others, exchanging ideas and enjoying the community. (https://www.instagram.com/lolas._.club/)
