Making Matters: In Search of Creative Wonders

by Clare Hunter

'A celebration of the overlooked artistry in crafts practised across the world'
THE TIMES

'Clare Hunter is out to reclaim the joy of making for the masses... no act of creativity is too humble, too ephemeral, for this hymn to the sensory wonder and connectivity of the homemade'
OBSERVER

' Making Matters is an open door to the power of craft. Now inspired, I'm off to get creative'
DAILY EXPRESS

As children, we made snowmen, paper boats, eccentrically costumed plays. That making fired our minds and imaginations - it altered our small worlds and shaped who we became. But as adults, it is hard to find to find the space for creativity and to remember its power.

Exploring craft traditions and forms of making from across centuries and cultures, Clare Hunter encourages to engage with the world afresh. To use our hands again, to see beauty in unexpected places, to play and protest and embrace imaginative possibilities. From paper crafts to wonders made from light and snow, she searches for creative delight - making lanterns, puppets and pinhole cameras.

Inspiring and fascinating, Making Matters celebrates individual and collective creativity. It blends history, culture and politics with rich storytelling, wonderful characters and tales of remarkable objects. Read this, and then make something.

'In an era of screens and machines, what a joy it is to read Clare Hunter's inspiring new book, which summons up the creative delights of making wonderment with our own hands'
Justine Picardie, author of Miss Dior

'Making Matters celebrates the joy of the handmade in all of its wonderful variety. In a fast paced world, it is a timely and beautiful exploration of making traditions. I loved it!'
Kate Strasdin, author of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2025

About the author

Clare Hunter has sewn since she was a child. She has been a banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator for over twenty years and established the community enterprise NeedleWorks in Glasgow. She was a finalist of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award with a story published in its 2017 Annual. She was also a recipient of a Creative Scotland Award in 2016. She lives near Stirling in Scotland. Threads of Life is her first book.
http://www.sewingmatters.co.uk